Ronnie Thompson (Georgia Politician)

Ronnie Thompson (Georgia Politician)

(2) Thompson was known nationally during his mayoral tenure for "his predilection for the flamboyan," including his opposition to school busing.

(3) Like Theodore Bilbo of Mississippi, W. Lee O'Daniel of Texas, and Jimmie Davis of Louisiana, Thompson effectively used gospel and country music in his political campaigns.

(4) When Thompson ran for governor of Georgia in 1974, he found himself as opposed as much by many of his fellow Republicans as the Democrats, who had coalesced behind George D. Busbee.

(5) Though he was called "Machine Gun" Ronnie and did not object to the epithet, there is no evidence that Thompson actually ever handled a machine gun.

Ronald John Thompson, known as Ronnie Thompson or 'Machine Gun Ronnie' Thompson (born July 21, 1934), is a former Georgia Republican politician who was the first member of his party to have been elected mayor of Macon, the seat of Bibb County in central Georgia. Thompson served two controversial terms from 1967-1975. He is also a former gospel and country music singer known for his highly conservative views on issues.

In 1972, Thompson was a Republican candidate for the United States House of Representatives, but he was defeated by the Democratic incumbent W.S. Stuckey, Jr.. In the 1974 gubernatorial election, as his party's nominee, Thompson was trounced by Democrat George D. Busbee. A populist in political philosophy, Thompson was often at odds with his state and national moderate Republican leadership.

Buddy Kelly Moore, who completed a master of arts thesis on Thompson's career in 1976 at Georgia College & State University, opined that Thompson "shocked and fascinated observers with hard-line approaches to law-and-order, municipal unionism, and race relations." Moore defined Thompson's career in terms of a "predilection for the flamboyant." Unconventional author Will D. Campbell called Thompson "a harbinger of the New Right", a movement which emerged in the late 1970s to help to elect Republican Ronald W. Reagan of California as U.S. President.