As we reported earlier this morning, Vice President Kamala Harris will soon make her first stop in Georgia since becoming the Democratic Party’s de facto nominee. She’ll hold a campaign event on Tuesday in Atlanta, per an official familiar with her schedule.
The news comes hours after President Joe Biden delivered a somber speech about his decision to withdraw from the race.
“I have decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation,” he said in a Wednesday night address from the Oval Office. “That’s the best way to unite our nation.”
Earlier Wednesday, the Harris campaign held its first event in Georgia since she became the likely nominee.
“Trump and his MAGA Republican allies were disastrous for us here in Georgia,” said state Sen. Jason Esteves, D-Atlanta, outside the state Capitol. “That’s why we will show up and show out in November to reject him at the ballot box and elect Democrats all across our county and state.”
Credit: Seeger Gray/AJC
Credit: Seeger Gray/AJC
Hours before Biden spoke, former President Donald Trump held a rally in Charlotte, North Carolina. Despite promises to unify the country during last week’s Republican National Convention, Trump delivered his familiar, combative speech, including references to his crowd sizes and the “rigged election.”
He also referred to his new opponent as “Lyin’ Kamala,” and mispronounced the vice president’s first name.
The question now on people’s minds is whether Harris’ entry into the race puts battleground states such as Georgia in play, after Biden’s struggling campaign made the contest feel like Trump’s to lose. The vice president’s visit to Atlanta says Democrats believe Georgia is back within reach.
Credit: Doug Mills/The New York Times
Credit: Doug Mills/The New York Times
Republicans, too, say the race has fundamentally changed. “This is a completely different ballgame — and the shifting dynamics will reset the race here in Georgia and across the country,” said Stephen Lawson, a GOP strategist.
Lawson said Harris’ primary challenge in Georgia will be convincing voters she has a better plan for the economy than Biden articulated— where he said Trump now has the advantage. The vice president’s visit will offer clues as to whether she can do so.
“That may ultimately be the deciding factor in the race — and in a state — that was decided by 12,000 votes just four years ago,” said Lawson.
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Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
DUNKIN’ ON DUNCAN. It didn’t take long for former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan’s fellow Republicans to tear into him for endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential bid on Wednesday’s episode of the “Politically Georgia” radio show.
Former U.S. Rep. Doug Collins slammed Duncan for backing the “most liberal senator.” Tea party activist Debbie Dooley took to X to urge allies to “peacefully protest Turncoat Geoff” at events. But some of the harshest words came from his successor, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones.
He asked whether national Democrats can “go ahead and put Geoff on payroll already? Maybe then he won’t have to keep publicly auditioning for a speaking slot at the Democratic Convention.”
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Credit: Stephen B. Morton / AJC
Credit: Stephen B. Morton / AJC
KEMP RIFT. Of all the outrage over State School Superintendent Richard Woods’ surprise decision not to fund an Advanced Placement African American Studies course for the upcoming school year, some of the sharpest came from fellow Republican Gov. Brian Kemp.
The governor sent him a letter with pointed questions about the course. The queries included asking whether there are “specific reasons” not to recommend the class.
As state education officials scramble to reassess the decision, senior state Republicans are baffled by Woods’ decision. We heard the phrase “unforced error” from at least a half-dozen GOP officials.
Credit: Bob Andres/AJC
Credit: Bob Andres/AJC
Meanwhile, a growing number of local school districts quickly decided to foot the bill on their own for the AP course. State Rep. Al Williams, D-Midway, told us that includes his home county, Liberty, located in coastal Georgia.
“We’re standing tall because all history deserves to be taught in our classrooms,” Williams said.
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Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
OSSOFF STOCK BAN. Legislation backed by U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff that would prohibit members of Congress and their family members from trading stock in individual companies passed its first committee hurdle on Wednesday.
In remarks during a U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee hearing on the bill, the Atlanta Democrat said the proposed stock trading ban is a common sense approach to addressing an ethical landmine for lawmakers.
“Georgians of all political persuasions, Americans of all political persuasions overwhelmingly agree that members of Congress should not be playing the stock market while we hold office, while we make policy that affects businesses and industries, while we have extraordinary access to privileged and confidential information,” Ossoff said.
The vote to move the bill forward received bipartisan support, but not before roughly an hour of debate where several Republicans objected to provisions that would require lawmakers and people working in the White House to sell off holdings in individual businesses once they are elected.
They unsuccessfully attempted to amend the bill to remove that language.
