of Republican members in the General Assembly, the election of the first minority leaders in both houses, as well as the 1964 election of Bo Callaway as the first Republican member of Congress from Georgia since Reconstruction. Republican presence in the General Assembly would go from a single Republican, William Kiker of Fannin County, in the Georgia Senate and 3 Republicans in the House by 1960 to 7 Senate and 26 House Republicans in 1970. In 1966, Callaway ran for and received the plurality of votes for governor but failed to win, when the election was decided by the Democratic Party-controlled Georgia legislature in favor of Democrat Lester Maddox. In the 1970s, amid the Watergate Scandal, the rise of Democratic president Jimmy Carter from Georgia, led to the self-proclaimed "dark days" for the Republican Party that led to a decade of failed elections and tough incidents. Georgia Republicans struggled through the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s to become a major party, occasionally winning victories such as the election of Newt Gingrich in 1979. Republican U.S. Senator Mack Mattingly was elected in 1980. Rise to prominence The party's fortunes finally began to turn in the 1990s. During the decade, Republicans gained a majority in the congressional delegation after a redistricting plan adopted by the General Assembly controlled by Democrats backfired. Also, Georgia played a pivotal role in national affairs, as Congressman Newt Gingrich propelled to the top, becoming Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. In 2002, Sonny Perdue was elected as the first Republican governor of Georgia since Reconstruction. He served as governor from 2003–2011 for two terms. Republicans gained control of both chambers of the state legislature in 2002 and 2004. Trumpism In 2021, the Georgia Republican Party censured Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger for not bowing to Donald Trump's pressure to overturn the election results in Georgia. After Joe Biden won the 2020 election, Donald Trump refused to concede while he and many Republican allies made false claims of fraud and sought to pressure election officials to overturn the election results. At the 2021 Georgia Republican Party convention, crowds also booed Georgia governor Brian Kemp for not helping Trump overturn the election results. In 2022, Kemp easily defeated Trump backed primary challenger David Perdue. Symbols and name The mascot (symbol) of the Georgia Republican Party is the elephant. The elephant was originally constructed by artist Thomas Nast, in