Today’s newsletter highlights:
- Georgia House budget includes money for foster care shortfall.
- Chris Carr’s fundraising haul includes some big-name donors.
- Former state Rep. Terry England recovering after heavy machinery accident.
State Sen. Jason Esteves might not yet be a household name in Georgia politics, but you could be hearing plenty more about him over the next year.
The Atlanta Democrat is taking steps to prepare a campaign for governor in 2026. He’s lined up advisers, consulted with senior Democrats and set up meetings with activists and donors about a potential bid.
Esteves is staying mum for now about his plans, but his discussions are such an open secret that we regularly get calls about them. Even some Republicans are in the know.
“He is far and away the most electable of the potential Democratic candidates who have been mentioned,” said Jay Morgan, a former Georgia GOP executive director and well-connected lobbyist who has been briefed on the Democrat’s plans.
He said Esteves has all the positive attributes that made two-time gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams a national figure but “without the guile.”
Esteves won his Georgia Senate seat in 2022 after spending nine years on the board of education of Atlanta Public Schools, including as chair from 2018-2021. He’s a steadfast supporter of abortion rights and Medicaid expansion and has become a go-to expert in the chamber on education measures.
He could be a wild card in an unsettled field to succeed Gov. Brian Kemp. While the Republican race seems likely to revolve around a matchup between Attorney General Chris Carr and Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, Democrats are far more uncertain.
Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and ex-DeKalb chief executive Michael Thurmond are kicking the tires on a run. U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, D-Marietta, could also jump in, and Abrams hasn’t ruled out a third shot.
Expect Esteves to work to raise his profile.
Today, he plans to renew his calls to update the state’s decades-old school funding formula and push back on President Donald Trump’s vow to eliminate the federal Department of Education.
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Credit: Ben Curtis/AP
Credit: Ben Curtis/AP
GOOD MORNING! We’re 53 calendar days away from Sine Die. Here are three things to know for today:
- The Trump administration announced major cuts to biomedical research funding, capping administrative costs such as lab space and some personnel expenses. Atlanta’s Emory University will take the biggest hit in Georgia. The school said its funding is expected to decrease $140 million, the AJC’s Ariel Hart and J. Scott Trubey report.
- A bill in the Georgia Legislature would grant broad immunity to carpet companies and municipalities accused of tainting the public water supply with the toxic “forever chemicals” known as PFAS, the AJC’s Dylan Jackson reports.
- U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s subcommittee of the Department of Government Efficiency will hold its first hearing this week, and it won’t target Social Security or Medicare benefits, Greg Bluestein reports.
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Credit: Georgia House of Representatives
Credit: Georgia House of Representatives
NO HOTELS. Georgia, like other states, has seen a big increase in the number of children entering its foster care system — and it’s getting harder to find them a place to call home.
Georgia has more than 15,600 kids in foster care on any given day. In 2022, as many as 90 kids per day were living in hotels. Last year, the state reduced that number to seven.
State lawmakers want to protect that progress. But it will be expensive. The state Division of Family and Children Services has a projected $44 million deficit in its out-of-home care programs, mostly because it is in a “uniquely bad position” when it comes to federal funding, Department of Human Services Commissioner Candice L. Broce told lawmakers last month.
Deficits are difficult for any state agency, but they’re especially troublesome for foster care services because, as Broce put it, “we cannot unhouse or unserve children to get out of the red.”
House lawmakers are proposing to meet the agency halfway. The budget they passed last week includes an extra $22 million for the agency, or half of what they asked.
“Forty-four (million) would be a lot for us just to drop in there,” said state Rep. Katie Dempsey, R-Rome and chair of the budget subcommittee that oversees the foster care system. “We’re going to start and see what we can do. Hopefully, we’ll get them there.”
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Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
GREENE ON GAZA. U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump’s “America First” doctrine with a long record of outspoken opposition to military aid for Ukraine and other foreign conflicts.
But she struck a more cautious tone when asked at a “Politically Georgia” live event in Washington about Trump’s proposal last week to take charge of postwar Gaza and resettle millions of Palestinian residents.
“As a member of Congress, I have disagreed with my own side of the aisle many times. A lot of people think I just argue with Democrats, I also argue with my own Republicans, especially when it comes to foreign wars,” she said.
Still, the Rome Republican didn’t rule out supporting a U.S. military intervention or foreign aid to back Trump’s plan to “take over” Gaza. The proposal has sparked global confusion and backlash, and some critics compare it to state-sponsored ethnic cleansing.
“We have troops all over the world, so it’s hard to say I would be opposed to troops being there. No, I’m not saying that. And I do support Israel and support peace in the Middle East,” she said.
“But I really believe our military needs to be focused on defending our border, and that’s what this administration has taken a big effort to do.”
***
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
CARR’S CASH. A few weeks ago, we told you of Attorney General Chris Carr’s 40-day scramble that raised roughly $2.2 million for his GOP gubernatorial bid.
The fundraising head start is one reason Carr entered the race so early — his mid-November launch caught even devoted supporters off guard — as he prepares to face Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, a wealthy executive who is expected to join the race within months.
Carr disclosed the details of the report over the weekend, giving us a chance to dive deep. Some of his contributors also helped fund the gubernatorial campaigns of Nathan Deal and Brian Kemp. They include railroad executives Ben and Charles Tarbutton; the Wilheit family of Gainesville and liquor magnate Jay Davis.
