A few weeks before the 2018 midterm, then-Gov. Nathan Deal surprised many Republicans by announcing he’d call legislators back to Atlanta just after the election.
It was hard for Deal’s critics to find fault with the reason for the summons. Hurricane Michael devastated southwest Georgia, and Deal wanted the state to cover the cleanup costs. But there was also a veiled threat tied to the timing.
Stacey Abrams and Brian Kemp were neck-and-neck in polls at the time, and some antsy Republicans hoped they could muscle changes through the GOP-controlled Legislature to roll back the Democrat’s powers if she won.
Deal’s camp scoffed at talk of an ulterior motive for the special session, but legislators from both parties took the possibility seriously. After all, two years earlier GOP legislators in North Carolina took steps to strip the incoming Democratic governor’s authority before he took office.
With polls showing Kemp staked to a big lead over Abrams in their 2022 rematch, there’s been less buzz in GOP circles about a potential move to limit her powers. But it remains a possibility.
“The only thing I can tell you that would happen if she somehow pulls it off is the Legislature would fight to take more power away from the executive branch to bring true balance to the system of government,” state Rep. Alan Powell, R-Hartwell, recently told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Powell is not on an island. He’s just one of the only Republicans to say it publicly. One senior GOP official said he expected Kemp to “absolutely” call a special session if he loses. Another put the likelihood of such a move at “100%.”
Democrats say they won’t be caught off guard if Abrams wins, though there’s little they can do to block the changes outside of legal challenges.
“The rules are fine for Kemp, but if he loses then the rules need to change,” sighed Democratic state Rep. Scott Holcomb. “Why do you think that is?”
***
Credit: Nathan Posner for The Atlanta-Journal-Constitution
Credit: Nathan Posner for The Atlanta-Journal-Constitution
WORKAROUND. Over the summer, we reported that many leading Republicans planned to steer clear of the Georgia GOP due to a lack of confidence in chairman David Shafer after he supported pro-Donald Trump challengers over his party’s incumbents.
Now we’re starting to see what that looks like. After top Republicans ditched the Republican Party of Georgia’s big gala for a law enforcement appreciation cookout in Glennville, we got word of a financial maneuver that’s worth a closer look.
The Republican Attorneys General Association transferred about $1.2 million to Kemp’s leadership committee so it could finance TV ads promoting incumbent Chris Carr at a lower rate than if they had paid for them itself. Another group used the same mechanism to fund a six-figure ad buy for Insurance Commissioner John King.
Insiders say a few years ago, that money would have flowed through the state party instead of Kemp’s committee. We’re told to expect more ad buys that circumvent the state GOP.
***
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Credit: Miguel Martinez
ABORTION CHALLENGE. Arguments over Georgia’s abortion law began Monday in Fulton County Superior Court, where Judge Robert McBurney will rule on the constitutionality of the newly enacted law.
Our colleague, Maya T. Prabhu, reports:
Solicitor General Stephen Petrany, representing the state, said that a pregnant woman no longer has a right to privacy because, upon conception and under Georgia law, a zygote or embryo is a distinct person.
“The right to privacy, such as it is, only extends so far as you're not affecting anyone else," Petrany said. “We think that's just the ballgame."
McBurney also heard testimony from Dr. Carrie Cwiak, an obstetrician-gynecologist and professor at Emory University who specializes in abortion care.
Cwiak, who is one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit against the state, said a pregnant woman who has to carry and give birth because the law won't allow an abortion can face severe physical and emotional stress, adding that data shows the risk of death from childbirth is greater than the risk after an abortion.
The two-day bench trial continues today. McBurney said he does not expect to make a decision before Election Day, which is Nov. 8.
***
Credit: Jenn Finch for the AJC
Credit: Jenn Finch for the AJC
HIRING FRIENDS. Politico published an investigation that showed the Fair Fight Action voting rights organization founded by Stacey Abrams spent more than $25 million over two years on legal fees, with at least $9.4 million going to a firm helmed by the Democrat’s close ally.
That would be Allegra Lawrence-Hardy, a longtime friend of Abrams who chaired her gubernatorial campaigns in 2018 and 2022, and is one of the leaders of the Lawrence & Bundy boutique law firm.
Much of the spending apparently involved a legal challenge brought by Fair Fight Action in 2019 that sought far-reaching changes to the state’s election system. A federal judge rejected the group’s complaint in a recent ruling.
Politico quoted several legal experts questioning the payout to a firm with close ties to Abrams. Lawrence-Hardy said the firm also provided other unspecified services to the organization. A Fair Fight spokesman said she was hired because of her expertise, not her relationship to the candidate.
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WHO’S CALLING? Voters across Georgia have received robocalls that, on the surface, applaud Democratic gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams and U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop for protecting abortion rights. But CNN’s KFile reports that the mysterious calls seem to be part of an effort to benefit Republicans.
More from CNN:
The calls, which used polarizing language popular with Democratic activists, are made to sound like they are in support of Democratic Rep. Sanford Bishop and gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams — but Democrats involved in the races allege that the call, uncovered by CNN's KFile, is the work of Republicans.
The call says it is done by a group called American Values — groups operating under that name or similar ones have said they are not behind the call.
CNN reports that the source of the robocalls is unclear, a violation of federal law, and that voters who follow prompts at the end of the message to contact Abrams and Bishop are connected to either the congressman’s Albany congressional office or the number for the chairwoman of the Democratic Party in Grady County.
