With the wheels falling off the Georgia Republican party since the convention (or at best some reckless driving), we decided to seek out a different kind of Republican in the state to report on.

We were looking for a Republican who wasn’t a bully or an opportunist or (what has become a somewhat hackneyed term) – a RINO. We sought a genuine Republican – one who embodied and practiced traditional American conservatism.

In other words, like Diogenes, we were “looking for an honest man” (or woman).

Fortunately, we found a few and will be reporting on them.

Noelle Kahaian calls herself a public servant

We decided to start with Noelle Kahaian. She’s interesting, concerned for her community, and doesn’t seem the type who grew up wanting to be a politician.

Calling herself a public servant, Noelle Kahaian has achieved more for her community in a decade than many do in a lifetime. Hers is a story that can uplift and embolden others to take action in their arena.

what we learned from our research and Noelle herself

Through her early activities in pregnancy centers and research, Noelle came to understand that there was an agenda to push aggressive sex ed into the Georgia schools. In 2019, she began traveling across Georgia to educate and empower parents and advocate for policies that prioritize student health and parental rights.

Noelle knew that other states were signing on to the aggressive sex ed, and she predicted the agenda push would come to Georgia. At the same time, she advocated at the capitol for various bills like election integrity, giving evidence of CRT in our schools, and removing the obscenity exemption for sexually explicit books.

So, she set her sights on the state capitol and ran for office. After the 2022 redistricting, she entered a four-person primary but lost by 22 votes. She decided to persevere and took on the incumbent in the next cycle.

Noelle Kahaian won the general election for the Georgia State Representative for District 81 on November 5, 2024. And assumed office on January 13, 2025.

In the area of student health and parental rights:

• Noelle is President and Co-founder of the non-profit Protect Student Health (founded in 2021).  The group endeavors to educate on and combat what they describe as harmful indoctrination in schools, including comprehensive sexuality education and gender ideology.
• For over 25 years, Noelle has worked as a paralegal, with a notable focus on the Child and Parental Rights Campaign law firm for the past six years. Her work involves defending the rights of parents to protect their children from policies related to gender identity ideology.
• Noelle is a volunteer teacher in abstinence-based health education through her local pregnancy center. She has assisted several counties with a coalition of parents to keep their abstinence-based health programs and reject curricula promoted by Jane Fonda and Planned Parenthood.

As a political advocate and activist:

• As an activist at the Georgia Capitol, Noelle collaborates with parents and citizens to promote parental rights and healthy school policies.
• She provided affidavits to the Georgia Legislature for SB 202, a bill that instituted election reforms, including voter ID requirements for mail-in ballots.
• In 2020, Noelle submitted a resolution to the Georgia Republican Party in support of the Vulnerable Child Protection Act, aimed at prohibiting specific medical interventions for minors with gender dysphoria.
• Noelle served as the 1st Vice Chair of the Henry County GOP and remains involved with various organizations, including the Georgia Eagle Forum, Georgia Gun Owners, Madison Forum, the John Birch Society, and the Southern Traditions Republican Women.
• Kahaian is an Ambassador for Veterans for Trump, reflecting her advocacy for veterans’ interests.

Interview:

What happened in your life that led you to work on these causes?

When I moved here in 2015, I was focused on my teenagers and was blessed not to have to work.. A friend asked me to help at a pregnancy center, teaching a class on healthy relationships.  I loved it. That’s when my eyes were opened to what was happening in the school system. I learned about the NGOs funding curricula to sexualize kids, so they have multiple abortions before they are 17. It’s the business model for Planned Parenthood.

The goal of that group was to get radical comprehensive sex ed into every school system in the South. The group was upset that Georgia didn’t have condoms in the schools.

The girls also alerted me to the sexually explicit books in the school library.  We were able to remove some of those problematic books from Georgia schools, and I’ve trained parents on how to identify and remove them.

Taking what we learned, a few of us introduced a bill to close the loophole that exposes children to sexually explicit materials in the libraries (materials that they would otherwise not be exposed to legally).

Drag queen story hour was taking off at this time as well. Eleven of us protested by sitting in the front row of the show in a library to block the view from the children. Predictably, we were attacked on social media.

Despite the attacks, we successfully circulated the information to the right people. It was agreed that Fulton County would not permit this type of activity to be funded with taxpayer dollars again. That message was heard across the state, so in 2019, I believe we stopped it in its tracks.

Since no one was working in the area of promoting health education, I decided to take action. We had a loose coalition for years, then I co-founded Protect Student Health in 2021.

Tell me about your work as a paralegal with Vernadette Broyles

As our website states, “We defend parents’ rights to shield their children from the impacts of gender identity ideology.”

We represent parents who want to protect their children’s biological integrity and understand their parental rights. Many parents have discovered their children are being transitioned at school without their knowledge. This could happen if a school is helping a student to transition secretly.

