Gopaul's Ties to Cynthia McKinney Raise Concens Among Republicans

CUMMING, Ga. -- After meeting in executive session for more than an hour Monday, members of the Forsyth Republican County Committee voted to delay any further action on a complaint filed against Solicitor-General Donna S. Gopaul until after qualifying.

The complaint was filed by Gopaul's Republican opponent in the May 20th election, Susan Zereini. It centered on Gopaul's ties to radical, left-wing former U.S. Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney and the Democrat Party. Gopaul was McKinney's legislative aide. She donated money to McKinney's campaign and has always voted Democrat, even as recently as the 2012 presidential primary. Gopaul joined the Forsyth County Republican Party last July, just one month before announcing her campaign in a county where she would have faced certain defeat as a Democrat.

County Committee Chaiman Brad Wilkins read Zereini's complaint which states, "(Gopaul) needs to explain her switch from supporting such a radical left-wing agenda to becoming a Republican. If the explanation isn't plausible then I would ask the Republican Party to support my campaign."

Zereini attended Tuesday's meeting. Gopaul was invited, but did not attend.

The issue of Gopaul's Democrat ties came to light just before Christmas, leading most of Forsyth County's state delegation members to withdraw their support and order her to remove their names from her website and campaign literature.