On Thursday, Josh McLaurin and the Republican Party of Georgia entered into a formal, signed agreement, establishing that the latter would stop lying about the former.
McLaurin is the Democratic candidate for House District 51, a seat being vacated by Wendell Willard, R-Sandy Springs. The Republican in the contest is Alex Kaufman.
The district is one of several state legislative seats in north Metro Atlanta considered ripe for flipping – hence a fierce defense by Republicans, who have challenged McLaurin’s candidacy since he qualified this spring.
In April, an administrative law judge wouldn't buy accusations that McLaurin, an attorney, hadn't lived long enough in the district. On May 18, Secretary of State Brian Kemp – yes, that Brian Kemp – put his signature to an order ensuring McLaurin's spot on the May 22 primary ballot.
Nonetheless, Republicans appealed. And in October, portrayed that appeal as a “criminal investigation” in a series of three mailers paid for by the Republican Party of Georgia. McLaurin filed a libel suit in Fulton County Superior Court on Oct. 16.
Normally, these things take months, if not years, to reach a conclusion. This one took two weeks. The Georgia GOP admitted no wrongdoing, but promised not to do it again.
McLaurin’s lawyer was Stacey Evans, the former Democratic candidate for governor. This morning, we asked why she and McLaurin had chosen this legal route, and why Republicans had folded. Her texted reply:
"We got what we wanted – a guarantee of the truth going forward, not just in the campaign, but for Josh going forward in life. He's not just a legislative hopeful, but also an attorney with a long career ahead of him.
"From the GOP's perspective, I can only speculate as to why they settled so quickly, but I believe they knew there was no criminal investigation. And it would be difficult to explain to a judge…"
In other words, judges have a good feeling for what a criminal investigation actually looks like. Maybe it’s an instinct picked up in law school.
I would add one more observation. If you scan the settlement, which we offer here and below, you will find that one of the signatures at the bottom belongs to John Watson, the chairman of the Georgia GOP.
Watson was elected chairman in 2017, in part on a pledge to put an end to a lingering racial discrimination lawsuit filed during the term of his predecessor, John Padgett. The party paid out more than $500,000 to Qiana Keith, the former staffer involved, and her attorneys. Figure in the GOP’s own expenses, and the cost comes to roughly $1 million.
It’s tremendously difficult to seek contributions from donors who are afraid that their dollars will be used merely to mop up someone else’s mess. The settlement:
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People who look at politics like a bug in a bottle have an excellent opportunity to conduct an experiment over the next three days. The question: "Who is the more radioactive – Barack Obama or Donald Trump."
Former President Obama appears on the Morehouse College campus this afternoon, on behalf of Stacey Abrams, the Democratic candidate for governor. Current President Trump will have an airport rally (a good way to avoid protesters) on Sunday evening, to boost Republican rival Brian Kemp. The key thing to watch: Who's willing to be seen with whom.
Long ago, when Democrats ruled Georgia, they would often duck presidential visits. The onus may now be on Republicans. The Perdue cousins, Sonny and David, almost certainly will be there. But will Karen Handel or Rob Woodall, whose congressional districts are under siege, make the drive to Macon? Gov. Nathan Deal has campaigned with Kemp, but does he want to be seen side-by-side with Trump?
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UGA's top weather guru, Marshall Shepherd, has posted an Election Day forecast for the entire nation on his Forbes blog. Look for rain across the South.
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Daylight saving ends on Sunday, which will give you an extra hour of sleep. Use it. The 48 hours that follow could be exhausting.
By now, you've probably seen the final AJC/WSB-TV poll that has Democrat Stacey Abrams and Republican Brian Kemp whisker-close in the race for governor.
Both candidates swear they’re not actively preparing for an unprecedented runoff. Their bank accounts suggest otherwise.
Our AJC financial guru James Salzer reports that only about $233,000 of Brian Kemp's $21 million cash haul and $152,000 of Stacey Abrams' take are formally designated for a runoff.
But the two reporting having a combined $8 million left in their campaigns through Oct. 25 - a massive trove that’s sure to grow. The candidates are still actively raising cash through the last stretch.
That money could come in handy if neither candidate reaches the majority-vote needed to win the race outright. The poll released Thursday by the AJC and Channel 2 Action News was the latest to raise that possibility.
But, as we’ve noted before, keep in mind that the cash could become even more important for Kemp. That’s because Gov. Nathan Deal called for a special session the week after the election, and as a constitutional officer, Kemp can’t raise campaign cash once lawmakers have convened.
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The increasingly fierce fights over two metro Atlanta congressional seats have now jumped from television screens to the radio, including online streaming sites like Pandora. (Is nowhere safe these days?)
The House GOP's campaign arm is up with a new get-out-the-vote ad on Atlanta-area radio stations. The spot, which is running in roughly a dozen other media markets nationwide, does not mention specific candidates but is presumably an attempt to bolster turnout for U.S. Reps. Rob Woodall and Karen Handel.
“Democrats will blindly follow the Pelosi agenda,” the narrator states in the minute-long ad. “Higher taxes. Government-run health care. Even impeaching the President and members of the Supreme Court. Only Republicans can stop them. Only you can stop Nancy Pelosi.”
The National Republican Congressional Campaign Committee recently entered the Sixth District race, spending roughly $1.4 million on broadcast television ads to back up U.S. Rep. Karen Handel.
It has not made any major investments in the nearby Seventh District contest, which has made some Republican insiders privately nervous due to Woodall's low-key style and his Democratic opponent's relatively strong fundraising.
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Democrats have recently been up on the radio with an anti-Karen Handel ad of their own. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's minute-long spot argues the Republican "hasn't wasted any time selling out Georgia families to insurance companies" for her support of the GOP's Obamacare repeal bill and accepting corporate donations from health care companies.
The DCCC recently spent about $133,000 underwriting the ad. It has also taken on a more behind-the-scenes role in aiding Lucy McBath, Handel's Democratic opponent. Beyond providing fundraising and organizational help to the campaign, it pitched in to help McBath run an introductory ad on broadcast television early last month, according to a DCCC aide, financed mailers targeting base voters in the district and sent cash to the state party.
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