Two Republican rivals for a north Georgia Senate seat sent out dueling press releases this week over one of the strangest tiffs we’ve seen in state politics lately.
The spat could help dictate the outcome of a bitter race between Drew Echols, the owner of Jaemor Farms, and Josh Clark, a former state legislator who ran for U.S. Senate in 2022.
It started when Echols, who is competing for the seat now held by his wife, Shelly, said one of his friends rented Clark’s property in Flowery Branch last week and invited Echols to the house.
He said a look around the house, where he found bare drawers and an empty fridge, confirmed his suspicion that Clark didn’t live there but rented it out.
“If Josh Clark can’t tell the truth about where he actually lives, what else is he hiding?” Echols said.
Clark said he was insulted by the claim and that he and his family have lived in the home for five years but rent it out occasionally to help cover property taxes and other bills.
His children attend a Christian school in the district, his family worships at a local church and he exercises at a nearby CrossFit gym. He called Echols’ visit to his property “childish and alarming.”
“The reality is that he’s desperate enough to snoop around our house while I’m out knocking on doors,” Clark said.
In a press release, Clark took it a step further, saying he could report it to authorities “once we have more information.” In a burst of hyperbole, he dubbed the incident “Watergate 2.0.”
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GOP REBUKES MTG. Without any advance warning, U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R- Rome, moved forward Wednesday with forcing a vote on whether Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., should be removed from his leadership role.
And just as quickly, her effort was rejected as a bipartisan group of lawmakers voted to table her motion to vacate.
U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, D-Atlanta, was the only other Georgia lawmaker to vote against the motion to table. The vote was 359-43. Greene and 10 other Republicans, along with Williams and 31 other Democrats, voted to push forward with removing Johnson.
Greene’s grievances with Johnson are well documented. And in olden days, most Democrats also would not have supported a leader of the opposing party. But this time was different, as Democrats said they were willing to support Johnson to avoid the chaos and uncertainty that would be created if the speaker was removed.
During a vacancy, the House can conduct no business.
Williams in a statement said she couldn’t back Johnson because of concerns he would attempt to overturn the 2024 election results if Donald Trump is not declared the winner.
“Speaker Mike Johnson has made it clear that he is more interested in the political games orchestrated by our failed former president than leading on behalf of the American people,” Williams said.
Credit: Kenny Holston/The New York Times
Credit: Kenny Holston/The New York Times
While Greene did her customary huddle with the media after votes were completed for the day, more than a dozen GOP lawmakers stood nearby giving their own interviews. They had little nice to say about the Rome Republican who angered them by forcing the vote on the motion to vacate knowing it would fail.
Most of them accused her of grandstanding and having no interest in the actual work of running the federal government. Rep. John Rutherford, a Florida Republican, read aloud a quote from a recent interview that Greene gave to far-right podcaster Steve Bannon where she said GOP pushback would only result in her raising more money from supporters.
“They don’t want to govern; they just want to blow stuff up and go out and get clicks, cash and national profile,” he said.
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Credit: Nell Carroll for the AJC
Credit: Nell Carroll for the AJC
TWEET TROUBLE. A social media post by U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, R-Jackson, where he appeared to compare recent health news about Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to his father’s and uncle’s untimely deaths drew swift and widespread criticism Wednesday.
Collins’ tweet was a response to reports by The New York Times about Robert Kennedy’s testimony in a 2012 deposition about memory loss that he was experiencing at the time. Kennedy said that a doctor told him scans showed the issue “was caused by a worm that got into my brain and ate a portion of it and then died.”
Kennedy is running for president as an independent, and some fear he is drawing support away from former President Donald Trump. Collins is a surrogate for Trump.
“You either die a Kennedy with a hole in the brain or live long enough to become a Kennedy with a hole in the brain,” he wrote on X.
Credit: New York Times
Credit: New York Times
Both President John F. Kennedy and his brother, Robert F. Kennedy Sr., were assassinated, and their wounds included gunshots to their heads.
A spokeswoman for Collins said the post is a reference to a famous line from the movie “Batman: The Dark Knight”: “You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.”
The spokeswoman did not explain why Collins replaced the words in the quote with what appeared to be direct references to the deaths of Kennedy Jr.’s father and uncle.
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Credit: Elijah Nouvelage for the AJC
Credit: Elijah Nouvelage for the AJC
STAY LIT. On a lighter note, if the Democrats among you have been looking for that perfect mother’s day gift, the “Official Fani Store” may have what you’re looking for.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani is up for reelection this year and like many candidates has an online store with campaign T-shirts, stickers, and such. But the internet has noticed Willis’ campaign also has some offerings you won’t get anywhere else, like “Change is Fire, Stay Lit” candles, “Oh My Grind” Fani Willis coffee, and of course, a Fani pack.
All purchases on the site are recorded as contributions to Willis’ 2024 campaign. But that’s not the case with multiple other internet shops selling Willis merchandise without the DA’s consent or involvement. Products include “In Fani Willis we trust” bedsheets, “”Man is not a Plan” T-shirts, and even “Fani Willis ‘24″ gear that is not connected to her reelection campaign at all.
