Shafer reelected as Georgia GOP chair

Jun. 6—The Georgia Republican Party reelected David Shafer as its chairman Saturday, the party announced.

"I am proud to serve another two years as Chairman of the Georgia Republican Party," Shafer said in a prepared statement. "The enthusiasm we have witnessed this weekend will carry our State to victory for our Republican candidates in 2022."

Shafer bested two other candidates: Gwinnett's Surrea Ivy and former Cobb GOP Chairman Jason Shepherd.

Speaking after the vote Saturday, Shepherd attributed Shafer's win, in part, to an endorsement from former President Donald Trump.

Shepherd's successor as Cobb GOP chair, Salleigh Grubbs, agreed.

"And he has worked very hard for the election integrity, he's worked very hard to get to the bottom of the voter fraud and he's done a good job," she said. "So that I think that was represented and people that supported him."

Georgia courts have dismissed lawsuits alleging voter fraud in the November presidential election, and Gov. Brian Kemp, Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger — all Republicans — have defended the outcome of that election as legitimate.

Kemp received "a significant amount" of boos as he addressed the convention Saturday, Grubbs said.

"I think Mr. Shafer has a very big job on his hands, not only to unite the party but to win in '22 with a party that's very, very divided," Shepherd said.

Of the roughly 1,600 voting delegates at the convention, Cobb had 166, more than any other county, Grubbs said.

With more than 3,000 attendees, the convention broke its previous attendance record, according to the news release announcing Shafer's victory.