How an Electric Truck Factory Became a Lightning Rod in Georgia

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It is billed as the largest economic development project in the history of Georgia, an electric vehicle factory that could grow to be five times as large as the Pentagon and produce as many as 400,000 emissions-free trucks a year.

The factory, to be built by the upstart electric automaker Rivian, is being heralded by many as a transformational $5 billion investment that will invigorate the local economy with 7,500 new green jobs and help accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels and toward clean energy.

It has also created an unlikely pairing, uniting Rivian, a California company committed to combating climate change, and Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, in a bid to bring electric vehicle production into an area where gas-guzzling pickups rule the road.

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But in recent months, the project has gotten tangled in the kind of partisan politics that is pulsing through many aspects of American life. Opponents have been holding rallies, organizing online, dabbling in conspiracy theories and even threatening local officials.

Opponents cite a range of concerns. Some fear the factory will contaminate the groundwater. Others disapprove of the lucrative public incentives being offered to Rivian. Many worry the huge facility will change the area’s bucolic character, increasing light pollution, snarling traffic and spurring more development.

And now, the movement to stop the Rivian plant has spilled into the Georgia governor’s race.

Opponents have turned their ire on Governor Kemp, who is up for re-election this year, and found a sympathetic ally in former Senator David Perdue, who is challenging Governor Kemp in the Republican primary.

“We can grow the economy without selling out and giving our tax dollars to people like George Soros,” Mr. Perdue said to cheers. “We can invest in rural Georgia without kicking our communities to the curb.”

Representatives for Governor Kemp and Rivian said they were sensitive to the community’s concerns and that the selection of the site and the creation of the incentive package had all been done properly.

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