President Joe Biden has had a growing campaign effort in Georgia for months. Former President Donald Trump’s comeback bid is working to catch up.
The Republican’s voter mobilization effort, “Trump Force 47,” is entering a new phase this week as the campaign trains volunteers and opens offices in hot spots around the state, including outposts in Fayette and Gwinnett counties.
Facing a hefty fundraising deficit, Trump’s campaign is leaning more on volunteers and “local captains” in key precincts around Georgia. They’ll focus on low-propensity voters rather than inundating solid Republican supporters already likely to vote. Pro-Trump super PACs and allies will focus on other subsets of voters.
Trump’s campaign models its ground-game program after one that it developed for Iowa’s complicated — and intensely personal — caucus system. His aides say the “neighbor-to-neighbor organizing program” will yield dividends, particularly in more rural areas.
Credit: Jim Wilson/The New York Times
Credit: Jim Wilson/The New York Times
Volunteers will be marshaled by paid staffers already deployed to Georgia, though the campaign won’t say how many. Offices are planned throughout the state, but Trump’s team hasn’t specified that number either.
The secrecy is a contrast to Biden’s campaign, which has publicized its key hires in Georgia and its expanding network of offices across the state, including a half dozen that opened in April.
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Credit: AJC
Credit: AJC
KEMP 2026? Gov. Brian Kemp’s adviser Cody Hall told the “Politically Georgia” podcast on Tuesday his boss still hasn’t “shut the door” on an election challenge to U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff in 2026. No surprise there. But then he went a step further.
“I know some Republicans across the country may not agree with me, but Jon Ossoff is going to be very tough to beat, just like Raphael Warnock was a very strong candidate two years ago,” Hall said.
Hall’s warning to Republicans about Ossoff’s reelection chances came in tandem with other takeaways that many in his party might also not want to hear.
The 2024 presidential race is closer than polls showing former President Donald Trump with a solid lead over President Joe Biden might suggest, he said.
And Republicans should get used to seeing Georgia as a “swing state” — especially if they nominate candidates who have a “skeleton for every coat hanger in the closet.
“If we nominate good candidates statewide we’re a 52-48 Republican state. But obviously, in recent history we have not had good candidates, therefore we are a swing state,” Hall said
He didn’t name names, but we see it as a clear reference to U.S. Senate nominee Herschel Walker’s faltering 2022 campaign. Walker lost to Warnock in a runoff.
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KEMP IN KOREA. When Gov. Brian Kemp goes to South Korea, economic development announcements tend to follow. The governor is back in Asia this week visiting with several Korean corporate leaders who have brought business to Georgia during Kemp’s tenure as the state’s chief executive.
The AJC’s Zachary Hansen reports the roughly 10-day trip will feature meetings with several existing industries that are either operational or under construction in Georgia, including Hyundai, Kia, CJ Foodville, Hanwha Qcells, LG Group and SK Group.
The Georgia delegation will also meet with leaders of “very hot, active projects that we’re trying to get over the finish line,” said Georgia Department of Economic Development Commissioner Pat Wilson.
“So the governor will be able to go in, be the best salesman and hopefully close the deal on some of these projects,” Wilson added.
Korea was Kemp’s first international trip in 2019 after he was elected governor.
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Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
JANUARY 6. U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Cassville, continues to run interference for former President Donald Trump on the Jan. 6, 2021, investigation. To that end, he released a video of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, filmed on Jan. 6 by her own daughter. He’s using it to blame Democrats for security failures at the U.S. Capitol.
The California Democrat is seen riding in a car leaving the Capitol. She says, “I take responsibility,” for the crowd overrunning the building.
Republicans have long claimed Pelosi is to blame — though they never put the same onus on then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Loudermilk has been issuing a steady stream of news releases in recent months to undermine and impeach various witnesses who went before the House Select Committee investigating Jan. 6. He’s also taken jabs at Fulton District Attorney Fani Willis, who is prosecuting Trump and allies on election interference charges.
His panel is also releasing thousands of hours of security tapes from the Capitol complex that day.
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Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
‘DIG DEEP.’ Former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin spent the lion’s share of her eight years as Atlanta’s mayor working to upgrade the city’s aging sewer system. Franklin was mayor from 2002 to 2010.
