Lt. Gov. Burt Jones could run for governor in 2026. He could also still be charged in Fulton County’s sprawling election-interference case against former President Donald Trump and allies. And he could push Republican policies hotly opposed by Democrats in next year’s legislative session.
So why are some Democrats playing nice with him? That’s the question a national Democratic operative wanted to know at the state Senate Democratic caucus retreat last month, officials told your Insiders and the AJC’s Maya T. Prabhu.
They said the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee staffer warned caucus members they could be making a mistake by cozying up to Jones and other GOP colleagues.
The challenge was a likely reference to two different recent developments. Last month, Jones embarked on a tour of historically Black colleges and universities with several Democrats. And a trio of Democratic senators were quoted in a Fox News story complimenting the lieutenant governor.
There’s a reason for the scrutiny. Democrats have chipped away at GOP control of the chamber by flipping five seats since 2018, and the state and national party could take aim at more seats next year.
A DLCC spokesman said the group will continue to be “vigilant” involving Jones, a Trump ally who served as one of 16 Republican alternative electors who signed documents asserting Trump as the winner of the 2020 election in Georgia.
“At the DLCC, we’re focused on building state infrastructure and fighting against policies that have hurt the state of Georgia, including those made by a lieutenant governor who was ready and willing to overturn the will of Georgia voters and deny the results of the 2020 election,” said Abhi Rahman.
But with Republicans in control of both chambers and all statewide offices, Democrats have little choice but to partner with the GOP if they want their priorities to get attention.
And some Democrats tell us the work with Jones isn’t just about winning concessions under the Gold Dome; the cooperation also sends the signal that working across party lines isn’t a deal breaker for Democrats who one day hope to lead the chamber.
Publicly, though, Senate Minority Leader Gloria Butler issued a clear rebuke of Jones and other GOP lawmakers in a statement sent late Thursday morning.
“We stand against those who would undermine the democratic values of our state and nation,” she said, adding: “Experience has shown us that many GOP proposed ideas do not adhere to these values.”
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Credit: Maansi Srivastava/The New York Times
Credit: Maansi Srivastava/The New York Times
LISTEN UP. Wednesday’s episode of the Politically Georgia podcast is now in your podcast feeds. We look at the far-right rebellion that brought down former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, the Georgia delegation’s reactions, and what’s next for his allies and foes alike.
Plus, what a plea deal means for the Fulton County election interference case, and why civil rights groups are worried about the safety of prospective jurors.
If you have a question for the show, call our 24-hour Politically Georgia Hotline at 404-526-2527 and we’ll answer it on our Friday episode.
In the meantime, listen and subscribe at Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Podcasts.
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Credit: University of Georgia
Credit: University of Georgia
REDISTRICTING LAWSUIT. The fate of a Georgia lawsuit challenging the Republican-drawn political map may be up in the air a bit longer.
U.S. District Judge Steve Jones issued an order Wednesday asking the Justice Department to respond to the GOP argument involving Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court relied on Section 2 to reject Alabama’s congressional maps. That section says the right to vote cannot be denied or limited based on race.
The district boundaries are being challenged by a coalition of left-leaning groups that argue the lines redrawn in 2021 illegally diluted Black voting power. If the suit is successful and lawmakers are forced to revise the map, Democrats could have new hope of flipping a U.S. House seat and several statehouse legislative districts.
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Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
GOVERNOR THURMOND? Georgia Democrats have been abuzz lately about the prospect that DeKalb County chief executive Michael Thurmond might run for governor in 2026. So we checked in with him.
Thurmond is a former three-term state labor commissioner and DeKalb schools superintendent who has flirted over the years with the idea of running for statewide office again. He has long urged his party to step up its appeal to middle-of-the-road voters.
He told us he’s received a number of inquiries from fidgety Democrats already looking three years down the road. But he has the same answer for each of them.
“My top priority is to finish the job I have,” said Thurmond, whose second term ends in 2024. “I’m tired. I need to rest. Pandemic leadership is a monster and you never make important decisions when you’re tired. So I’m not making that decision right now.”
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Credit: undefined
Credit: undefined
SPEAKER’S RACE. The race for the next U.S. House speaker is on, and the front-runners are Republican Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana and Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, the inaugural chairman of the House Freedom Caucus.
Members of Georgia’s delegation are being lobbied to pick sides ahead of a closed-door meeting on Tuesday where Republicans will hear from all of the declared candidates and attempt to coalesce around a preferred candidate. If all goes well, a new speaker will be selected on Wednesday.
U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Pooler, backs Scalise.
“His commitment to our nation and our democracy has been unwavering, and I am proud to support him as Speaker of the House,” Carter wrote on social media.