We also support legislators and policymakers who need testimony in this area.

Our website is childparentrights.org. I am a paralegal in government and community relations.

What can parents do to protect their children from curricula that contain harmful ideologies?

First, parents must stop being naïve. Don’t rely on your school to protect your children. It’s up to parents.

Our group, Protect Student Health, was established to provide parents with the information they need. Our website, protectstudenthealth.com, is designed to educate and guide parents.

First, you need to understand what the curriculum entails. According to Georgia law, you are entitled to review the curriculum. Ask your school to see the curriculum.

Parents can opt their children out of sex-ed, harmful books, etc.

You can get opt-forms and other information from the parent toolkit on our website.

What led you to your work at the capitol?

In 2019, as a concerned citizen, I went to the capitol to support bills that would protect the kids from sexual materials.

Then, following the issues surrounding the 2020 election, I decided to visit the Georgia Capitol to make a difference in education and elections.

A seat opened in my backyard because of redistricting in 2022. There was no incumbent. I lost that primary by 22 votes. However, I won in 2024, so I now serve as a Georgia State Representative for District 81.

During the 2024 campaign, I was hit with a smear-tactic ethics complaint by the opposition. They claimed I was an unregistered lobbyist because I advocated for children at the capitol. But, I was an unpaid yet very concerned citizen, so the Ethics Commission found no violation and dismissed the complaint.

Once you are punched in the face, it can be tempting to sit there and do what you are told. But that’s not me.

I joined the House of Representatives as a member of the Freedom Caucus.

I am a member of the Energy, Utilities, and Telecommunications Committee, the Defense and Veterans Affairs Committee, and the State Planning and Community Affairs Committee.

We all hear about lobbyists and back-door deals. What have you witnessed?

The lobbyists are everywhere. They give the money and they host the dinners. Some of them are very nice people. It can be very confusing for a freshman. Lobbyists write bills and look for legislators to sponsor them. There are prewritten bills that some legislators take on and sponsor. It’s all a system. It happens in every state.

Despite what goes on at the capitol, how can citizens make an impact?

Citizens should know their legislators personally and ask tough questions about their positions on issues that count.  And if the legislator falls short, the community needs to get someone prepared to run against them.

If a legislator has a low score on a scorecard, it’s time to figure out how to bring them back to working for their constituents; however, it’s usually time to find their replacement.

Charlice Byrd’s scorecard is 100 – she is the highest in the state. We can find others like her.

The good thing about Georgia is that legislators have to run for office every two years, allowing us to replace them.

You are a member of the Freedom Caucus. What does that mean?

The Freedom Caucus is liberty-minded. One goal of the caucus is to get the government out of our pockets and have a smaller government.

If a bill grows government, raises taxes, increases regulations, or infringes on personal liberties, it’s a NO.

Many bills violate one or all of those. It’s an easy platform.

Looking at a bill with those glasses on, when everyone is telling you to vote on it, it is difficult at first to vote no, until you do it for the first time.

After you vote no the first time, it gets easier.

In their hearts, I feel we are respected for what we stand for, even if we are being attacked.

What do you say to others who have the goal to change things for the better and want to run for office?

They have to be prepared to be a serious candidate. You need money and endorsements. I was able to get a couple of amazing liberty endorsements. It’s not usual to get endorsements against an incumbent.

You HAVE to knock on doors. You can’t be a part-time campaigner, and you must have been active in your district before running for office.

There are powers within the state that will hand-pick candidates. So you have to know you will be up against someone who has been picked to win. You start behind the eight ball.

But despite these deterrents, you can win. I rolled up my sleeves and I won. It was nice to see the district fire someone.

Where do you see yourself five years from now?

I will still be serving my district in some capacity if I am still wanted at the State House. But whatever I do, I will continue to work locally. Local politics are essential. If you want to see change, it needs to be at the local level. We need to strengthen states’ rights and rein in the power of the Feds.

People often fail to understand that the federal government is the creation of the states. There is power in every city, district, and state – the people need to get re-educated on states’ rights. We don’t talk about states’ rights enough, and I want to help with that.

The duty of the state legislator is to protect the state sovereignty.

What do you think is ahead for the state of Georgia?

There are several areas we need to improve.

We need to get our taxes under control and focus on achieving a fair tax system, setting us on a trajectory to eliminate the income tax.

We need to work on energy independence.

We need to remain constantly vigilant of the dangerous curricula in our school.

We must maintain the security of our elections.

We need to pay attention to all these positions: Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State.

We could remake Georgia and re-elect every constitutional officer. The whole slate is going to be different.

In other words, we can work to make Georgia better.

Thank you for the interview, and thank you for your service to the state of Georgia.

You can support Noelle at noelleforgeorgia.com.

If you want to meet like-minded individuals in your community who are taking action click HERE.