Vernon Jones has a decision to make.
The Democrat-turned-Republican is an also-ran in the race for Georgia governor, badly trailing incumbent Gov. Brian Kemp and former U.S. Sen. David Perdue by double-digits in public polls of the GOP primary.
Whatever slim chance he might have had to run as a Donald Trump acolyte ended when the former president backed Perdue instead. But what Jones does have, as his supporters like to remind Republicans, is leverage.
With about 10% support in the latest Quinnipiac poll of the race, Jones’ devoted core of far-right Trump loyalists could be enough to hurt Perdue’s chances against Kemp if he stays in the race. That same poll showed Perdue trailing Kemp by about 7%.
Jones’ continued presence in the contest could also guarantee a June runoff by making it harder for any candidate to win the nomination outright.
In short, Jones has enough sway in the race to extract a promise of support from Trump for another contest if he gets out of the governor’s primary. Above all, Trump has made defeating Kemp a top priority, and his allies say he likely doesn’t want to see Perdue’s chances weakened by another pro-Trump candidate.
So what race would Jones join? He’s publicly ruled out a challenge to state schools superintendent Richard Woods, and he seems unlikely to run for insurance commissioner or labor commissioner. Trump has already backed candidates in other key statewide contests.
But he’s got other options. Two vacant Republican-friendly U.S. House seats are on the ballot in November, and Jones could run for either one of them. The 6th District now spans from Atlanta’s inner suburbs to Dawson County, while the 10th is mostly rural area in northeast Georgia.
Jones dropped a hint where he’s leaning on Sunday when he tweeted that Congress needs more Republicans like Matt Gaetz, Madison Cawthorn and Marjorie Taylor Greene.
He also weighed in on the work of the Jan. 6 Committee in the House:
“When Republicans take back Congress, the Select J6 Committee should be immediately replaced with a Select Committee to investigate and ensure the integrity of our elections. Prosecutions will follow, and justice will be served.”
If Jones runs for Congress, not only would it shake up the race for governor by giving Perdue a clearer shot at Kemp, it would also be another huge test of Trump’s influence, this time with a bet that conservatives would value the former president’s blessing over Jones’ long record as a Democrat and history of misconduct toward women.
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On the same weekend Donald Trump said he might pardon the Jan. 6 attackers, loyalty to Trump and rewriting the last election were the focus of David Perdue’s speech to Cobb Republicans, the Marietta Daily Journal reports.
Zooming in following his positive COVID test, Perdue said Gov. Brian Kemp has two deficiencies, most especially a lack of loyalty.
“He cannot get the Trump voter. He has not been loyal to Donald Trump. He’s been in denial that anything happened (in the 2020 election). In fact, he’s still, even last week, calling it a ‘clean election’ … and we all know that’s just not true.”
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Speaking of the Perdue family, former Gov. Sonny Perdue’s chances of becoming the next chancellor for the University System of Georgia are still alive, despite the fact that his cousin is conducting an anti-Kemp crusade around the state.
The chancellor selection is formally made by the Board of Regents, which continued to get a mini-makeover last week from Gov. Brian Kemp, when he tapped another political ally for the 19-member board and announced that two sitting members will move off following redistricting.
Perdue is expected to interview with the Board in the coming weeks. Although Kemp doesn’t have a vote, he told one of your Insiders the chancellor search has “gone on for way too long.”
It was Sonny Perdue who originally elevated Kemp to the Secretary of State position when he appointed Kemp to the vacancy in 2010.
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UNDER THE GOLD DOME:
- The House and Senate are out Monday. Look for action to resume Tuesday, Feb. 1.
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A congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 mob that attacked the U.S. Capitol issued subpoenas Friday to “alternative” presidential electors in Georgia and other states who falsely claimed then-President Donald Trump defeated Joe Biden.
The House select committee subpoenaed Georgia GOP Chair David Shafer and then-party secretary Shawn Still, along with fake electors in six other states, said U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, the panel’s chair. Thompson said the committee seeks information involving the “planning and coordination of efforts to send false slates of electors to the National Archives.”
“We believe the individuals we have subpoenaed today have information about how these so-called alternate electors met and who was behind that scheme,” Thompson said in a statement. “We encourage them to cooperate with the Select Committee’s investigation to get answers about January 6th for the American people and help ensure nothing like that day ever happens again.”
The subpoena directs Shafer and Still to turn over documents to the committee by Feb. 11 and appear for a deposition on Feb. 21.
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Georgia Congressman Sanford Bishop is officially on the list of House Democrats’ most vulnerable incumbents, as group known as “Frontliners.”
The decision of the party’s congressional campaign committee to try to protect Bishop, D-Albany, isn’t a surprise. Republicans in the General Assembly approved a new map that makes his 2nd District seat more conservative, although Democratic voters still have a slight majority.
Still, the GOP thinks it’s a seat they can flip as soon as this year’s midterms, and certainly down the road if and when Bishop retires. Several Republicans have lined up to challenge Bishop this cycle.
Bishop is the only Georgian on the Frontline list. Although U.S. Reps. Lucy McBath and Carolyn Bourdeaux were on the “Frontline” last cycle because of the swing nature of their 6th and 7th Districts seats, the new map now makes the 6th solidly conservative and the 7th solidly Democratic. McBath and Bourdeaux are both running in the 7th.
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Along those lines, U.S. Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux will be at the Centreville OneStop Shop Monday for a 10:30 press conference to highlight funding coming to the 7th Congressional District from the American Rescue Plan, the COVID relief bill passed by Democrats in 2021.
Likewise, U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff hit several stops in Henry County, Macon-Bibb County and Albany Friday to tout funding headed for Georgia as a part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, which passed last year.
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Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger defended a plan to close several Lincoln County polling sites, the Augusta Chronicle reports.
Raff made his comments at the Columbia County Rotary Club, where he spoke as a part of an effort to travel the state and debunk misinformation about the 2020 election-- nearly all of which was spread by former President Donald Trump.
On the Lincoln County plan, he said: “It’s a county decision, counties make those decisions, based on population, based on their budget. And so we’ll let the county make that decision. I know there are counties that are much larger than Lincoln County that also have a centralized polling location.”
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In campaign news:
- Democrat Bee Nguyen, a candidate for secretary of state, was endorsed by outgoing Augusta Mayor Hardie Davis;
- Holly McCormack, one of several Democrats running to unseat U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, reported raising more than $650,000 in the last quarter of 2021. That brings her total raised to more than $1.25 million.
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U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter could not resist a parade in tiny Blackshear this weekend, even though it wasn’t for him.
Carter was among throngs of fans and well-wishers this weekend at a hometown parade for UGA QB Stetson Bennett, Dawg Nation reports. He also gave Bennett a congressional declaration after Bennett received a key to the city.
Blackshear sits in Carter’s 1st Congressional District. More importantly, Carter has distinguished himself, and his dress code, as that of a UGA super fan.
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As always, Jolt readers are some of our favorite tipsters. Send your best scoop, gossip and insider info to patricia.murphy@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com and greg.bluestein@ajc.com.
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