Scalise and Jordan both launched their speakership campaigns with “dear colleagues” letters outlining their visions for the role.
Meanwhile, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Rome, is among a handful of GOP lawmakers who want former President Donald Trump as speaker. By law, the House leader need not be a House member, but every speaker in history has come from within the body.
“His policies stopped the globalists and communists more than anyone else,” she said of Trump on social media. “He is the leader of the Republican Party and the only person we can trust to save America.”
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FERGUSON TRIES AGAIN. As U.S. House Republicans jockey to fill the leadership vacuum created by U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s ouster as speaker, Georgia U.S. Rep. Drew Ferguson, R-The Rock, has feelers out for another run at the whip position, according to multiple news reports.
When he last ran for the position in November, Ferguson landed in last place in a three-way race but missed the runoff by just one vote. There were rumors that one of his supporters accidentally cast a ballot incorrectly, meaning Ferguson might have missed the second round by sheer bad luck.
Credit: AJC
Credit: AJC
He faces competition this time from Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, the Pennsylvania lawmaker currently serving as Republican chief deputy whip. The position makes him second in command to Whip Tom Emmer, a Minnesotan who defeated Ferguson last year.
Emmer is reportedly running for majority leader to replace Steve Scalise of Louisiana, who is vying for speaker. During the last Congress, Ferguson served as then-Whip Scalise’s chief deputy.
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Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
BY THE NUMBERS. Gov. Brian Kemp’s signature health initiative, a Medicaid waiver to cover certain poor adult Georgians without health insurance, won a National Association of Medicaid Directors’ annual Spotlight Award, the Georgia Department of Community Health announced Wednesday.
The association lauded the state’s perseverance through years of legal fights and said the program was “projected to provide Medicaid coverage to approximately 300,000 individuals.” However, the figures cited are incorrect, the AJC’s Ariel Hart reports.
According to the state’s own projections, the Georgia Pathways program will offer about 300,000 uninsured adults a “pathway” to coverage if they meet certain requirements such as working 80 hours per month or performing other eligible activities. The state forecasts the majority will not be able or willing to take that pathway, leaving more than 200,000 people uninsured.
Those who enroll in the program could build it to 90,000 insured by 2025, according to Georgia predictions updated before the program debuted in July.
In the only concrete data since the July 1 launch, the AJC reported the first month’s enrollment was a total of 265.
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TODAY IN WASHINGTON:
- President Joe Biden receives a briefing on Ukraine from members of his national security team.
- The House is adjourned for the week. Members return Tuesday to vet speaker candidates.
- The U.S. Senate is in recess until Oct. 16.
- Vice President Kamala Harris, Senate Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., attend the late U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s funeral in San Francisco.
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FEEDING FRENZY. If you’ve ever looked around your office and thought, “I could write a book,” it’s time for you to talk to George Franklin. He’s a lobbyist-turned-candidate-turned-author whose newest novel, “A Feeding Frenzy in Washington,” dishes on the behind-the-scenes reality of lobbying on Capitol Hill.
The central drama is one any Jolt reader can dig their teeth into — a looming omnibus spending bill and a group of lobbyists’ plans to tuck their clients’ goodies into the sprawling package. Franklin told news website The Hill, “It’s a Carl Hiaasen, Christopher Buckley kind of book, with a cast of members of Congress, and lobbyists, and trade associations — and it’s good-natured fun.”
Franklin’s book is fiction but is based on his real-life experience as Kellogg’s top man in D.C.. He also has his own ties to Georgia’s delegation since he’s married to Molly Dye, the late U.S. Sen. Paul Coverdell’s longtime chief of staff.
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WORTHY MAYORAL CHOICE. The southwest Georgia town of Edison has a new mayor for the first time in 31 years.
Albany TV station WALB reports Shirley Worthy was sworn in Monday to succeed Reeves Lane, who resigned for health reasons after three decades leading the city of 1,230.
Worthy, who was the only mayoral candidate, inherits a government grappling with a $500,000 debt and a 25.543 property tax millage rate.
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Credit: Courtesy photo
Credit: Courtesy photo
DOG OF THE DAY. Bailey Agvent is more than just a pretty face. She has also won the hearts of the Agvent family after they found her at Cross Critter Rescue in Nashville, Georgia, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bailey is a Boykin spaniel-German shepherd mix, but a reliable source reports she is often mistaken for a black Labrador puppy. She currently splits her time between Atlanta and Seabrook Island, South Carolina, as one does, where she spends her days chasing seagulls and, of course, reading The Jolt every morning.
Bailey learned this essential daily habit from Matthew Agvent, the campaign manager-turned-communications director for state Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper, as well as her favorite person, Matthew’s mom.
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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