Shocking no one, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump breezed to primary victories in Georgia and three other states on Tuesday to clinch the presidential nominations and formally kick off a November rematch. In Georgia, with 99% of the vote counted, Biden had 95.2% of the Democratic primary vote, while Trump won 84.5% of the GOP ballots.
The race was no cliffhanger but was still chock full of valuable clues about the mood of the Georgia electorate eight months before the Biden-Trump sequel. Here’s what else we learned in Georgia’s primary:
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Red flags. Nikki Haley suspended her Republican presidential campaign last week but still captured nearly 20,000 votes on Election Day and 77,000 overall, including early and absentee ballots. The former South Carolina governor fared best in metro Atlanta counties where Trump has long struggled, tallying roughly 40% of the GOP vote in deep-blue DeKalb and Fulton counties.
Biden protest. It’s not immediately clear how many voters pulled Democratic ballots and left them blank in protest of the president’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war, as called for by the #leaveitblank campaign. But some number-crunchers using precinct-by-precinct data found a small percentage of blank presidential ballots, particularly in metro Atlanta.
Credit: John Spink/AJC
Credit: John Spink/AJC
Overall turnout. Nearly 300,000 more Georgians voted in the GOP primary than the Democratic primary. That’s partly because Republicans had an active race for the White House for part of the three-week early voting period, while Biden faced token opposition as an incumbent. But Republicans seem certain to point to turnout numbers as a sign of enthusiasm.
Kemp proxy. Gov. Brian Kemp took a risk when he directed his political machine to oppose C.J. Pearson in a special House election for an Augusta-area legislative seat. But the gamble paid off Tuesday as Pearson was trounced by former Columbia County Commissioner Gary Richardson in an all-GOP runoff. Many Capitol observers wondered why Kemp would wade into a low-profile election for a deep-red seat. But to others, if he’s not going to leverage his resources to stymie a candidate who tried to oust him from office in 2022 as Pearson did, then when would he use them?
***
Credit: Nell Carroll for the AJC
Credit: Nell Carroll for the AJC
KEMP’S FOR TRUMP. Despite their well-publicized clashes, Gov. Brian Kemp said Tuesday he’s backing former President Donald Trump for president now that he’s the GOP nominee. But don’t look for the glowing pro-Trump assessments of some of Georgia’s other Republicans.
Without saying who he voted for Tuesday, Kemp said of the former president, “I think he’d be better than Joe Biden. It’s as simple as that.”
The governor also said he’s planning to use his considerable political capital to elect more Republicans to the General Assembly this November. He did not commit to campaigning for Trump.
***
Credit: Nicole Craine/The New York Times
Credit: Nicole Craine/The New York Times
REEDING THE ELECTION. Evangelical leader Ralph Reed plans to spend big money to get former President Donald Trump elected this year. Politico reports his Faith & Freedom group will plow $62 million into efforts to mobilize religious conservatives for Trump ahead of November.
The pledge comes despite Trump’s refusal, so far, to endorse a national abortion ban. More from the report:
During a recent interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity, Trump appeared to raise the prospect of supporting a 15-week ban, but said that he hadn't “decided yet."
Reed said his organization would maintain its backing for Trump, despite his equivocation on the issue.
As president “He was so pro-life that it was astonishing. And as a result of that, he's going to get more running room from the pro-life grassroots than a typical candidate might get or that he would have gotten in '16," Reed said, “In '16 I think there was a lack of trust, and now there is total trust."
***
PRESIDENTIAL HORSE RACE. Poll results published Tuesday less than an hour before the end of voting in the Georgia presidential primary showed state voters are split on former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden.
Trump polled three percentage points higher — but within the margin of error — in the survey of 1,144 registered voters by CBS News/YouGov. The polling indicates Trump is finding support among some Georgia voters who cast ballots for Biden in 2020 and those who anticipate Trump’s economic policies would be better than Biden’s.
***
Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
LISTEN UP. Hear a complete primary night recap today on the “Politically Georgia” radio show. Guests include Columbus-based journalist Chuck Williams and political science professor Audrey Haynes.
The AJC’s Zachary Hansen also joins the show to discuss the fallout since Rivian announced it was putting a planned $5 million electric vehicle manufacturing plant on hold.
Listen live at 10 a.m. on 90.1 FM, at AJC.com and at WABE.org.
Tuesday’s show featured U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams and the COO for the Secretary of State’s office, Gabriel Sterling, in a curtain-raiser as Georgia voters headed to the polls. State Rep. Ruwa Roman, D-Duluth, explained why she planned to leave her ballot blank in protest of President Joe Biden’s response to the Israel-Hamas war.
Find that episode and other previous editions of “Politically Georgia” on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
***
Credit: Casey Sykes for the AJC
Credit: Casey Sykes for the AJC
UNDER THE GOLD DOME:
- 8 a.m.: Committee meetings begin.
- 10 a.m.: The House convenes.
- 10 a.m.: The Senate gavels in.
***
Credit: TNS
Credit: TNS
SCHOOL VOUCHERS. Some conservative heavy hitters are rallying behind the Georgia House effort to pass a school voucher measure a year after a GOP rebellion doomed the proposal.
The leaders of Club for Growth, the American Federation for Children and the Faith and Freedom Coalition all seconded Gov. Brian Kemp’s remarks Tuesday calling for legislators to pass the proposal.
Our AJC colleague Ty Tagami reported the House Education Committee is scheduled to hear details of the overhauled bill at 1 p.m. today. We got hold of an early version of the bill, which you can find here.
***
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
MEDICAID WATCH. Gov. Brian Kemp wants to make clear that he didn’t put the kibosh on Medicaid expansion. As we’ve reported throughout the year, he didn’t encourage the debate at all.
