There was a fast consensus on two other hot-button issues. Each vowed to oppose a constitutional amendment that would allow casino gambling in Georgia and funnel some proceeds to the lottery-funded HOPE scholarship, although some were more forceful than others.
Kemp, Hill and Williams said they would oppose the measure because the state didn’t need the extra money or because of fears that it could lead to more crime and other vices.
“We are doing fine without gambling,” Hill said.
Cagle also said he’d reject the measure but then quickly pivoted to talk about the “enormous opportunity” for economic development in South Georgia through other growing industries.
And each expressed support for legislation that would relax more of Georgia’s firearms restrictions, with several candidates saying a new law that allows college students and others to carry concealed weapons on public campuses didn’t go far enough.
“I hunt. I shoot. And I carry. I certainly would have signed the piece of legislation,” Kemp said, adding that he instructs his attorneys to “fight like hell” against left-leaning lawyers who aim to chip away at Republican policies.