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A government watchdog group has named Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr among a group of attorneys general nationwide who pose the greatest threat to American democracy.

Accountable.US cited Carr and a dozen other Republican attorneys general as “enemies of progress.” The announcement is part of the group’s national Enemies of Progress campaign which launched on Thursday. The campaign is an effort to expose “the motivations” of attorneys general that the group believes are working “against the American people.”

Accountable.US is a nonpartisan group that tracks corporate and government wrongdoing. The group uses public records requests, reviews financial disclosures and analyzes voting records to identify malfeasance.

“Instead of fighting for their best interests, Attorney General Carr is spending Georgians’ taxpayer dollars on frivolous lawsuits against the Biden administration on behalf of his special interest donors,” Accountable.US President Kyle Herrig told Atlanta Civic Circle in an email. “Carr headed one of the key organizations behind the Trump rally just before the deadly Capitol riot, and slinking away from the group four months later does not somehow excuse him from the incredible damage caused to our democracy that day.”

Carr’s office did not respond to numerous calls and emails.

Accountable.US said Carr earned a spot on the list because he put the lives of Georgians at risk during the pandemic, undermined voting rights and has ties to far right-wing groups.

Accountable.US found that Carr: 

  • Sued the city of Atlanta to block officials from enforcing a mask mandate during the COVID-19 pandemic. Carr called the city’s mandate “unenforceable and void” even as the state’s infection rate and death count continued to increase. 
  • Opposed efforts last year to allow absentee votes to be counted, even if they were postmarked by Election Day. Carr’s decision came as many states were expanding voting options so people could safely vote during the pandemic. Carr fought to purge voter rolls and keep third-party candidates from ballot access. He also defended state policies that led to voters having to wait hours in line to vote.
  • Belongs to the Federalist Society, whose donors include wealthy conservative businessman and political activist David Koch. Carr also served as general counsel for the Georgia Public Policy Foundation, an Atlanta-based conservative think tank that also has ties to the Koch family. 

Carr was appointed attorney general in 2016 by then-Gov. Nathan Deal to fill a vacancy created by former AG Sam Olens. Carr was later elected to a four-year term as AG in the 2018 statewide election.

Other attorneys general on Accountable.US’s list include: Alabama AG Steve Marshall, Arizona AG Mark Brnovich, Arkansas AG Leslie Rutledge, Florida AG Ashley Moody, Kentucky AG Daniel Cameron, Indiana AG Todd Rokita, South Carolina AG Alan Wilson, Louisiana AG Jeff Landry, Missouri AG Eric Schmitt, South Dakota AG Jason Ravnsborg, Texas AG Ken Paxton and West Virginia AG Patrick Morrisey.