Politically Georgia: It's crunch time

Today’s newsletter highlights include:

Georgia lawmakers discuss changing the Constitution to help farmers.
State Supreme Court rules district attorneys are not exempt from open records law.
Vice President Kamala Harris will give her closing argument in Washington.

Welcome to the final days of the 2024 campaign for the White House, as Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump scrap in a neck-and-neck race for Georgia’s 16 electoral votes.

The former president is trying to flip Georgia four years after a devastating defeat. He’s desperate to turn out enough conservative voters to counter independent and suburban swing voters who have gravitated toward Democrats over the last decade.

Harris, meanwhile, is embracing a kitchen-sink strategy to energize liberal and Black voters who make up the party’s base while also winning over former Republicans who helped President Joe Biden and U.S. Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock pull off victories in other recent Georgia elections.

Credit: Jacquelyn Martin/AP

Credit: Jacquelyn Martin/AP

With a week until the election, here’s a closer look at where things stand in Georgia:

EARLY VOTING. More than 3 million Georgians have already cast ballots, a figure that has astonished even grizzled political veterans. Both campaigns have reason to fete and fret the data. Turnout in some deep-red rural counties is soaring, but Democratic strongholds are starting to catch up. And this week is expected to be the biggest yet.
CAMPAIGN VISITS. Both rivals have spent an extraordinary amount of time in Georgia in the final stretch of the race. Trump and Harris each visited multiple times in the last week, and they both could be back once or twice more before Election Day. Their allies are busy, too. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, and former first lady Michelle Obama are both holding major events in Georgia today.
POLLING. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll out last week isn’t the only one indicating a fiercely competitive race in Georgia. Averages of recent polls show a seesaw of a race, with Trump clinging to a lead of less than two percentage points. Savvy analysts say it’s not uncommon for candidates trailing in polls this close to emerge victorious.

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

AD SPENDING. Democrats have a multimillion-dollar spending advantage on political advertising booking in the final stretch of the race, though Republicans have recently narrowed the gap. While Harris has a major edge in Atlanta’s media market, Trump aired more ads than his rival in Augusta and Savannah and is on par in Columbus and Macon.
GROUND GAME. Both campaigns have a dramatically different grassroots strategy. Harris is following a more conventional approach that relies on a contingent of more than 200 paid staffers in dozens of offices around the state, along with legions of door-knockers and phone-bankers to cajole voters to support her. Trump’s campaign relies heavily on the Georgia GOP and outside groups to marshal Republican forces in a more loosely organized, decentralized fashion.
WHAT’S NEXT. The outcome of the race will also set the stage for Georgia’s wild 2026 election, when U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff stands for another term and a term-limited Gov. Brian Kemp gives way to a wide-open battle to succeed him. Whoever wins next week will help shape the next election.

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Credit: TNS

GOOD MORNING. The presidential election is a week away. Former President Donald Trump held two events in Atlanta yesterday. You can catch up on all the details from our live updates.

Here are four things to know for today:

Democrats are spending about $500,000 for a last-minute push to persuade voters in battleground states to reject third-party candidates Jill Stein and Cornel West.
The White House will announce $49 million to upgrade Georgia’s ports so that ships can turn off their diesel engines while docked, the AJC’s Michael E. Kanell reports.
Georgia’s investigation into the Coffee County election breach has stalled, the AJC’s Katherine Landergan reports.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom criticized Georgia as he announced plans to expand the cap on his state’s film tax credit, the AJC’s Savannah Sicurella reports.

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Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC

FARM AID. For weeks, Georgia lawmakers have been asking the federal government to help farmers make up for their harvests lost in the destruction of Hurricane Helene. But why can’t state lawmakers help farmers out themselves?

The reason: a section of the state Constitution known as the “gratuities clause.” It prevents the General Assembly from granting “any donation or gratuity or to forgive any debt.” That means if lawmakers want to give — not loan — money to farmers, they’d have to change the Constitution.

“If there’s ever a time to do it, now would be the time after our biggest hit to agriculture we’ve ever had,” Will Bentley, president of the Georgia Agribusiness Council, told lawmakers on Monday.

At least one prominent Republican is willing to consider it. State Sen. Jason Anavitarte, the majority caucus chair, said he is frustrated having to rely on an often gridlocked Congress.

“People probably wanted to change that gratuities clause for other reasons that are probably highly inappropriate,” Anavitarte said.

But if the argument is to help sustain the state’s farming industry, then “I think we need to have a serious discussion and debate it in committee in January,” he said.

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Credit: Nell Carroll for the AJC

OPEN RECORDS. The Georgia Supreme Court has ruled that district attorneys are not exempt from the state’s open records act.