On Tuesday’s “Politically Georgia” radio show, we asked Franklin what advice she had for Mayor Andre Dickens, who is dealing with similarly aging water lines. She said she’d tell Dickens to “dig deep” to find a way to assess, repair and upgrade the system.
Although overhauling the city’s water infrastructure may be expensive, “We can’t have a strong economy and public health without it,” she said.
“There’s some things you just can’t do without. Drinking water is one of them,”
Franklin also said she thought Dickens did what he could with the information he had as the water main break crisis unfolded earlier this month. “Give him a break,” she said.
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HUNTER BIDEN GUILTY. Georgia Republicans joined other GOP lawmakers in Congress on Tuesday in celebrating the guilty verdicts against President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden. But the most outspoken of the bunch, U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, also echoed complaints about the prosecution of Biden made by former President Donald Trump.
Trump was recently convicted by a New York jury in a trial involving hush money payments made prior to the 2016 presidential election.
“The only reason they convicted Hunter on three counts, in comparison with President Trump’s whopping 34 false felony charges, is to give the appearance of a blind justice system,” said Greene, R-Rome. “The American people don’t buy it.”
Greene on Tuesday again called for Joe Biden to be impeached by the House. Republican leaders have seemingly cooled on that idea, after a broad GOP investigation found ample evidence of influence peddling by Hunter Biden but no concrete ties to his father.
“Joe Biden must be impeached, and we must end the two-tiered system of justice in America,” Greene added.
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Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
POSTAL SERVICE. Amid continuing complaints about slow mail delivery in Georgia, U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff on Tuesday reminded Postmaster General Louis DeJoy of his promises to address service troubles at a hearing back in April. It was clear that the Georgia senator is losing his patience.
In a letter to DeJoy, Ossoff noted that on-time delivery for first class mail only hit 64% in the latest update offered by USPS last month. The rate isn’t close to the over 90% on-time delivery seen a year ago.
“I want to reiterate that it is urgent that the performance of USPS delivery in Georgia improve immediately,” Ossoff wrote. “Georgians are tired of waiting. They deserve better.”
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ROBBERY. U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, R-Jackson, continues to publicly assail “D.C.’s government” out of anger over an armed robbery over the weekend involving one of his U.S. Capitol staffers. Collins said his aide was safe following the attack.
“It’s unthinkable that drive-by robberies are a normal part of living just a few blocks from the Capitol,” Collins said Monday, a day after he labeled Washington a “war zone.”
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
The robbery took place not far from where U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar was carjacked last year. The Texas Democrat was unhurt.
While crime has been going down in most large cities, Washington has been an outlier, drawing sharp attacks from GOP lawmakers in Congress.
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Credit: Courtesy photo
Credit: Courtesy photo
LISTEN UP. Today on “Politically Georgia,” Professors Fred Smith from Emory University and Amy Steigerwalt of Georgia State University discuss upcoming U.S. Supreme Court decisions.
Also, AJC education columnist Maureen Downey shares data on the declining interest among recent graduates in becoming teachers.
Listen live at 10 a.m. on WABE 90.1 or follow “Politically Georgia” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
If you missed Tuesday’s episode, Republican operative Cody Hall discussed Gov. Brian Kemp’s political plans as the Republican National Convention approaches in July. Later, former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin shared her experiences trying to upgrade Atlanta’s water and sewer infrastructure, just as Mayor Andre Dickens faces a mandate to do the same.
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TODAY IN WASHINGTON:
- President Joe Biden travels to Brindisi, Italy to participate in the G7 Summit.
- The House meets for legislative business.
- The Senate considers Biden administration nominations.
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ROYAL VISIT. King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands toured Savannah on Tuesday as part of a visit to Georgia and the U.S. Stops included the Georgia Ports Authority’s Garden City terminal, Savannah City Hall, Forsyth Park and Savannah State University.
Local officials discussed issues of common interest with the Dutch royals. Those included dealing with flooding amid sea level rise — a quarter of the Netherlands’ land mass sits below sea level — and maritime trade. The Port of Rotterdam on the Netherlands coast is the busiest in Europe and the 10th largest cargo port in the world.
The king and queen are in New York today and Thursday.
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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.
