The end of Georgia’s qualifying period means the fields of contenders for county, state and judicial jobs as well as U.S. House seats are set. And while a large number of contests went unopposed, an array of key races will be on the ballot come the May 21 primaries and Nov. 5 general election.
Fulton fallout. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis drew two opponents, including a fellow Democrat, who will target her handling of the election interference case against former President Donald Trump and his allies. A pair of attorneys also lined up to run against Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, the judge overseeing the case.
Credit: Georgia House of Representatives
Credit: Georgia House of Representatives
Legislative drama. Party-switching Republican state Rep. Mesha Mainor of Atlanta will face a challenge in November from the winner of a five-person Democratic race, a field that includes her alleged stalker. Also in Atlanta, the father of a slain Israeli soldier, David Lubin, is challenging Democratic state Sen. Sally Harrell after she abstained from supporting an antisemitism measure.
Redistricting will force Democratic state Reps. Saira Draper and Becky Evans to compete for the same Atlanta-based district. And Republican state Rep. Deborah Silcox is facing a formidable Democratic challenger to represent a slice of swingy Sandy Springs.
In one of the most fascinating races, state Sen. Shelly Echols’ abrupt decision not to stand for reelection triggers a faceoff between her husband, Drew, and former state Rep. Josh Clark, who waged a far-right bid for Senate in 2022. Echols is a Republican from Gainesville, located in northeast Georgia.
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Top court. Georgia Supreme Court races are nonpartisan, but there’s a doozy of a political fight on the ballot. Justice Andrew Pinson, a Gov. Brian Kemp appointee, will face former Democratic U.S. Rep. John Barrow for the seat.
Open seat. Only one of Georgia’s 14 U.S. House seats is vacant, and a large field signed up to succeed retiring Rep. Drew Ferguson, R-The Rock. Longtime Donald Trump adviser Brian Jack might be the frontrunner after the ex-president endorsed him, but other contenders include former Georgia Senate Majority Leader Mike Dugan, a Republican from Carrollton, and ex-state Rep. Philip Singleton of Fayetteville.
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
Democratic challenges. The court-ordered redrawing of Georgia’s political boundaries last year forces two incumbent Democrats to run in vastly new districts. U.S. Rep. David Scott, D-Atlanta, will face six primary challengers to keep his 13th District seat, including Marcus Flowers, who raised more than $16 million in a failed 2022 bid to unseat Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Rome, in Georgia’s 14th.
And U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, the Marietta Democrat running in an overhauled 6th District, will be opposed in the Democratic primary by Cobb County Commissioner Jerica Richardson and state Rep. Mandisha Thomas of South Fulton.
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Credit: Steve Schaefer/AJC
Credit: Steve Schaefer/AJC
PRIMARY ROLL CALL. President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump held dueling rallies in Atlanta and Rome respectively Saturday ahead of the Georgia presidential primary.
Although the results are mostly a done deal, (almost) all of Georgia’s top officials campaigned on behalf of the candidates Saturday ahead of Tuesday’s vote.
U.S. Sens. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, who have both worked to tout bipartisan records in office, appeared ahead of Biden’s speech to tell Democrats to get out the vote in November. Also spotted at Pullman Yards were U.S. Reps. Lucy McBath of Marietta, Hank Johnson of Lithonia, and Nikema Williams of Atlanta. They were joined by Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Atlanta state Sen. Jason Esteves of Atlanta, Atlanta state Rep. Saira Draper, Democratic political consultant Tharon Johnson, and plenty more.
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
On hand for Trump in Rome — and called out by the former president from the stage — were Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and his father Bill Jones, whom Trump called “one tough cookie;” U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Rome; Brian Jack, the Trump aide-turned-3rd congressional district contestant; and state Sen. Brandon Beach of Alpharetta, whom Trump said “did a great job for us.”
But the state’s top-ranking official was nowhere to be seen. Gov. Brian Kemp, who has feuded with Trump often, was not invited to the Trump event and did not seek an invitation. Also absent were Attorney General Chris Carr, Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner John King, and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.
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WILLIS HITS BACK. Former President Donald Trump became the latest Fani Willis critic to mock the district attorney’s name. Willis on Sunday said she won’t sweat the swipes — and could get mileage from them on the campaign trail.
Our AJC colleague Tamar Hallerman reports that in a 30-minute speech marking International Women’s Day, Willis hit back at her critics for trying to “sexualize me” and evoked the civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer.
“I would love to be remembered by the brilliance and the courage and the strength of Fannie Lou Hamer,” the Democrat said.
“They better hope that in 1971, the year I was born and the year she started the National Women’s Political Caucus, it was not God just passing the baton. You know God has a way of using one to start his mission and another to finish it.”
