More Setbacks for the Catoosa GOP as the Federal Court Dismisses their Case

The “volunteer grandmothers” of the Catoosa County Republican Party have faced yet another legal setback as they attempt to usurp the will of the Republican voters of Catoosa County. Yesterday, Federal District Judge William Ray, an Donald Trump appointee, dismissed their case against the Catoosa County Board of Elections citing a lack of standing and failure to state a claim for which relief can be granted.

In another blow to the bizarre legal theories advanced by the President of the National and Georgia Republican Assemblies, J. Alex Johnson, Esq., Judge Ray distinguished the case precedents cited by the Plaintiffs, the Catoosa County Republican Party through their attorney, the same very same J. Alex Johnson, Esq., wherein the Plaintiffs claimed that they had, in essence, a Constitutional right to determine for the voters who should and should not be the Republican nominee for county office (you can almost hear Hedley Lamarr‘s voice saying, “they’re such children” as the “volunteer grandmothers” attempt to make the claim that they alone – and not the voters – are worthy to determine who is and is not a Republican).

In footnote 6., Ray notes his past experience as Chair of the Gwinnett County Republican Party and personal experience with candidate qualifying. Georgia law sets the ultimate purpose of qualifying and primaries as the vehicle for the voters who prescribe to the principles of a particular party to determine who will be their standard bearer for their party in the General Election:

“As the Presiding Judge herein served in the early 90s as the Chairman of the Gwinnett County Republican Party, the process of qualifying candidates is not new to the Court. Trying to limit who can run in a primary seems inconsistent with the purpose of a primary to start with. Perhaps the Catoosa Republican Party doesn’t believe that the citizens of Catoosa County can for themselves intelligently decide which candidates best embody the principles of the Republican Party. The Court does not share such sentiment. It seems that our form of government is designed to allow citizens to pick their government leaders, not for insiders (of the local party) to pick the government leaders for them.” (emphasis added).

It is not without a bit of irony that it was many of the same Republican primary voters in Catoosa County who voted overwhelmingly this year to re-nominate Donald Trump for President of the United States (85.81%), and gave Margorie Taylor Green nearly 75% of the vote in her 2022 Republican Primary (maybe it’s because they are still a grudge that Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger received 52% of the Catoosa GOP Primary vote that year as well).

Judge Ray also added a thoughtful distinction in the difference between the powers of the local party in relation to the state and national political party organizations, “the Court is not convinced that candidates for office are associated with a county party based solely on their presence on a primary ballot. At most, it would seem that candidates on a primary ballot would be associated with a state or national party.”

Judge Ray does seem to leave the door slightly open for a state or national political party to deny a an individual’s request to be on the primary, ballot, though he also points out the clear differences in Georgia law concerning qualifying for the Presidential Primary ballot and the general primary ballot. Ray clearly explains how state law gives deference to the executive committees of the parties for the presidential ballot and does not do the same for the general primary, a distinction that undermines the basis of J. Alex Johnson, Esq.’s legal claims.

While the Federal portion of the case, barring any appeals from the plaintiffs, appears to be over, the Georgia Supreme Court still has to rule on the appeal of the Superior Court’s decision. That decision will be made in the next couple of months during the Court’s current term.