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State Rep. Phillip Singleton (R-Sharpsburg) announced Tuesday the creation of the Georgia Freedom Caucus (GFC), modeled after the federal House Freedom Caucus, which will be comprised of members from the House of Representatives and Senate. According to Singleton – who has publicly been on the outs with House Speaker David Ralston (R-Blue Ridge) and other House leaders since his election in 2019 – he will serve as the first vice chair as a founding member.

The GFC is the first bicameral caucus to launch among a nationwide network of state legislative caucuses. The GFC, in a statement, seeks to “foster an opportunity for state legislators to unite and promote liberty, limited government and constitutional conservatism. The GFC will maintain a direct relationship with its partners in the federal House Freedom Caucus.” (The federal House Freedom Caucus was formed in January 2015 by a group of conservatives and Tea Party movement members.)

“Today, it is my privilege and honor to announce the creation and launch of the Georgia Freedom Caucus,” Singleton said. “Over this last year, events across our nation have highlighted how important it is to fight for liberty and limited government at the state level, including events in Virginia, New Jersey and the recent Biden Administration challenges in Texas.

“Real change cannot be left to only the few true conservatives in Washington D.C. The most important change, the most lasting change and the greatest check on federal government overreach must come from a grassroots movement at the state level,” Singleton added.

Earlier this month, the conservative federal House Freedom Caucus called on Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to block any stopgap government funding bill that does not bar spending federal dollars on enforcing vaccine mandates. In a letter to McConnell, Freedom Caucus members blasted what they described as President Biden’s “very damaging, un-American, and in the worst cases, unlawful vaccine mandates” and called on Senate Republicans to use

“all procedural tools at your disposal to deny timely passage of the CR [continuing resolution] unless it prohibits funding — in all respects — for the vaccine mandates and enforcement thereof.”

As for Georgia, it is unclear how GFC members who, as Singleton says, “want to usher in an era where conservative principles survive past campaign season,” will be able to get along with Ralston and the party leadership. Some pundits say the GFC will have more clout with the rest of the GOP caucus if Singleton loses or doesn’t run for re-election. In the context, new Republican House reapportionment map-drawing is unkind to him. More Democrat-leaning voters have been added to Singleton’s district, making it difficult for his re-election.