Today’s newsletter highlights include:
- Democrats hope to pick up seats in the GOP-controlled state Legislature.
- Presidential campaigns are focusing on young voters, despite their small numbers.
- “Politically Georgia” marks an anniversary.
Georgia Democrats opened Tuesday by criticizing Tony Hinchcliffe, the comedian who called Puerto Rico an “island of garbage” at a campaign rally for former President Donald Trump. They ended it trying to fend off conservative accusations that President Joe Biden insulted Trump’s supporters.
It all goes back to Sunday’s rally at Madison Square Garden in New York, where a string of Trump loyalists hurled vulgar insults at Vice President Kamala Harris and her supporters in addition to the joke many considered racist. Harris’ campaign convened prominent Georgia Latinos in Atlanta on Tuesday morning to condemn the remarks.
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
“As someone that was born and raised in Puerto Rico, I was in shock and in disbelief at the Trump rally in New York,” said state Rep. Pedro “Pete” Marin, D-Duluth, one of the state’s longest serving Latino legislators.
Lisette Correa, a second-generation Puerto Rican and visual artist, said other groups should be worried about Trump’s comments, too.
“What makes you think he wouldn’t do it to you?” asked Correa. “Because from what I have seen is that, every few months, it’s a new demographic that he’s now shaming.”
And at a separate event on Emory University’s campus, Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff told us the comments mark another dividing line in the race for president.
“This is how Trump is and what MAGA is: Division, bigotry and insults,” said Ossoff. “It’s what we’ve sadly come to expect from the former president.”
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
A few hours later, Biden’s garbled remarks on the controversy to a livestream organized by the Voto Latino organization wound up galvanizing Trump supporters.
Republicans heard Biden say: “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters — his hatred — his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it’s un-American.”
But the White House said Biden said “supporter’s,” indicating he was calling Trump’s demonization of Latinos garbage, and not Trump supporters themselves. Biden posted his own clarification on social media,
“His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable. That’s all I meant to say,” Biden wrote.
State Sen. Jason Anavitarte, R-Dallas and one of the state’s most prominent GOP Latino officials, said Biden called “half of America” garbage. He said Trump’s words “ended up canceling out” a major Harris’ speech on Tuesday night.
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Credit: Jason Getz/AJC
Credit: Jason Getz/AJC
GOOD MORNING! The presidential election ends in six days. Here are four things to know for today:
- Vice President Kamala Harris is coming back to Georgia this weekend. It will be her third visit to the battleground state in two weeks, Greg Bluestein reports.
- An Alabama man who threatened Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was sentenced to 21 months in prison on Tuesday, the AJC’s Tamar Hallerman reports.
- State Election Board Chair John Fervier and Fulton County Election Board Chair Sherri Allen visited several early voting sites Tuesday to see if there were any problems. They didn’t find any, the AJC’s Mark Niesse reports.
- Former first lady Michelle Obama brought the stars out for her nonpartisan When We All Vote rally, which focused on encouraging young people to resist apathy, our colleague Maya T. Prahbu wrote.
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Credit: AP
Credit: AP
THE CLOSERS. Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign estimates that more than 75,000 people crowded the National Mall to hear her deliver a major campaign address Tuesday night.
Harris attempted to contrast what she described as former President Donald Trump’s sowing of division and discord versus her attempts to solve problems and be a unifier. The speech, and the optics of the huge crowd outside the White House, generally drew positive reviews.
But we want to take note of one of the warm-up speakers ahead of Harris: Atlanta native Ryan Wilson. The cofounder of The Gathering Spot, a members-only club and coworking space, said that Harris had a plan to help businesses like his.
Credit: Jacquelyn Martin/AP
Credit: Jacquelyn Martin/AP
“Kamala Harris is a champion for small businesses and a champion for entrepreneurs,” he said. “She knows that small businesses are the lifeblood of our communities and the engines of our economy.”
Wilson went on to name some of Harris’ proposals, including tax breaks for business owners, reducing red tape and new programs to provide access to capital.
“And what would Donald Trump do?” Wilson said. “Well, if it doesn’t help himself or his billionaire friends, Donald Trump isn’t interested in it. America deserves a leader in the office behind me that is going to fight for the people every single day.”
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Credit: Courtesy photo/AJC
Credit: Courtesy photo/AJC
RACES TO WATCH. Georgia’s Republican-controlled state Legislature likely won’t flip to the Democrats this year. But Democrats could pick up some seats if a few things go their way.
Here are some races to watch on Election Day, per the AJC’s Michelle Baruchman:
- House District 48. Republican Scott Hilton has won, lost, then won again a seat in the state Legislature. Now, redistricting has made his seat one of the most competitive in the state. He faces Democrat Laura Murvartian, a business executive who immigrated from Mexico as a child and became a U.S. citizen three years ago.
- House District 53. This district spanning the affluent areas of Buckhead, Sandy Springs and Roswell has a large Jewish population. That’s made support for Israel in its war against Hamas as well as combating antisemitism a key issue between Republican Rep. Deborah Silcox and Democrat Susie Greenberg.
