For about three hours on Friday, U.S. Rep. Austin Scott was one of the most important people in U.S. politics.
He waged a surprise campaign for House speaker, rising up to challenge U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, the conservative firebrand from Ohio. The results of the speaker election, although unsuccessful for Scott, were considered impressive by many insiders.
The Tifton Republican received support from 81 fellow House Republicans in the secret ballot vote compared to Jordan’s 124.
That’s far from a blowout for Jordan, especially considering Scott had about an hour to prepare for the question-and-answer candidate session that preceded the balloting and little time to whip up votes in his favor. Meanwhile Jordan had been campaigning for the job since Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s ouster as speaker on Oct. 3.
During those three hours, journalists scrambled to learn more about the defense hawk who is also a defender of Georgia’s agriculture industry and a former candidate for governor who once logged 1,050 miles walking the state.
Scott faced long odds for the nomination.
He lacks the national profile of McCarthy of California, Jordan or Majority Leader Steve Scalise, the Louisianan who was the GOP nominee for speaker for about a day last week. He withdrew from consideration due to a dearth of support.
Even close friends of Scott’s said they were caught off guard by the sudden announcement, which was out of step with the head-down persona that the Georgian has cultivated at the U.S. Capitol. But they said the leadership crisis has so infuriated him that he felt compelled to run.
“This is not about Jim Jordan. It’s not about Steve Scalise. It’s not about Austin Scott. It’s about the United States of America and having a speaker in the House,” Scott said, adding that his decision was so spur-of-the-moment he hardly had enough time to tell his wife.
“I didn’t have prep time or a whip list to make phone calls asking for support,” Scott. “I never even told the Georgia delegation I was running because I didn’t have time.”
Scott’s candidacy was mainly characterized as an effort to make it tougher for Jordan to coast to the nomination as the sole candidate. But once the votes were counted, Scott threw his support behind Jordan, writing on social media that he respects his colleague and that, “Our conference has spoken.”
Jordan still remains far short of the 217 he needs to become speaker. After a second round of secret balloting Friday showed 55 Republicans still opposed him, Jordan allies in and out of Congress began a pressure campaign to get the holdouts on board.
Fox News’ Sean Hannity leads that charge. According to Axios, a booker for Hannity’s Fox show reached out to moderates over the weekend saying, “Please let us know when Rep. xxx plans on opening The People’s House so work can be done.”
The GOP caucus will meet this evening to determine where things stand, with a floor vote possible Tuesday.
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WALKER’S RICHES. Almost a year after Herschel Walker lost his U.S. Senate bid, the Republican’s campaign still has nearly $4.5 million in its account.
Financial disclosures released over the weekend show Walker has spent more than $65,000 in legal fees since April. Most of those expenses came after reports of an accusation that Walker directed more than half a million dollars in campaign contributions to one of his businesses.
Emails first obtained by The Daily Beast and confirmed by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Walker asked Montana billionaire Dennis Washington for a $600,000 donation — and Walker told him to wire about $535,000 of the sum to a company he runs called HR Talent.
An aide to Washington said the money was ultimately returned upon request. Washington asked for the refund when he realized the destination for the cash was to Walker’s personal account and not to his campaign.
Walker still hasn’t commented on the transaction, and several of his former staffers declined requests over the weekend to explain the legal expenses.
His campaign also refunded about $45,000 in contributions to other donors over the last three months, after writing roughly $15,600 in refund checks during the previous quarter.
One of them is Ben Mathis, who told us he sent an email seeking his money back after hearing the campaign was refunding contributions.
Under federal election law, campaign committees can hold pat on funds or spend them on gifts to charity and political organizations, though the money can’t be used to personally benefit the candidate. Walker’s accounts collect about $15,000 in interest a month.
The former football star was the sole statewide Republican to lose in last year’s midterm, falling to Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock after a scandal-plagued campaign. Some of his GOP critics worry his robust campaign account is a sign he could run for office again.
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Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
CAMPAIGN COFFERS. Other notable numbers from federal campaign finance disclosures released over the weekend include:
U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, who faces a 2026 reelection bid, has nearly $3 million in his account.
