Once fierce Georgia rivals could be teammates in Donald Trump's second term

Today’s newsletter highlights include:

Georgia House Democrats elect new leader.
New documentary features Georgia abortion clinic.
Congressional Black Caucus discusses Nikema Williams.

Republicans Doug Collins and Kelly Loeffler were archrivals during Georgia’s 2020 special U.S. Senate election. Now there’s a chance they’ll be on the same team in President-elect Donald Trump’s second administration.

Trump has tapped Loeffler to co-chair his inaugural committee, often a steppingstone to a bigger post. (Trump made the other co-chair, Steve Witkoff, his Middle East envoy earlier this week.)

And Collins is Trump’s pick to oversee the nation’s veterans administration.

Back in 2020, Collins, then a congressman, and Loeffler, whom Gov. Brian Kemp had appointed to the Senate, were bruising enemies during that special election for the seat that Republican Johnny Isakson gave up. Their legendary scraps included fights over who was more conservative, accusations of insider trading and even a clash over Loeffler’s choice of wall paintings.

Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC

Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC

Trump, of course, wound up endorsing neither of them as the campaign intensified. Loeffler edged out Collins for a spot in the runoff against Democrat Raphael Warnock, who bested her in the January 2021 vote.

Since then, both have worked for Trump’s comeback bid in different ways. Loeffler was one of his biggest donors and her organization, Greater Georgia, helped mobilize GOP voters. Collins was a fixture on the campaign trail, too, and a frequent media presence.

The tensions have inevitably eased since the 2020 race. During some of Trump’s Georgia rallies, campaign staffers even scheduled Loeffler and Collins to speak back-to-back.

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Credit: Carlos Osorio/AP

GOOD MORNING! Georgia’s legislative session starts in 59 days. Here are four things to know for today:

A U.S. Justice Department investigation found what it called “abhorrent, unconstitutional” conditions in the Fulton County jail, the AJC’s Tamar Hallerman and Danny Robbins report.
How will President-elect Donald Trump’s administration impact Georgia’s debate on whether to expand its Medicaid program? Georgia health leaders call it “unknown territory,” the AJC’s Michelle Baruchman reports.
Trump has selected former rival Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. Stay with the AJC for news on all of the new administration’s nominees.
Trump’s win will reshape Georgia’s 2026 statewide elections, Greg Bluestein writes.

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Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

MISSING VOTERS. A big fear from Democrats leading up to the presidential election was Black voters — especially Black men — crossing over and voting Republican.

But a new analysis from Emory political science professor Bernard Fraga shows their worries might have been misplaced. He says instead of voting Republican, many Black voters didn’t vote at all.

Across most racial groups, the turnout rate increased this year compared to 2020. The only exception was Black voters, whose percentage fell to 58.3% from 60.2%.

“The entire state shifted to the right. But part of that shift might have also been lower Black turnout,” he said.

A note about Fraga’s numbers: he is comparing the number of people who voted with the number of adults who were eligible to vote but didn’t, including people who were not registered. He views registration as a choice and an important part of the voting process.

He’s also making an educated guess on about 500,000 people who voted this year but did not list their race on the voter file.

Fraga cautions from jumping to too many conclusions. For one thing, he said it’s impossible to know what Black voter turnout would have been had Joe Biden not withdrawn from the race.

But it’s interesting to ponder what might have happened had the turnout rates been more equal across racial and ethnic groups.

“These are the kinds of questions and things academics and legal scholars and others will be investigating for years to come,” he said.

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Credit: Rahul Bali/WABE via AP

NEW LEADER. The fourth time was the charm for state Rep. Carolyn Hugley.

The Columbus Democrat had tried and failed three times before to lead the Georgia House Democratic Caucus. On Thursday, her colleagues elevated her to minority leader for the first time, the AJC’s Mark Niesse reports.

Hugley replaces state Rep. James Beverly, D-Macon, who faced harassment allegations that he denies and an investigation earlier this year did not substantiate.

Rep. Tanya F. Miller of Atlanta won the minority caucus chair, ousting state Rep. Billy Mitchell of Stone Mountain. And Democrats reelected Sam Park of Lawrenceville as minority whip. He held off a challenge from state Rep. Jasmine Clark of Lilburn.

Also elected:

Rep. Spencer Frye of Athens as minority caucus vice-chair.
Rep. Park Cannon of Atlanta as minority caucus secretary.
Rep. Solomon Adesanya of Marietta as minority caucus treasurer.
Rep. Saira Draper of Atlanta as minority caucus chief deputy whip.

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Credit: Courtesy photo

ASPIRATIONAL. Gabriel Sanchez got elected to the Georgia House of Representatives this year as a Democrat. But there’s another word after his name that has gotten more attention: socialist.

The son of Colombian immigrants was endorsed by the Atlanta Democratic Socialists of America. He surprised people earlier this year in the Democratic primary when he defeated incumbent state Rep. Teri Anulewicz in a Smyrna-based House district. He’ll be one of 22 new lawmakers in the state Legislature next year.

