Secret Recording: Cagle Backed 'Bad' Bill For Political Gain

ATLANTA, GA — In a recording secretly made by a former political rival, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle — the frontrunner for the Republican nomination for governor — admitted to backing a bill he thought was bad because it hurt a political rival.

The recording, acquired by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and WSB-TV, was made with a hidden device by businessman Clay Tippins, who garnered about 12 percent of the vote in the GOP primary for governor last month. Cagle, who took about 39 percent of the vote, and Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp, who got about 26 percent, are now head-to-head in a runoff election.

The recording, according to Tippins, was made two days after the primary at Cagle's DeKalb County headquarters.

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In it, Cagle tells Tippins he pushed for raising the cap on tax credits for private school scholarships because doing so would prevent state Sen. Hunter Hill — another candidate for governor who finished with about 18 percent of the vote — from getting a large donation.

"They wanted that $100 million SSO," Cagle said, using the abbreviation for Student Scholarship Organization. "And, you know, I was the only guy standing in the way. Is it bad public policy? Between you and me, it is. I can tell you how it is a thousand different ways."

By pushing the bill, Cagle went against state Sen. Lindsey Tippins, who was head of the Senate Education Committee at the time and had pushed for a lower limit on the tax credits. Lindsey Tippins is Clay Tippins' uncle.

Cagle did so for one reason, according to the recording.

"It ain’t about public policy. It’s about [expletive] politics," Cagle says. "There’s a group that was getting ready to put $3 million behind Hunter Hill."

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In a statement to the AJC, Cagle said he spoke "openly and honestly" in the recording.

"Every bill of import has political implications, but my record shows that throughout my career I’ve fought to give parents and children options so they can find what’s best for their family," Cagle said in the statement. "As governor, I’ll advocate for and sign legislation that expands education options and opportunity."

Tippins told the AJC he made the recording and shared it as a way to open "a window into Casey Cagle’s character."

"I hope voters are furious," he told the paper. "I was."

The tax credit measure has helped thousands of children go to private schools by letting donors pledge money to organizations that provide scholarships to them. The donors receive a tax credit in the amount they donate. Critics say the program drains money from Georgia's public schools.

The bill had stalled in Lindsey Tippins committee but Cagle, who presides over the Senate, had it steered to a friendlier committee. Having already passed in the House, it passed in the Senate on the last day of last year's legislative session.

To read the AJC's report, click here.

PHOTO: Georgia Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle speaks on the phone during a radio interview the day after Georgia's 2018 political primaries. Photo courtesy Cagle for Governor.