COLUMBUS, GEORGIA — Kelly Loeffler may not be a U.S. senator anymore, but she hasn’t strayed far from the center of Georgia politics.
Loeffler made an appearance at the Georgia state GOP convention in Columbus Friday to talk about how Republicans can take back the Peach State. Flanked by conservative talk radio hosts Leo Terrell and Shelley Wynter, she hosted a “fireside chat” centered largely on how to win more black voters.
“Democrats need black voters more than black voters need the Democratic Party,” said Loeffler, who served in the Senate in 2020 and 2021 before losing her seat to Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA). “The Trump coalition is good for voters of every color, every religion, every creed.”
Terrell and Wynter, who are both black, agreed that African American voters can be brought into the GOP fold via aggressive outreach.
“It’s not about skin tone. That’s the Democratic playbook,” he said. “I’m old enough to remember a guy saying you judge a person by the content of his character and not the color of his skin. And that’s why we’re all here.”
Polling of swing states, including Georgia, by the New York Times and Siena College in May showed that 63% of black voters supported Biden in a head-to-head matchup over Donald Trump, who received 23% support. Four years ago, Biden was backed by 91% of black voters in the 2020 election nationwide, according to AP VoteCast.
Loeffler knows personally how important it is to widen the Republican coalition in the diversifying Southeastern state, as she narrowly suffered defeat in a 2021 runoff election that suffered from low GOP turnout.
Wynter, a host on powerhouse Atlanta station WSB, drew cheers after asking the crowd, “How many people here want to expand the tent?”
Georgia will play host to an interesting local case study this fall as well. State Rep. Mesha Mainor, an Atlanta native and Howard University graduate, made headlines last year by switching from Democrat to Republican. She’s now seeking reelection in a heavily black district.
“When Mesha wins a predominantly African American district — 99%, almost 100% Democratic district — when she wins,” Wynter said, “it shows that if you work for the people you represent, it doesn’t matter your party affiliation.”
Mainor herself spoke ahead of the group and gave a similar message about the importance of outreach that takes “going to a church, asking a pastor” to spread the word. The crowd at the Columbus convention center sang “Happy Birthday” to her afterward.
Loeffler’s panel collectively denounced moves made by President Joe Biden, such as rescheduling marijuana, describing it as pandering and saying basic issues like preventing crime and securing the border are important to people from all races.
“They need to hear the message,” Terrell said.
The group teed off on other topics as well, such as the treatment of protesters that they say shows skewed priorities among the Left.
“America’s allies are hurting, and our president and our Democratic senators aren’t standing with them,” Loeffler said. “Yet every blue-haired they/them on campus who gets thrown in jail is immediately bailed out, while our Jan. 6 protesters are locked up year after year after year. This is the two-tiered system of justice.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Loeffler is chairwoman of Greater Georgia, a group that aims to register more voters within the state and add diversity to the GOP.
“We have to work as if we’re 20 points down,” she said. “We should pick up a shovel and not stop digging until Nov. 5.”