Sanchez mostly grew up in Marietta, but two things shaped his life. First, his father lost his business in the recession of the late 2000s and moved the family to a cramped apartment in Miami.

“It really taught me a lot about, you know, how, even if you do everything right, you can still be screwed over,” he said.

Second, he was attending Dr. Michael M. Krop Senior High School in Miami when a fellow student, Trayvon Martin, was shot and killed — one of many tragic incidents that have launched a reckoning about race in the past decade plus.

“It was a very big moment for me growing up, and, you know, part of my development into the politics that I have,” he said.

He wants to legalize rent control. He wants to raise the minimum wage to $20 per hour. He wants to repeal Georgia’s “right to work” law that allows workers to not join or pay fees to a labor union.

Sanchez calls those bills “aspirational” because he knows they have zero chance of passing a Republican-controlled Legislature. But he said he’s not just here to make noise.

“I’m also obviously willing to work with people on other kinds of bills that can have some bipartisan support,” he said. “I’m looking into doing more research around different policies that can work around that.”

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ABORTION DOCUMENTARY. “The Devil is Busy,” a new documentary about an Atlanta abortion clinic, will show tonight and Saturday during the Doc NYC film festival.

The film, whose executive producers include former CNN anchor Soledad O’Brien, follows the clinic’s director of operations as she seeks to safeguard staff and patients. It also includes a juxtaposition of faith: a security guard who begins each shift with a prayer of protection and protestors who are also praying for God’s judgment, according to O’Brien.

“It’s emotional, honest and complicated,” O’Brien posted on X.

Georgia has been a lightning rod for the abortion debate in the U.S. The Republican-controlled Legislature banned abortions once fetal cardiac activity is detected. The deaths of two Georgia women from complications after abortions played a prominent role in Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign.

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Credit: Steve Schaefer/AJC

LISTEN UP. Today on “Politically Georgia,” state Senate Majority Leader Steve Gooch, R-Dahlonega, and newly elected Minority Leader Harold Jones II, D-Augusta, talk about their leadership roles in the upcoming legislative session.

Be sure to download the AJC’s Politically Georgia podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. 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. Have a question for the show? Give us a call at 770-810-5297.

On Thursday’s show, state Sen. Brandon Beach, R-Alpharetta, talked about Georgians who could join President-elect Donald Trump’s administration. Then, state Rep. Teri Anulewicz, D-Smyrna, discussed what she thinks Democrats got right and wrong in 2024.

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Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

DEMOCRATS’ DRAMA. The ongoing debate over whether U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams of Atlanta should remain as chairwoman of the Democratic Party of Georgia has caught the attention of her fellow members of the Congressional Black Caucus.

During the group’s weekly meeting, caucus members discussed reports that Georgia U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff urged Williams to quit her post after Vice President Kamala Harris failed to win the state. Williams later recapped their conversation in text messages to allies that the AJC obtained. Ossoff hasn’t commented publicly.

Our sources tell us that some of the Black Caucus members in the meeting are concerned about the optics of Ossoff, a white man, coming across as trying to force out Williams, a Black woman. But Williams herself was not at the meeting, leaving her colleagues with more questions than answers on where she stands and what, if any, support she needs. We’re told the caucus may have a more in-depth discussion on the matter at next week’s meeting.

However, public support for Williams among Black elected officials in Georgia remains sparse. Five other members of Georgia’s congressional delegation are also members of the Congressional Black Caucus. None of them have publicly said they believe she should remain chairwoman of the state party.

Georgia Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock has labeled the entire matter a “distraction” without saying how he thinks it should play out.

“Our focus at this point has to be on winning in 2026, and I’m singularly focused on that,” he said Thursday. “I have every confidence that the leaders of our party will get this resolved.”

Other Black leaders, including two-time Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, have notably stayed out of the back-and-forth. And a range of donors, activists and elected officials has called for Williams to resign.

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Credit: Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP

TODAY IN WASHINGTON:

President Joe Biden is in Lima, Peru, for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit with other world leaders. He has meetings scheduled with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Peruvian President Dina Boluarte.
The U.S. House will vote this morning on legislation related to the form students file to obtain financial aid for college.
The Senate is done for the week.

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Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC

SHOUTOUTS. Today’s birthdays:

State Sen. Sheikh Rahman, D-Lawrenceville.
U.S. Rep. Drew Ferguson, R-The Rock.
Tom Gehl, state Capitol regular and founder of Civic Forward Strategies.

Transitions:

Holly J. Henderson is now the director of external affairs and compliance for Southern Linc, the wireless subsidiary of Southern Company. She had previously been manager of regulatory affairs for Gulf Power in Florida. She’s celebrating her wedding anniversary on Saturday with Jeff Finger, a recovering politico and congressional staffer with stints in Washington and Georgia.

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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