Today’s highlights include:
- Lil Jon’s viral DNC cameo was years in the making.
- RFK Jr. could soon end his presidential campaign and endorse Trump.
- VP candidate JD Vance campaigns on border security in Valdosta.
Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
Most presidential candidates have campaigns built on yearslong programs to introduce themselves to voters, define their strengths and hone their policies.
Kamala Harris isn’t like most candidates.
After her lightning-fast ascent to the top of the ticket, the vice president delivers the most important speech of her political career on Thursday when she formally accepts her party’s nomination.
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
And while she’s been a household name since President Joe Biden tapped her as his running mate four years ago, Harris still faces a tall task of telling her story to millions of voters — before former President Donald Trump’s campaign can define her first.
Expect Harris to delve into her background, not just as a prosecutor but also as a child of a middle-class family in California.
And she seems sure to lay the rhetorical groundwork for the final stretch of the campaign as she faces the dual challenges of trying to energize the party’s base while winning enough swing voters to shut down Trump.
Follow all of the convention action on the AJC’s live blog.
Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
RIFT OVER GAZA. Fifty-two delegates from 18 states voted “present” instead of throwing their support behind Vice President Kamala Harris during Tuesday’s nomination roll call, a reminder of a major division that remains among Democratic Party activists. Virtually all of these uncommitted delegates are withholding support for Harris because they are critical of the U.S. position toward Israel as its war with Hamas rages on in the Gaza strip, the AJC’s Caroline Silva and Tia Mitchell report.
The “Uncommitted National Movement” has called for an end to U.S. weapons transfers to Israel, as well as a cease-fire agreement. It has also requested that a Palestinian speaker be added to the Democratic National Convention program this week and be allowed to deliver remarks focused on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
As convention programming was underway Wednesday night, the group learned that no one representing their movement would be granted a speaking slot. Some of the delegates waged a sit-in on the sidewalk outside the United Center, where they expressed their disappointment in the party’s decision.
Nearby, others held signs urging the U.S. to stop sending weapons to Israel.
Outside the secured convention perimeter, thousands of protesters have expressed opposition to the war in Gaza. But the numbers have not been as large as convention organizers and law enforcement feared, and the demonstrations have been largely peaceful.
***
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
HOW LIL JON HAPPENED. How big of a secret was Lil Jon’s show-stealing performance during Tuesday night’s roll call at the Democratic National Convention? Even Georgia’s delegates didn’t know ahead of time.
“Queen Nikema was so secretive about this,” delegate Seth Taylor said, referring to Georgia Democratic Party chair Nikema Williams, a U.S. House member from Atlanta. “I mean, I didn’t know she had this in her back pocket.”
Your political insiders Greg Bluestein and Tia Mitchell have more on the years of work that went into making the viral moment happen.
***
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
PLOUFFE PIECE. Vice President Kamala Harris campaign adviser David Plouffe stopped by the Georgia delegation breakfast on Day 3 of the DNC Wednesday to share a little of the campaign playbook with delegates.
The former Obama adviser thanked them for what they did to help President Joe Biden get elected in 2020. He also laid out the Harris team’s plan to win the condensed campaign ahead, including in Georgia and six other states they’ve identified as battlegrounds.
“Obviously we’ll assist you with resources, candidate time, surrogate time and good messaging,” he said.
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Soon, Democrats will be “going on offense” with ads in Georgia on the controversial conservative policy manual, Project 2025, Plouffe said. They’ll also be looking to give voters more information on Harris’ background and biography.
The Harris campaign has reserved a whopping $370 million in ad time post-Labor Day, with a chunk of that likely heading to Georgia. We’re told the Trump campaign has also reserved Georgia ad time post-Labor Day.
“We just want to be good partners,” Plouffe said. “And hopefully … whenever we have the results in, Georgia, once again, will be that bright blue that is such a beautiful color.”
***
RFK’S DAYS. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. seems poised to end his flagging independent presidential campaign as soon as this week. What’s less clear is what impact that would have on the November race.
Several national outlets reported Wednesday that former President Donald Trump is seeking Kennedy’s endorsement should he drop out.
Amy Walter of the nonpartisan Cook Political Report said that would be a big boost for Trump. The organization’s latest survey found Kennedy voters in battlegrounds are almost twice as likely to support Trump as Vice President Kamala Harris.
Others aren’t so sure it will make a dent in the race. Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics, said Kennedy is “barely relevant” and his backers seem certain to splinter.
***
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
COUNTERPROGRAMMING. As Democrats gather in Chicago, former President Donald Trump’s campaign is holding daily news conferences with targeted messages.