The case: Deborah Gonzalez, the district attorney for Oconee and Athens-Clarke counties, argued Georgia’s open records law did not apply to her because she is “a constitutional officer of Georgia’s judicial branch.”
The ruling: The court didn’t buy it, ruling unanimously that district attorneys are not judicial officers. Instead, the court said they are executive officers “because their function is to enforce the law by prosecuting criminal cases.”
Why it matters: The ruling could impact other cases. Two lawsuits to watch: One from attorney Ashleigh Merchant and another from Bentley Media Group seeking records from District Attorney Fani Willis related to her investigation of former President Donald Trump. Those cases are pending.

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Credit: Courtesy photo

COMMITTED. Georgia state Rep. Ruwa Romman, the only Palestinian American in Georgia’s Legislature, says she voted for Vice President Kamala Harris.

Romman, a Democrat from Duluth, was hoping to speak at the Democratic National Convention earlier this year as part of the “uncommitted movement,” a group of delegates withholding their votes for Harris to protest the Biden administration’s response to the Israel-Hamas war.

“While I will be voting for Vice President Harris, it must be said that this vote isn’t for her,” Romman wrote in an article for Rolling Stone that published Monday. “It’s for the people in my district and state who cannot survive another Trump presidency. And yes, it’s for my community and our allies who refuse to sit by while our resources are used to commit a genocide in our names.”

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Credit: Seeger Gray/AJC

LISTEN UP. Today on “Politically Georgia,” political prognosticator Nate Silver and DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond join the show to talk about the election.

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 Monday’s show, the hosts talked about the state of the presidential race with veteran Democratic strategist James Carville and Associated Press national politics reporter Meg Kinnard.

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Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC

FAITH AND FREEDOM. Former President Donald Trump talked about why he believes God wants him to become president during a chat with spiritual adviser Paula White-Cain during a faith-based event in Powder Springs.

“I would have liked to think that it’s because he wants our country and maybe the world to be helped,” Trump told the crowd of several hundred supporters. “It would be a really nice thing to say that, but now we have to win an election, too.”

He left that stage and was whisked to McCamish Pavilion on Georgia Tech’s campus where his campaign hosted a rally. There, he railed against his Democratic critics — not just Vice President Kamala Harris but also former first lady Michelle Obama, U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California and former U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton.

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

And he sang the praises of the Georgia Republican leaders in the audience to support him, including former U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler, U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lt. Gov. Burt Jones. He also singled out someone who wasn’t in the audience: Gov. Brian Kemp, whom the former president said has “done a very good job.”

Both events ended with the playing of The Village People’s “Y.M.C.A.”

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Credit: Carlos Osorio/AP

CLOSING ARGUMENT. Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to deliver one of the most important speeches of her career tonight. The timing is notable because it will occur one week before election day and when early voting is underway in most states.

But the location of the speech is also significant. Harris will deliver remarks from the Ellipse near the White House, the same location where former President Donald Trump spoke at a “stop the steal” rally that preceded the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Harris plans to contrast herself and Trump, describing his vision of America as one of retribution and dismantling democracy while hers is focused on addressing issues affecting everyday Americans.

Expect her to repeat a version of this line that has become one of her catch phrases: “Trump has an enemies list; I have a to-do list.”

The speech will also launch Harris into the homestretch of the campaign, as she will barnstorm battleground states through Election Day. Nothing has been announced, but more Georgia visits are likely.

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Credit: Carlos Osorio/AP

ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL. Today’s happenings:

Former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan will encourage early voting during an event for Vice President Kamala Harris in Atlanta.
Second gentleman Doug Emhoff, Harris’ husband, will speak to students at the University of Nevada Las Vegas to vote early.
Vice President Kamala Harris will deliver a major speech in Washington.
Georgia U.S. Reps. Lucy McBath and Nikema Williams and television producer/screenwriter Shonda Rhimes will participate in a maternal health event; and Rimes will attend a canvassing event in South Cobb County.
Former first lady Michelle Obama will headline a rally in Atlanta hosted by her When We All Vote organization. It will also feature actresses Kelly Rowland and Kerry Washington as well as singer Victoria Monét.
Former President Donald Trump will hold a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, then travel to Pennsylvania for a roundtable in Drexel Hill and a rally in Allentown.
Ohio U.S. Sen. JD Vance, Trump’s running mate, will speak at campaign rallies in Saginaw and Holland, Michigan.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Harris’ running mate, is campaigning in Savannah and Columbus.

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Credit: Courtesy photo

SHOUTOUTS. Belated birthdays:

State Rep. Karen Lupton, D-Chamblee (was Monday)
Robbie Ashe, former chair of Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority and now a partner at the Bondurant Mixson & Elmore law firm (was Saturday).
Georgia Supreme Court Justice John J. Ellington (was Saturday).

Transitions:

Stephen Davis is now vice president of government affairs for Progress Residential. He was previously the senior director of government affairs for the Georgia Apartment Association.

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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