A Georgia senator was exiled from the GOP caucus. Now Colton Moore is banned from the state House

ATLANTA (AP) — Colton Moore’s political career has been about setting legislative norms on fire. The Republican Georgia state senator left another one ablaze on Thursday.

Moore, who lives in Trenton in the state’s far northwest corner, was banned from the House floor after launching a slashing attack on the memory of House Speaker David Ralston on a day when Ralston, who died in 2022, was being honored in both the House and Senate chambers.

Moments after Gov. Brian Kemp and former Govs. Nathan Deal and Sonny Perdue praised the longtime speaker as his portrait was unveiled in the House on what would have been Ralston’s 70th birthday, Moore spoke in the Senate to oppose a resolution supporting naming a building for Ralston on the University of North Georgia campus in Blue Ridge.

“This body is about to perpetually memorialize one of the most corrupt Georgia leaders we’ll ever see in our lifetimes,” Moore said, as some of Ralston’s relatives and supporters watched from the Senate balcony.

The remarks created such a stir that Lt. Gov. Burt Jones eventually cut Moore off, telling him “Senator, senator, not the time or place.” The top-ranking Republican senator, President Pro Tem John F. Kennedy of Macon, took to the floor to apologize to Ralston’s family, saying he and other senators felt “sincere embarrassment” at Moore’s conduct.

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