Today’s briefing will focus on immigration and feature a Georgia tie-in: the slaying of nursing student Laken Riley. Her death is expected to be one of the examples used by the Trump campaign to contend that the policies of the Biden-Harris administration have led to violent crimes allegedly committed by undocumented immigrants.
Riley was killed while exercising near the University of Georgia campus in February. A Venezuelan national who entered the U.S. illegally has been charged with murder in the slaying.
***
VANCE IN VALDOSTA. Security will be tight in South Georgia today when Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance visits Valdosta to talk about immigration and border security.
Vance is scheduled to speak outdoors about a month after an assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump during a rally in Pennsylvania.
Lowndes County Sheriff Ashley Paulk said the U.S. Secret Service has been in town for days, and his deputies have been “working with them on every facet” of security. Paulk said he’ll have about 120 deputies working the event. Plus, he said the department will have drones in the area to provide additional surveillance.
Paulk, a Democrat who says he is a “rabid supporter” of Trump, was first elected sheriff in 1993. He says officers have seized fentanyl and other illegal drugs along busy I-75 in recent years, a problem he attributes to lax border security.
***
Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
LISTEN UP. “Politically Georgia” continues to broadcast today from the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
Former Republican Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan joins the show to talk about his Wednesday night speech in support of Vice President Kamala Harris. And U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, D-Marietta, talks about the gun control message she plans to share during her speaking slot tonight.
You can listen live at 10 a.m. on WABE 90.1 or follow “Politically Georgia” on Apple Podcasts,Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
On Wednesday’s show, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens talked about how Harris is working to broaden her base of support. And Jason Carter discussed what it was like delivering a speech at the DNC focused on the legacy of his grandfather, former President Jimmy Carter.
***
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
INFLUENCING THE VOTE. Democrats caused a stir at their 2004 national convention in Boston when they decided to issue media credentials to a curious new breed of reporter: the blogger.
Two decades later, Republicans and Democrats expanded those credentials to include bloggers’ direct descendants: social media influencers.
Democrats credentialed more than 200 “content creators” this year to cover their convention with a personal touch. The AJC’s Caroline Silva spoke to some of them, including Shanita Miller, the woman behind Black Girl’s Guide to Atlanta.
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
“(Influencers) are just real people giving you a real, unpolished, behind-the-scenes look of, like, what is going on. And I think people appreciate that. I think it’s relatable,” she said.
Read more about Georgia’s social media influencers and how they are covering the convention in Silva’s story.
***
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
JACKET SWAP. Former Georgia Republican Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan spoke to the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday — but his suit jacket almost didn’t make it.
That’s because Jimmy Baron, an Atlanta real estate agent and former radio host, mistakenly took Duncan’s jacket when leaving a flight in Chicago on Tuesday.
Duncan had his name on a tag inside the jacket, which Baron described as a fancy Italian suit. Duncan clarified that he got it at the not-so-fancy Jos. A. Bank.
“He was very nice and gracious,” Baron told the AJC’s Rodney Ho. “I saw him later that day on CNN and said, ‘That’s the coat!’”
***
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
ATLANTA WON ANYWAY. Insider Patricia Murphy reflects on the state’s influence at the Democratic National Convention in a column published Wednesday.
Writes Murphy:
“Atlanta may have been passed over to host this year's Democratic National Convention, but the state of Georgia has dominated the buzz so far this week in Chicago."
***
TODAY IN WASHINGTON:
- President Joe Biden is on vacation in California.
- Vice President Kamala Harris delivers her acceptance speech to close out the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
- The U.S. House and Senate are in recess until Sept. 9.
***
Credit: Katelyn Myrick/AJC
Credit: Katelyn Myrick/AJC
DEEP CUT. It took us a bit to get this joke.
After Lt. Gov. Burt Jones posted a typo on social media of him swearing-in new Senate Secretary Jack Tripp as the “secretary of state,” the real one had a little fun.
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger jabbed that he was going to swear in Butch Miller — Jones’ GOP adversary in the 2022 election — as the new lieutenant governor.
***
MEA CULPA. Wednesday’s newsletter included an erroneous reference to “the shooting death of George Floyd by police in Minnesota.” Floyd was not shot by police. Instead, he died from asphyxiation after a police officer put his knee on his neck for several minutes.
***
AS ALWAYS, Politically Georgia readers are some of our favorite tipsters. Send your best scoop, gossip and insider info to adam.beam@ajc.com, greg.bluestein@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com, patricia.murphy@ajc.com and adam.vanbrimmer@ajc.com.