And we’re closely watching two U.S. House members who could be impacted by the pending federal redistricting lawsuit. U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, a suburban Democrat, has roughly $750,000 in her coffers. And Republican U.S. Rep. Rich McCormick has about $400,000.
McCormick, a Suwanee resident, represents a district that is a focus of the lawsuit. The 6th Congressional District once spanned the close-in suburbs north of Atlanta but was redrawn by the Republican-led Georgia General Assembly in 2021 and now stitches together heavily GOP and less diverse parts of Cherokee, Dawson and Forsyth counties.
The new territory is so conservative that McBath, a Marietta resident who represented the 6th District for two terms, bolted for a neighboring district in the 2022 election.
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Credit: Katelyn Myrick/AJC
Credit: Katelyn Myrick/AJC
ONE MORE TIME. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is continuing his statewide tour of civic organizations to say, once again, the 2020 elections were not stolen.
Raffensperger visited with the Marietta Kiwanians last week, the Marietta Daily Journal reports. He told the audience, “Here’s what happened in 2020, here’s the 30-second answer: 28,000 people skipped the presidential race, they didn’t vote for anyone, and yet they voted down ballot for other races.”
Raffensperger managed to dodge a question about whether he’s considering a run for governor in 2026. But earlier he told the group a parable about a young man and an old man chopping wood. The old man stopped often, but still chopped more than the young one.
“All those times you thought I was stopping, taking those breaks,” Raffensperger said, “I was sharpening my saw.”
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Credit: Jenni Girtman for the AJC
Credit: Jenni Girtman for the AJC
POWER PLAY. Democrats turned out in force over the weekend to march in the Atlanta Pride Parade, the annual hallmark event for the region’s LGBTQ community.
U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams of Atlanta, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens and several state lawmakers and city council members got raucous applause along the Midtown Atlanta parade route.
Some of the loudest cheers went to Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who walked the Peachtree Street stretch flanked by a heavily armed security detail.
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TODAY IN WASHINGTON:
- President Joe Biden tours a wind tower manufacturer in Pueblo, Colorado, and delivers remarks on his economic agenda.
- U.S. House Republicans meet this evening to gauge support for Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan as speaker.
- The U.S. Senate returns from recess today and resumes confirmations.
- Federal Judge Tanya Chutkan holds a hearing on prosecutors’ request for a gag order against former President Donald Trump ahead of his trial on election interference charges.
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RFK IN GA. Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. campaigned in Augusta on Saturday. The Augusta Chronicle reports he spoke for nearly an hour, focusing his message on the greed and power of corporate America.
“If you give me some sword, if you give me some ground to stand on, I’m going to take your country back for you,” said Kennedy, the son of former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and the nephew of former President John F. Kennedy.
Kennedy spoke before a curious crowd in a small ballroom at the Augusta Convention Center. His campaign canceled a Friday visit to Savannah, where he was to speak at a local theater.
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Credit: John Spink/AJC
Credit: John Spink/AJC
POLLS OPEN. Early voting begins today for municipal elections across the state. Savannah’s mayoral and council races are the highest profile, but voters in dozens of other cities will elect new leadership in the weeks ahead.
In metro Atlanta, the AJC’s Mark Niese reports candidates are running for mayor in Brookhaven, College Park, Lilburn and Stonecrest.
Election day is Nov. 7.
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Credit: Courtesy photo
Credit: Courtesy photo
DOG OF THE DAY. Big things may come in small packages, but that’s not the case with Biggie Carney, a three-year-old Australian shepherd.
This voluminous vessel of doggie devotion lives in Augusta with his people, Beth and Jeff Carney. An unbiased source tells us Biggie is also very energetic, extremely smart, and always looking for his next adventure.
Send us your dogs of any political persuasion and location, and cats on a cat-by-cat basis, to patricia.murphy@ajc.com, or DM us at @MurphyAJC.
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AS ALWAYS, Jolt readers are some of our favorite tipsters. Send your best scoop, gossip and insider info to adam.vanbrimmer@ajc.com, patricia.murphy@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com and greg.bluestein@ajc.com.
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