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We salute the voters of Georgia: Their Republican primary last week was the first gigantic defeat for Donald Trump and the forces of authoritarianism within our borders, a cause for celebration.

Ever since their local Republican officials refused to bow to Trumps pressure to overturn the results of the 2020 election, and instead told the truth that Trump lost their state by more than 11,000 votes the former president has been on what Chris Christie dubbed a personal vendetta tour.

But the two officials Trump tried to purge both won bigly. Gov. Brian Kemp the guy Trump called a turncoat, a coward and a complete and total disaster for refusing to defy the will of the states voters won by over 50 points, absolutely destroying the sycophant Trump recruited, David Perdue. And Brad Raffensperger, Georgias secretary of state who famously refused to indulge Trumps fantasies and find 11,780 votes, won by nearly 20 points, so much he wont have to face a runoff.

It was a most welcome sign that the GOP might be starting to shake off its election conspiracy fever dream, that maybe Trump has peaked. This is an important one, Bill Palatucci, the GOPs national committeeman from New Jersey, told the Washington Post. Him losing gives people courage to speak out. Thats the hope, anyway.

Yes, we still have the Conservative Political Action Conference, known as CPAC, deciding to gather in Hungary and the most watched personality on cable TV, Fox News Tucker Carlson, singing the praises of its strongman, Viktor Orban, whos destroying democracy over there.

We have Republicans trying to block an inquiry into an attempted coup on Jan 6th that was fueled by baseless fraud accusations, and many other races across the country in which people who trumpet the Big Lie are running for jobs in which they could sway the outcome of future elections. Truly scary.

But Trumps embarrassing defeat in Georgia is an enormous relief, when compared to the alternative. His endorsement is still a factor, no doubt, as we saw in Ohio with Senate hopeful JD Vance and Doug Mastriano in the Pennsylvania governors race. Yet it is no longer the most important one, says Mike DuHaime, a leading Republican consultant in New Jersey.

Even in states where his candidates are winning tough races, they are getting around one-third of the vote, meaning two-thirds of voters are looking past the endorsement or voting against it, he said.

And this time, we saw establishment Republicans come to Kemps aid as he was attacked by Trump including Christie, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey and former VP Mike Pence; folks who in the past might have feared being punished for disloyalty. The idea that if you cross Trump, youre out of office is categorically not true anymore, DuHaime says.

Georgias primary was also a great barometer for the lingering passion about Trumps lie that the 2020 election was stolen, Brian Robinson, a Georgia Republican political consultant, told the Atlantic. It just shows that a lot of the air is out of the balloon, he said. The intensity has dissipated. DuHaime agreed: I think even voters who believe Trump are sick of it. Theyre moving on.

For Jon Bramnick, a moderate, Never-Trump Republican in New Jersey, its reason for cautious optimism. America deserves a Republican party that does not endorse totalitarian leaders, one in which local officials no longer get mobbed by misinformed voters asking why theyre not questioning the 2020 election results, after 60 federal judges both Democrats and Republicans, lifetime appointees who arent afraid of political retribution flatly rejected Trumps fraud falsehood.

They dont even hear you they go back to a Fox broadcast, Bramnick said, adding, When people lose their trust and confidence in government because of irrational allegations, it is a serious threat to democracy. Right.

So lets pray that Georgia is a sign of things to come; that it encourages more Republicans to defy Trump, to fight back against his poisonous efforts to flip elections, and to seek out better leadership people who, when our democracy is hanging by a thin thread, will have the mettle to help it survive.

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Cheers to Georgia for rejecting Trump and his Big Lie | Editorial - NJ.com