By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism.
Lawmaker: Georgia GOP working to mend Delta rift over NRA
Cagle: Conservatives will 'fight back'
W lawmakers
In this 2016, file photo, Georgia Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle speaks during a memorial ceremony on the first day of the legislative session at the state Capitol in Atlanta. Cagle on Monday, Feb. 26, 2018, threatened to prevent Delta Air Lines from getting a lucrative tax cut after the company ended its discount program with the National Rifle Association. Cagle, president of the state Senate and a leading candidate to succeed Gov. Nathan Deal, tweeted that he would use his position to kill a proposed sales tax exemption on jet fuel. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File) - photo by Associated Press
ATLANTA — Republicans competing to become Georgia's next governor united Tuesday behind a charge to punish Delta Air Lines for cutting business ties with the National Rifle Association, while the state's term-limited GOP governor and others refrained from commenting publicly as officials worked behind the scenes to resolve the feud.Fallout from the deadly Valentine's Day school shooting in Florida engulfed Georgia politics Monday when Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, a leading GOP gubernatorial contender, said he wants to block renewal of a major tax break for Delta after the Atlanta-based airline announced it will no longer offer discounted rates for NRA members flying to the group's conventions.Four of Cagle's Republican rivals in the 2018 race for governor said they also support halting the $38 million-per-year sales tax exemption on jet fuel that would primarily benefit Delta. One GOP candidate, Secretary of State Brian Kemp, suggested using that money instead for a "sales tax holiday" for Georgians to buy guns and ammunition tax-free.The Republican chairman of a Senate committee that approved the tax break last week said officials at the statehouse were working Tuesday to resolve the rift between GOP lawmakers and Delta.
Sign up for the Herald's free e-newsletter