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Caught Our Eye

Rep. Massie endorses then hires Georgia state rep

Posted by Keturah Hetrick on Feb. 18, 2021

Former Georgia legislator Matt Gurtler (R) may have lost his House bid, but he's running a congressional office anyway.

Gurtler is now chief of staff to Rep. Tom Massie (R-Ky.). Massie both endorsed and contributed to Gurtler's 2020 campaign for U.S. Congress, which ended in a loss to freshman Rep. Andrew Clyde (R).

Gurtler, who served in the Georgia House from 2017 until last month, made waves during his congressional run when a photo surfaced of him with Chester Doles, a klansman turned neo-Nazi National Alliance member. The photo reportedly shows Gurtler at a meeting of American Patriots USA, a conservative group that Doles founded. Gurtler has said he was invited by a voter and that the "context" of the photo "is straightforward."

Doles has also appeared in photos with other Georgia Republicans, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and ex-Sen. Kelly Loeffler. The latter has since claimed she had "no idea" who Doles was when the photo was taken.