She told CNN the calls are “a dirty trick.”
***
Credit: Pete Marovich/The New York Times
Credit: Pete Marovich/The New York Times
ENDING THE WAR. It’s not just conservative Republicans in Congress who are beginning to air concerns about ongoing U.S. support of Ukraine as it defends itself against Russia’s invasion.
A group of liberal Democrats, including Georgia U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson, has sent a letter to President Joe Biden asking him to “seek a realistic framework for a ceasefire.”
The letter, which was also signed by five progressive members known as “The Squad,” also notes the financial burden of U.S. aid to Ukraine: “the expenditure of tens of billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars in military assistance in the conflict.” It says the war has also affected the global economy and had steep human costs across Ukraine and now comes with the risk of the use of nuclear weapons.
“In conclusion, we urge you to make vigorous diplomatic efforts in support of a negotiated settlement and ceasefire, engage in direct talks with Russia, explore prospects for a new European security arrangement acceptable to all parties that will allow for a sovereign and independent Ukraine, and, in coordination with our Ukrainian partners, seek a rapid end to the conflict and reiterate this goal as America’s chief priority,” the letter says.
***
Credit: Jenni Girtman for the AJC
Credit: Jenni Girtman for the AJC
ON THE TRAIL. The campaign buses are gassed up and going. Here are just a few of the spots where you’ll see Georgia politicians today:
- Gov. Brian Kemp will make campaign stops in Pooler and Hinesville, along with a ribbon cutting for the massive Hyundai plant headed to Bryan County.
- U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff is holding a joint rally with counterpart Raphael Warnock in Savannah, that is also a chance to highlight other Democrats on the ticket, such as congressional candidate Wade Herring. The event will be held this afternoon outside the state party’s offices there.
- Warnock also holds a rally in Brunswick and will also attend the Hyundai event.
- Look for Stacey Abrams’ “Let’s Get it Done” bus tour at stops in Buena Vista, Americus and Albany.
- The north Georgia swing of Herschel Walker’s “Unite Georgia Bus Tour” stops in Dawsonville at noon.
- CNN political analyst Bakari Sellers joins Democratic attorney general nominee Jen Jordan for several stops, including at Rick’s Barber Shop in Atlanta, and a town hall meeting at Black Coffee ATL. It’s part of the state Democratic Party’s “Barbershop Blitz” in metro Atlanta.
***
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
CAMPAIGN NOTEBOOK. Every afternoon, the AJC will publish a recap of news and notes from the campaign trail in Georgia. Highlights from Monday include:
- Senate hopeful Herschel Walker made campaign stops across north Georgia, including one in Rome where he stumped with U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.
- During Walker’s final stop of the evening at a gun store in Jasper, he went inside for target practice where the weapon he was given to shoot was a Georgia-made Daniel Defense AR15, which critics noted was the same brand of rifle used in the Uvalde school shooting. Staff at the store said Walker was expected to sign the firearm and allow it to be auctioned off.
- Gov. Brian Kemp says with the polls showing him ahead he isn’t letting his foot off the gas, meaning no Georgia-Florida game for him (that’s a bit of a dig at former Democratic nominee Jason Carter).
- Democratic nominee for governor Stacey Abrams said record turnout during the early voting period doesn’t mean the state’s new voting laws could not still be used to suppress turnout by creating new barriers for voters.
***
Credit: Alyssa Pointer
Credit: Alyssa Pointer
OBAMA-RAMA. Democrats will bring their heaviest hitter in off the sidelines Friday when former President Barack Obama lands in Georgia to stump for Stacey Abrams, U.S. Raphael Warnock, and the entire Democratic ticket.
The “Georgia Grassroots Event” is scheduled from 4:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the Gateway Center Arena in College Park, with the program scheduled to start at 5:30.
Expect the former president to leave the audience feeling better, not worse, about the road ahead. He recently made headlines when he told the “Pod Save America” podcast that Democrats shouldn’t be such a “buzzkill” with voters.
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MISSING SOUL. A “Souls to the Polls” event for U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock on Sunday included gospel singers, a jazz saxophonist and about two dozen supporters. But it was missing one soul in particular — Warnock.
About 45 minutes into the program without the senator on site, the organizer apologized to the attendees that he wouldn’t make it after all.
“Man will have an agenda,” she said. “But God always has a plan.”
***
FIRST LADY FAVORITE. Gov. Brian Kemp picked up an endorsement from an unexpected source on Monday when former Georgia first lady Shirley Miller put her support behind the governor.
Miller’s late husband, Zell Miller, was a two-term Democratic governor who was later appointed to the U.S. Senate by then-Gov. Roy Barnes.
Although Zell Miller never left the Democratic Party, the occasionally irascible man from Young Harris in rural northeast Georgia quickly grew estranged from national Democratic leaders during his time in Washington.
He eventually endorsed then-President George W. Bush for reelection and spoke at the 2004 Republican National Convention to accuse Democrats of trying to fight wars with spitballs.
Shirley Miller’s endorsement for Kemp was far more mild-mannered.
“Governor Kemp has ably guided our state through one of our toughest chapters in modern times,” she said in a statement. “He has a proven record of acting in the best interest of all Georgians.”
***
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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