Other notable donors include former U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss, former Georgia Supreme Court Justice Keith Blackwell, developer Jim Borders, former Georgia Power CEO Paul Bowers and ex-Home Depot chief executive Bob Nardelli.
Carr also tapped into his deep ties to the family of the late Georgia Republican U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, his political mentor. Both Carr and his wife, Joan Kirchner Carr, served as top aides to Isakson and remain close to his network. Isakson’s widow, Dianne, and several relatives contributed to Carr’s campaign.
***
Credit: Alex Brandon/AP
Credit: Alex Brandon/AP
JONES JACKPOT. Lt. Gov. Burt Jones disclosed his fundraising details over the weekend, reporting that he raised more than $2 million over the last seven months for his current office.
Much of that was for his “leadership committee,” a fundraising tool created by a GOP-backed law in 2021 that allows a few officeholders and candidates, including Jones, to raise unlimited funds — even during the session, when state officials are otherwise barred.
***
Credit: Bob Andres/AJC
Credit: Bob Andres/AJC
LEVEL PLAYING FIELD. State Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver was one of the best swimmers and divers in Georgia before arriving at Vanderbilt University in the mid 1960s. But there wasn’t a team for her to join at the Tennessee school.
“I was offered to join the synchronized swimming team,” said Oliver, a Decatur Democrat.
This was before Title IX, the federal law that bans sex discrimination in most school sports. Nowadays, women have ample opportunities to play school sports at all levels. But that doesn’t mean those opportunities are equal.
State Sen. Kim Jackson’s high school career was filled with basketball, tennis and the shot put and discus. In college, she played team handball — competing for the US team in the 2005 Pan American Junior Games.
“I think people thought Title IX was passed, so all is well, never realizing if they walked in a boys locker room, it was markedly different than a girls locker room — and we’re not talking about cleanliness,” said Jackson, D-Stone Mountain.
Jackson and Oliver are backing two bills in the Legislature, Senate Bill 41 and House Bill 221, that would push for schools to have equal funding for girls and boys sports. Students could sue to force compliance.
The bill is their answer, of sorts, to Republicans’ push to ban transgender athletes from women’s high school and college sports in Georgia.
“We need to move forward on girls’ sports and not focus on this invisible trans issue,” Oliver said.
***
Credit: Adam Beam/AJC
Credit: Adam Beam/AJC
UNDER THE GOLD DOME. It’s the 14th day of the legislative session. Some happenings:
- 10 a.m.: Senate convenes. Four bills are eligible for a vote, including Senate Bill 23, which would let the Employees’ Retirement System of Georgia put more money into alternative investments.
- 12:30 p.m.: Sen. Jason Esteves and Rep. Phil Olaleye, both Atlanta Democrats, hold a news conference to announce legislation to increase public education funding for students in living poverty.
- 1 p.m.: House convenes.
- 1:45 p.m.: House Ways and Means Public Finance and Local Policy Subcommittee will discuss House Bill 79, which would offer a tax credit for gun storage devices.
- 2 p.m.: House Health Committee meets to discuss House Bill 218, which would lower the age from 50 to 18 for when hospitals must offer the flu vaccine before discharging patients.
***
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
LISTEN UP. Today on “Politically Georgia,” state Sen. Greg Dolezal joins the show to discuss Senate Bill 1, which would ban transgender athletes from competing against girls and women in high school and college sports. Then, you’ll hear a recording from Thursday’s live event in Washington with Howard University Professor Keneshia Grant and Johns Hopkins Professor Minkah Makalani.
Be sure to download the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Have a question for the show? Give us a call at 770-810-5297. Episodes are uploaded by noon each day, just in time to have lunch with us. You can also listen live at 10 a.m. EDT on 90.1 FM WABE.
On Friday’s show, U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Rome, and Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins, a former Georgia congressman, were guests at our special event in Washington. Plus, CNN’s Dana Bash and Kasie Hunt along with NPR’s Ayesha Rascoe talked about covering President Donald Trump’s second term.
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TODAY IN WASHINGTON:
- President Donald Trump said he will announce a new 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports.
- The U.S. House returns for evening votes.
- The Senate will work through more confirmation votes for Trump nominees.
***
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
RECOVERING. We’re wishing a full and speedy recovery to former state Rep. Terry England, who was seriously injured in a heavy machinery accident on his farm in Barrow County on Saturday morning.
England retired from the House in 2023, but returned shortly after that to become chief of staff for House Speaker Jon Burns. We’re told England is on the mend after a successful surgery.
“He is currently receiving treatment from an incredible team of doctors and medical professionals,” Burns wrote on X. “Dayle and I ask everyone to join us in lifting up Terry, Mrs. Cindy, all of his family and loved ones, and his doctors in prayer during this time.”
***
Credit: Curtis Compton/AJC
Credit: Curtis Compton/AJC
SHOUTOUTS. Today’s birthday:
- State Rep. Yasmin Neal, D-Jonesboro.
Belated birthdays:
- Attorney General Chris Carr (was Saturday)
- State Sen. Nikki Merritt, D-Grayson (was Sunday)
- State Rep. Trey Rhodes, R-Greensboro (was Sunday)
Want a birthday shoutout in the Politically Georgia newsletter? There’s a form for that! Click here to submit the shoutouts. It’s not just birthdays. We’re also interested in new jobs, engagements, birth announcements, etc.
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AS ALWAYS, send your best scoops, gossip and insider info to greg.bluestein@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com, patricia.murphy@ajc.com and adam.beam@ajc.com.
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