- House District 56. This is one race Democrats are most likely to win. The incumbent, Republican Mesha Mainor, switched parties last year in a district where 91% of voters backed President Joe Biden in 2020. Democrat Bryce Berry is in prime position to capitalize on that party loyalty.
Credit: Courtesy photos
Credit: Courtesy photos
- House District 99. Gwinnett County’s changing demographics could impact the outcome of this race. Republican Matt Reeves won in 2022 after the Legislature redrew the district boundaries to make the GOP more competitive. The district has one of the highest percentages of Asian American voters in the state, providing a boost for Democrat Michelle Kang, a first generation Korean American.
- Senate District 48. This normally safe Republican seat is getting lots of attention because the incumbent, State Sen. Shawn Still, is one of 16 people indicted as part of the Fulton County election interference case. Democrat Ashwin Ramaswami has made Still’s indictment a big part of his campaign. Still, meanwhile, has pledged to accept the results of the presidential election.
More reading: a profile of House District 145 and a look at the changes in Gwinnett County.
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YOUNG VOTERS. Of the roughly 3 million early voters in Georgia, hardly one-tenth of them are voters younger than 30. But both campaigns see opportunity in driving out Gen Z voters in the final stretch of the campaign.
A day after former President Donald Trump staged a rally at Georgia Tech’s arena, Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff headed to Emory University’s leafy campus to encourage Vice President Kamala Harris’ supporters to turn out and vote.
“Leave nothing left undone for the next week,” said Ossoff, who is up for reelection in 2026. He told the students they could one day tell their kids and grandkids how they helped stave off Trump’s comeback bid.
“Let’s do that for them.”
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Credit: AJC
Credit: AJC
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! One year ago today, Greg Bluestein, Tia Mitchell, Patricia Murphy and Bill Nigut debuted “Politically Georgia” as a daily podcast and radio show. To celebrate, we asked Murphy to share some thoughts about the first year of shows.
How did the show start?
It actually started with Greg, by himself, seven years ago in his basement. And then he asked me to join him. It really took off during the 2022 campaign. That was the first time I’ve ever had anybody in line with me at Starbucks recognize my voice from the podcast. That’s when we really started to realize that it was working. It was so successful that our publisher, Andrew Morse, wanted to make it a live show, five days per week. And that’s when we got to bring Tia and Bill in.
How do you prepare?
Each host typically gets to book their own show, which is a huge opportunity as a journalist. It’s kind of a collection of ideas and efforts, and it’s an ongoing, constant group conversation.
What are your favorite shows from the past year?
The shows that we took on the road. We had Gov. Brian Kemp in Athens, inside the chapel at UGA where he was a student for many years. That was just an unbelievable opportunity to find out more of what makes him tick. Being in Athens made that possible. We did the same thing with Sen. Raphael Warnock in Savannah to see him interact in real time with people he grew up with is just amazing to watch.
What’s next year look like?
I really want the show to be a place where somebody who does not have time to follow politics day in and day out, they can dip into Politically Georgia and feel like informed, empowered citizens. It’s free, it’s easy, it’s on your phone.
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Credit: Natalie Mendenhall/AJC
Credit: Natalie Mendenhall/AJC
LISTEN UP. Today on “Politically Georgia,” the hosts reminisce about their first year on the air. Then, former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, former U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss, and former Gov. Roy Barnes discuss election integrity.
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 Tuesday’s show, political prognosticator Nate Silver and DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond discussed the election.
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Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL. Today’s happenings:
- Second gentleman Doug Emhoff, husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, will join U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., for a rally with students at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
- U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm will address Harris campaign volunteers at Augusta University.
- Harris will hold rallies in Raleigh, North Carolina; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; and Madison, Wisconsin.
- Tennessee Democratic state Rep. Justin Jones and musician Adam Met will headline an early voting block party for the Harris campaign at Georgia State University.
- Television producer and screenwriter Shonda Rhimes will speak to Harris campaign volunteers in Macon and Fayette County.
- Former President Donald Trump will be in North Carolina in the afternoon followed by an evening rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin, with former NFL quarterback Brett Favre.
- Ohio U.S. Sen. JD Vance, Trump’s running mate, will speak at a town hall with former U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard in Bedford, Pennsylvania.
- Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Harris’ running mate, will be campaigning in the North Carolina cities of Asheville, Charlotte and Greensboro. He will also sit for interviews on “Good Morning America” and “CBS Mornings.”
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SPOTTING DEEPFAKES. Voice-altering software, doctored photos and video created by artificial intelligence have all been used to influence voters this election season.
The AJC’s Jeremy Redmon reports that even more misleading or false AI-generated content could be coming our way ahead of the Nov. 5 election.
“AI gives us the ability to create images, video and audio with nothing more than a short text prompt,” said Mike Reilley, lead trainer for the RTDNA/Google News Initiative Election Fact-Checking training program. “That’s a great thing, but in the hands of bad actors, it can produce devastating results.
Click here to read tips from experts Redmon consulted on how to spot deepfakes.
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SHOUTOUTS. 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.
