The primary election cycle always amazes me. While it was foreseeable that Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and healthcare entrepreneur Rick Jackson were going to make the runoff, collectively spending over $100 million will give you some comfort in politics.
Just as predictable: the U.S. Senate primary, which now features U.S. Rep. Mike Collins and former college football coach Derek Dooley. Collins sponsored the high-profile Laken Riley Act and Dooley is Gov. Brian Kemp’s preferred candidate.
However, the most entertaining race on the Republican ticket was for lieutenant governor.
I host a radio show on the weekends, and I love to feature individuals who are “down the ballot.”
I have once featured then-state Sen. Burt Jones, Democratic Sen. (and lieutenant governor runoff candidate) Josh McLaurin, GOP state Rep. (and congressional candidate) Houston Gaines, and more.
It is important to highlight thought leaders in our state. I enjoy my friendship with McLaurin. We do not agree on much, but McLaurin is a jovial and thoughtful guy. You deserve to hear from him. He is in it for the right reasons. McLaurin encompasses the Democrat star quality of 2026. He faces former Sen. Nabilah Parkes in the June 16 runoff.
Why the commercials stood out
Credit: hand
Credit: hand
The show has allowed me the opportunity to identify who the next group of stars in Georgia politics are. Republican state Sen. (and lieutenant governor runoff candidate) Greg Dolezal is another one of those. He faces former state Sen. John Kennedy.
Dolezal is a gifted communicator, but he is also on the forefront of Republican thought. School choice is a Republican calling card of the 2024 and 2026 cycles. That would not have happened without Dolezal’s leadership. Every candidate on the debate stage supported school choice — it was not an issue that separated anyone. However, the candidates did not find common ground on Sharia law. It was Dolezal’s calling card to the runoff.
In March, Dolezal released the first of two ads featuring a sensationalized view of Sharia law and the West. Sharia is a religious and moral law based on the tenants of Islam. Dolezal’s ad featured a masked Jihadi attempting to cut the hand off a man who was cutting into a “Happy Easter” cake.
It also featured an artificial intelligence ad featuring a likeness of lead character Carrie Mathison in the Showtime original series “Homeland.” In that scene, Mathison was told she was not allowed to drive. Many on the right and left talked about the comments being outlandish or racist, but Dolezal never apologized.
Republican voters gave him a 4-point lead over state Sen. Blake Tillery to make the June 16 runoff against top vote-getter Kennedy. Is that a coincidence? I do not believe so.
Credit: Screenshot of ad
Credit: Screenshot of ad
Survey reveals Americans’ attitudes toward Islam
In 2017, United Arab Emirates Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan spoke at a World Economic Forum panel about Europe’s desire for political correctness with respect to radical Islam. Bin Zayed pointed out why you never see their behavior in the United Arab Emirates. That issue scares the American people.
Many of us have been to Europe and seen firsthand what street corners in London, Paris and Brussels have become. Progressives may imply intolerance; in my mind somebody finally said the quiet part aloud.
Dolezal is once again at the forefront of an issue, and it is an issue that politicians have no idea how to manage. You may remember the “Muslim ban” Donald Trump proposed when he was a candidate for president in 2016. According to Georgetown University’s The Bridge Initiative, which researches Islamophobia, Republican voters were overwhelmingly supportive (66% nationwide and 72% in Georgia). Nearly 30% of Democrats were as well.
Frequently, I sit on morning drive radio on a conservative talk show. It may come as a surprise, but liberals also listen to the show — and they call in to disagree about all sorts of topics.
In the last two years, it has been the only issue that liberal listeners frequently call in with complete agreement. I recognize this is not a scientific poll, but the sample size of folks who call in and are supportive of Sharia law in America is exactly zero. I recognize that I am conflating the issues of Sharia law and the assimilation of Islam, but the public cannot tell the difference. Dolezal has done the same thing, and it is working.
Dolezal may need to refine his message. Do you know what else should be refined? The United States political class who is afraid to say anything.
It may be too late to save Europe’s Western values, but is it too late for America? It is on the ballot.
Dolezal is saying what people think. There is no other reason he made the runoff besides his message. His message may have missed the mark, but Republican voters were not phased.
Time will tell, but in November, if Greg Dolezal is elected as your next lieutenant governor, bookmark this column. The Bridge Initiative data of a decade ago suggests that 30% of Democrats would agree with him, and the voters make the rules. Good luck to anybody running against it.
Ben Burnett is a business owner and former member of the Alpharetta City Council. He is a Republican and a regular contributor to the AJC.
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