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Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
LOEFFLER MOVES. Former U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler seems more involved in Georgia politics these days than some Republican candidates or committee chairs, and she’s not on a ballot anywhere.
The latest example is the “New Conservative Coalition,” which a Loeffler spokeswoman describes as “a coalition of partner organizations under the umbrella of Greater Georgia to mobilize diverse communities in 2024: black, Hispanic, Asian.”
The coalition has been organizing events, roundtables, and “fireside chats” with minority groups since the beginning of the year. An invitation forwarded by a tipster invites supporters to a “New Conservative Coalition Happy Hour with Leo Terrell,” next week.
Loeffler and Terrell, a Fox News commentator, will discuss growing the conservative movement in the evening and then travel the next day to Columbus for the Georgia GOP Convention. There they will hold another “fireside chat” with GOP activists about engaging black voters in 2024.
We don’t recommend sitting too close to a fire in Columbus in late May, which can already feel swampy by then. But we do recommend keeping an eye on Loeffler’s future electoral prospects for one of Georgia’ statewide contests in 2026. As our tipster noted of the highly engaged, deep-pocketed Loeffler: “Nobody does this who isn’t running for something.”
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Credit: AJC
Credit: AJC
JIMMY VOTES. Former President Jimmy Carter recently cast a mail-in ballot for the May primary election, grandson Jason Carter said Wednesday on The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s “Monica Pearson Show.”
“He’s not going to miss an election,” the younger Carter said of his 99-year-old grandfather. “It’s important to him. I mean, that’s the person he is.”
Carter entered home hospice care just over a year ago. He’s since mourned the loss of his wife, former first lady Rosalynn Carter, who passed away in November at age 96, the AJC’s Taylor Croft reports.
“When she passed, it was really hard for him,” Jason Carter told Pearson. “He had this opportunity to say goodbye, and after that, he was just totally at peace with it, and it was an incredible thing — after 77 years of marriage — to watch that type of closure.”
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Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
LISTEN UP. Today on the “Politically Georgia” radio show, state Sen. Harold Jones II, D-Augusta, talks about sitting on the committee investigating District Attorney Fani Willis. And the AJC’s Mark Niesse discusses the impact of the new election law signed by Gov. Brian Kemp.
Listen live at 10 a.m. on 90.1 FM, at AJC.com and at WABE.org.
In case you missed it on Wednesday, Republican strategist Alice Stewart joined Wendy Davis, a Georgia delegate for this year’s Democratic National Convention, to talk about the presidential contest, campus protests and other political news of the day.
And the AJC’s Tamar Hallerman gave reaction to the breaking news that a Georgia appeals court had agreed to review former President Donald Trump’s challenge of the ruling that allows Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to remain on his case
Listen at Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
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HEAR YE, HEAR YE! President Joe Biden announced Wednesday plans to nominate U.S. Magistrate Judge Embry J. Kidd to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, the AJC’s Rosie Manins reports.
It is Biden’s second judicial selection for the court and follows the confirmation of Judge Nancy G. Abudu last year.
Kidd would replace Judge Charles R. Wilson, who was appointed to the court in 1999 by then-President Bill Clinton. Wilson said in January he planned to vacate the bench upon his successor’s confirmation by the U.S. Senate.
The 11th Circuit of Appeals hears federal cases from Georgia, Florida and Alabama. Kidd has been a federal magistrate judge in Florida since 2019.
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Credit: Miguel Martinez
Credit: Miguel Martinez
BIDEN BACKER. Another Home Depot co-founder is hosting a high-dollar fundraiser for a presidential candidate. This time it’s Arthur Blank, who will welcome President Joe Biden for a reception on May 18, the eve of the Democrat’s commencement speech at Morehouse College.
Blank started the home improvement store company in 1978 with Bernie Marcus, a mega-donor for former President Donald Trump. Marcus last hosted a Trump fundraiser in April.
Blank now owns the Atlanta Falcons and the Atlanta United and operates Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
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Credit: TNS
Credit: TNS
TODAY IN WASHINGTON:
- President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris hold a celebration at the White House for the 2023 WNBA champions, the Las Vegas Aces.
- The Senate continues working on its legislation to reauthorize federal aviation laws but is also expected to approve a short-term extension of the current law, which expires Friday.
- The House is done for the week.
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Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
PHOTO OF THE DAY. We’re shaking up the bottom of the newsletter today with a photo of the day of a politico from around our fair state.
Today’s winner comes from AJC photographer Natrice Miller, who got this snap of first lady Marty Kemp giving a tour of the chicken coop on the grounds of the Governor’s Mansion Thursday to pre-K students from Heards Ferry Elementary School.
These lucky students got time with the first lady — not just her chickens. She joined them for a book reading with former University of Georgia football star Malcolm Mitchell. They read Mitchell’s new book, “A Magnificent Field Trip to the Governor’s Mansion.”
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AS ALWAYS, Politically Georgia readers are some of our favorite tipsters. Send your best scoop, gossip and insider info to greg.bluestein@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com, patricia.murphy@ajc.com and adam.vanbrimmer@ajc.com.
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