“It was never my idea to even discuss that,” Kemp said Tuesday. “That was a legislative priority, mainly of the House, to put that out there and have some conversations.”
He added: “I was never in favor of doing that last year or this year.”
Earlier this session, Georgia House leaders signaled the effort to expand Medicaid was off the table until 2025 when House Speaker Jon Burns, R-Newington, and his deputies backed legislation creating a commission to study an Arkansas-style waiver.
Kemp said he wants to press ahead with his more limited plan to extend Medicaid coverage to Georgians who meet work or activity requirements — known as the Pathways program — despite tepid interest.
He called it a “limited Medicaid expansion in a conservative way” and attacked the White House for seeking to block the plan from taking effect earlier.
***
Credit: David Joles via TNS
Credit: David Joles via TNS
GOING PINK. Georgia hunters could move closer to a wardrobe expansion today. The Senate Natural Resources and the Environment Committee is expected to vote on House Bill 927, which would allow people hunting feral hogs, bears or deer to sub in the color known as “blaze pink” for the 500 square inches of fluorescent orange hunters are required to wear now.
The measure, sponsored by House Majority Leader Chuck Efstration, R-Auburn, and freshman state Rep. Leesa Hagan, R-Lyons, passed the House 166-1 two weeks ago.
Allowing fluorescent pink garb is meant to increase women’s interest in hunting, writes the AJC’s Maya T. Prabhu.
***
TIKTOK ON THE CLOCK. In Washington, the U.S. House has scheduled a vote this morning on a bill that could ban the popular video-based social media app TikTok in the United States.
While the app is wildly popular, especially among young people, lawmakers from both parties have expressed concern that its parent company, ByteDance, has ties to the Chinese Communist Party that could allow that government to control or manipulate devices.
The bill is expected to easily pass the House despite heavy lobbying by ByteDance that included encouraging users to flood the phone lines of lawmakers. The outcome is less certain in the Senate where members are skeptical of legislation targeting a single company.
Former President Donald Trump has also come out against the measure, opposition which could cause some Republicans to vote against it.
If the bill becomes law, ByteDance would be forced to either sell off its stake in TikTok or the app would be blocked in the U.S.
***
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
SKIPPING THE RETREAT. After this morning’s votes, the U.S. House is scheduled to adjourn for the week so that Republican lawmakers can attend a retreat in West Virginia.
But many GOP members are skipping the retreat all together.
CNN reported Tuesday that fewer than 100 of the 219 Republicans currently serving in the House plan to attend. The relatively sleepy location and lingering tensions among lawmakers are contributing to the low turnout, the network said.
We polled all nine Republicans in Georgia’s delegation and only one, Rep. Rick Allen of Augusta, confirmed he planned to attend.
Rep. Buddy Carter, R-St. Simons Island, is among the members who won’t be making the drive to the Mountain State. His office cited scheduling conflicts.
***
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
BRINGING HOME BACON. Despite the bitter partisanship that often defines Washington, members of Georgia’s delegation worked across party lines to bring money back to the state and their districts as part of the government funding package approved last week.
Roughly $250 million in earmarks are coming to the state for dozens of projects, including many where Democratic Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock worked with Republican members in the House to get the funding.
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Examples include the senators partnering with Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Cassville, to obtain $22 million in federal dollars for construction of a new facility at Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta and with Rep. Drew Ferguson, R-The Rock, to land $3 million that the University of Georgia Research Foundation plans to put toward the creation of a high-tech agriculture laboratory in Tifton.
And Warnock teamed up with Republican U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, R-St. Simons Island, on $38 million in harbor improvements for Brunswick.
Everyone in the delegation requested earmarks and got at least one project funded except the four Republicans who sat it out completely: Reps. Rick Allen of Augusta, Andrew Clyde of Athens, Rich McCormick of Suwanee and Austin Scott of Tifton.
***
Credit: Nell Carroll for the AJC
Credit: Nell Carroll for the AJC
TODAY IN WASHINGTON:
- President Joe Biden travels to a boys’ and girls’ club in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to deliver remarks on his economic agenda.
- The House votes on legislation that would require TikTok to get new ownership or stop operating in the U.S.
- The Senate has no votes scheduled today.
- U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams hosts a telephone town hall with constituents at 6 p.m. Listen in by calling (855) 756-7520, extension 102565#.
***
HUR HEARING. Republicans and Democrats alike criticized former Justice Department Special Counsel Robert Hur as he testified during a Judiciary Committee hearing on his investigation of President Joe Biden’s handling of classified documents.
While Republicans blasted his decision not to bring charges against Biden, Democrats accused Hur of mischaracterizing Biden’s demeanor and being motivated by politics.
Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson, a member of the committee, focused on the fact that Hur is a Republican like former President Trump.
“You’re doing everything you can do to get President Trump reelected so that you can get appointed as a federal judge, perhaps to another position in the Department of Justice; is that correct?” the Lithonia Democrat said to Hur.
That led to a strong denial from Hur, who said he has “no such aspirations” and did not allow partisan politics to affect his work. Later, Republican commentator Scott Jennings said on CNN that he found Johnson’s line of questioning to Hur “particularly egregious.”
***
Credit: Courtesy photo
Credit: Courtesy photo
DOG OF THE DAY. If you played any role in the election last night, meet Arya Sallach, your new spirit animal.
Arya and fellow cat Chole live with their people — Mary and Tobias Sallach — in Chamblee. But because running a tight ship for the Sallach family is exhausting, Arya and Chloe include getting treats, sitting on people’s laps, and watching TV as their self-care to recharge.
Send us your pets of any political persuasion to patricia.murphy@ajc.com, or DM us at @MurphyAJC.
***
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.
About the Authors