Willis got a hero’s welcome from the several hundred attendees, most of them women of color, who lined up to take photos with her.
It was a starkly different scene from Willis’ last few public appearances at the Fulton courthouse, where she has fought a barrage of defense attorneys seeking to remove her from the election case.
Willis was sharp-edged in her remarks. She cracked jokes about her taste in men, shared a biblical story and called for attendees to support women candidates and others who will support diversity in public service.
Willis also recounted a recent conversation with a friend who asked whether she regretted running for DA.
“I am sure I looked at him like he was crazy,” she recounted. “I said, ‘Are you kidding, I’m the best DA this county’s ever had.’”
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Credit: Steve Schaefer/AJC
Credit: Steve Schaefer/AJC
SUNDAY SHOWS. U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., made the TV rounds on Sunday, appearing on both NBC’s “Meet the Press” and CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Speaking to CNN’s Jake Tapper prior to delivering his Sunday sermon at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Warnock criticized Republicans for using the death of nursing student Laken Riley on the University of Georgia campus as a rallying point for their criticism of President Joe Biden’s policies at the U.S.-Mexico border.
“It’s unfortunate that in this moment of grief, there are those who are trying to score cheap political points,” Warnock said. “The border must be secured; we know this. There’s agreement about that on both sides. Which is why we had a bipartisan piece of legislation before us just a matter of weeks ago.”
On “Meet the Press” with Kristen Welker, Warnock discussed the chance that former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan could lead the “No Labels” third party ticket. He told Welker that he believes the choice is a binary one between a forward-looking Biden or a backward-facing Trump.
“The question is, do you want the America of Jan. 5 that sent its first Black senator from Georgia (and) its first Jewish senator from Georgia to the United States Senate?” Warnock said. “Or do you want the America of Jan. 6 pushed forward by a president who continues to advance the ‘big lie’ about the election?”
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Credit: Casey Sykes for the AJC
Credit: Casey Sykes for the AJC
UNDER THE GOLD DOME, Legislative Day 33:
- 8 a.m.: Committee meetings begin.
- 10 a.m.: The House convenes.
- 12 p.m.: The Senate gavels in.
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LISTEN UP. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, fresh off a weekend in Georgia stumping for President Joe Biden, headlines the “Politically Georgia” radio show this morning.
Political science professors Charles Bullock and Karen Owen will also join the program to preview Tuesday’s presidential primary and help recap this weekend’s visits from Biden and former President Donald Trump. And the AJC’s Mark Niesse will talk about the early voting totals.
Listen live at 10 a.m. on 90.1 FM, at AJC.com and at WABE.org.
If you missed it on Friday’s show, U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, R-St. Simons Island, called in to share his thoughts about Biden’s State of the Union address.
Find that episode and other previous editions of “Politically Georgia” on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
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SHUTDOWN AVERTED. It took a few days of negotiating, but the Senate managed to approve federal funding legislation ahead of Friday’s partial government funding deadline.
The $460 billion “minibus” package passed by a vote of 75-22. Georgia Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, both Democrats from Atlanta, voted with the majority.
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
President Joe Biden quickly signed the bill into law as the House had signed off on the measure earlier in the week.
But there is no rest for leaders in both chambers who are in charge of negotiating these funding bills. The minibus covered just six of the 12 long-term appropriations bills.
The remaining six need to be approved, either individually or as another minibus, by March 22 to keep affected agencies’ doors open.
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TODAY IN WASHINGTON:
- President Joe Biden releases his 2025 budget proposal, which outlines his spending priorities. He will also hold a campaign rally in Manchester, New Hampshire, with a focus on his health care agenda.
- The House has evening votes scheduled.
- The Senate has an evening vote scheduled to advance a judicial nomination.
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Credit: TNS
Credit: TNS
NOT SO FAST. There is still one Democrat in the race against President Joe Biden. Marianne Williamson, who earlier suspended — and then unsuspended — her campaign, will be speaking at Georgia Tech later today ahead of Tuesday’s presidential primary.
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DOG OF THE DAY. Many politicos in our pages have been accused of changing themselves to fit a situation, which is exactly what Kingston Ellis Davis prides himself on.
Kingston is the 8-year-old veiled chameleon who calls Charlotte Davis, J.L. Morgan Company’s legislative director, his person. Like legislation and lawmakers themselves, a reliable source tells us that this handsome devil adapts himself for not just survival, but also for superiority.
Credit: Courtesy photo
Credit: Courtesy photo
For being the spirit animal of so many Politically Georgia readers and subjects, Kingston, you’ve just changed into our Dog of the Day!
Send us your pets of any political persuasion to patricia.murphy@ajc.com, or DM us at @MurphyAJC.
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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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