The origins of Ossoff’s bill go back to his Senate campaign in 2020, when his opponent, U.S. Sen. David Perdue, was accused of using information gleaned from closed Senate meetings to inform his trading decisions. Perdue said he was cleared of wrongdoing in probes conducted by the Senate Ethics Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Department of Justice.
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Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
LISTEN UP. Today on “Politically Georgia,” state Sen. Derek Mallow, D-Savannah, and Congressman Buddy Carter, R-St. Simons Island, react to President Joe Biden’s Oval Office address Wednesday night and share their viewpoints on the presidential contest.
Listen live at 10 a.m. on WABE 90.1 or follow “Politically Georgia” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
In case you missed Wednesday’s show, former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms talked about how she remains a campaign advisor now that Vice President Kamala Harris is running in place of President Joe Biden.
Also, former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan expounded on his latest opinion commentary for the AJC. The Republican said he was willing to campaign in favor of Harris in order to achieve his goal of keeping former President Donald Trump from returning to the White House.
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Credit: Katelyn Myrick/AJC
Credit: Katelyn Myrick/AJC
‘QUIET’ ELECTION. If you were among the 400 or so soggy attendees at the Politically Georgia event Monday in Savannah, you may have noticed Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in the audience. Raffensperger made the appearance following two other stops in the coastal Georgia city: one to conduct an elections system “health check” at the Chatham Board of Elections and the other to update community leaders on his ongoing quest to boost confidence in the Georgia vote.
The state’s then-newly installed election system was called into question following the 2020 election amid false claims of fraud. Raffensperger told Savannah officials the system passed Monday’s health check and that election security remains a top priority for his office, according to reporting by the Savannah Morning News.
“We want to make sure that this is a peaceful election, that it is quiet,” Raffensperger said.
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Credit: TNS
Credit: TNS
EMPTY SEATS FOR NETANYAHU. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed a joint session of Congress on Wednesday, delivering a speech that condemned pro-Palestine protests and urged the U.S. to continue providing aid. He avoided discussion of a potential ceasefire or end to the conflict.
Axios reported that about half of all congressional Democrats chose to skip the event, not wanting to give Israel’s far-right leader an audience and out of concerns for the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
“I will be boycotting Netanyahu’s speech today,” U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Lithonia, wrote on X. “Rather than working on @POTUS’ ceasefire deal that would halt the indiscriminate killing & starvation in Gaza, Netanyahu is here, again interfering in U.S. electoral politics with his support for ex-president Trump & MAGA.”
U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, D-Atlanta, also did not attend, noting on X that she chose to meet with the families of hostages instead.
But most members of Georgia’s delegation showed up, including U.S. Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, two Democrats who have both been critical of Netanyahu’s policies in Gaza. While Warnock said he felt it was important to be there for a U.S. ally and hear its leader out, he walked away from the speech disappointed.
“Listening to the prime minister today, it’s unfortunate that he leaned into American politics in the way that he did and into the culture wars in America,” Warnock, an Atlanta Democrat, said. “To suggest that every protester is somehow an anti-Semite or is against the State of Israel is not helpful to Israel, to be honest.”
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Credit: Nathan Posner for The AJC
Credit: Nathan Posner for The AJC
TODAY IN WASHINGTON:
- President Joe Biden meets at the White House with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the families of Americans held hostage by Hamas.
- Vice President Kamala Harris delivers the keynote speech at the American Federation of Teachers’ 88th national convention in Houston and in the afternoon will meet with Netanyahu.
- The House votes on a resolution condemning the Biden-Harris administration’s handling of immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border.
- U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, D-Atlanta, and other members of the Democratic Women’s Caucus hold a news conference to mark World IVF Day and push for reproductive rights.
- U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Lithonia, and Sen. Edward Markey, D-Massachusetts, hold a news conference on their legislation to expand the number of U.S. Supreme Court justices.
- The Senate holds a confirmation vote and takes a procedural vote on legislation that aims to protect children and teenagers online.
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SAD NEWS. We’re sending our condolences to the family and friends of governmental affairs pro Jerry Griffin, who passed away recently.
An obituary in the AJC noted that Griffin “spent his entire career working with and supporting local government officials.” To that end, Griffin was a veteran of the Carl Vinson Institute at the University of Georgia, the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia, the Georgia Municipal Association and the Georgia Department of Community Affairs.
Along with his decades lobbying the Georgia Legislature and U.S. Congress, Griffin was also a certified BBQ judge who once presided over the world championships in Memphis.
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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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