The Lowndes County Republican Party held its biennial county convention Saturday morning and elected its executive officers for the next two years.  Outgoing Chairman Sondra Supp officiated at the meeting held at Austin’s Cattle Company which was attended by over 40 delegates.

Elected to serve two years terms were Scott Smith, Chairman; Kyle Conger, First Vice Chairman; and Ben Smith, Second Vice Chairman.  Secretary Mary Blocker and Treasurer Bill Tucker were re-elected to their respective positions. 

“I am beyond honored that an organization like the Lowndes County GOP elected me chairman,” Scott Smith said, adding, “There’s a very strong core of highly talented individuals throughout the Lowndes GOP that makes me enthusiastic about serving in the chairmanship role.” 

The delegates approved resolutions calling for the election of state board of education members.  This would require a change to the state constitution since the governor presently appoints members to the state board while the superintendent is elected state wide.  Republican Richard Woods was elected state superintendent in 2014. 

A resolution calling for a revision of the College Board Advanced Placement testing criteria in history to put more emphasis on the “exceptionalism of America” also passed.  

The delegates rejected a resolution calling for the nomination of Republican candidates by convention rather than the present system of primary elections.  

The convention also elected delegates to the GOP Eighth District convention which will be held in Macon on Saturday, April 18.  Delegates were also elected for the state convention to be held in Athens on May 15-16. 

Noting the upcoming 2016 presidential election season, Smith said that the local GOP “will be accomplishing a lot leading up to the 2016 election” and encouraged any one interested in the GOP, its principles and “interested in being part of something monumental” to get involved.

Georgia GOP rules call for biennial conventions for the election of officers and separate conventions during presidential election years held for the purpose of selecting delegates to the Republican national convention.  The 2016 Republican National Convention will convene in Cleveland, Ohio on July 18-21, 2016.

Ohio has been a battleground swing-state throughout United States campaigning history. The last candidate to win the presidential election without Ohio was Democrat John F. Kennedy in 1960. The last Republican presidential candidate to win the election without Ohio was Abraham Lincoln, 100 years earlier, in 1860. Cleveland last hosted the Republican National Convention in 1936.

The Lowndes GOP website is located at Lowndescountygop.com and can also be found on Face Book.