Gov. Brian Kemp begins a southeast Georgia swing Monday that features a stop in Savannah on Tuesday to celebrate the groundbreaking of Hyundai Motogroup’s $5.5 billion “Metaplant America” in nearby Ellabell. It’s the largest economic development project in state history.
Two of the state’s top Democratic figures will also be on hand at the company’s first fully electric vehicle and battery manufacturing facility in the U.S.: Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, who both supported the federal infrastructure package and other measures to boost alternative energy. (More on that below.)
Warnock and Ossoff will stick around Savannah on Tuesday for their first joint rally of the 2022 campaign. Expect Ossoff to continue to stump for the Democratic ticket during the final two weeks of the campaign.
Ossoff will hold other events during the extended congressional recess. On Monday he’ll be with veterans at the Carl Vinson VA Medical Center in middle Georgia to talk about recent legislation to improve veterans’ health care. He’ll then head to Columbus to visit with families at Ft. Benning about improvements to child care centers on base.
***
Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
CAR TROUBLE. With Hyundai in the spotlight, Republicans are likely to criticize U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock for a provision in the federal climate change measure that requires all EV’s to undergo final assembly in North America to qualify for lucrative tax credits.
The Democrat recently introduced a measure to tweak the policy to delay that provision from taking effect until after Hyundai’s factory is operational in 2025, giving the company’s customers access to the incentives until then. He has also urged the Treasury Department to be “flexible” as it interprets and enforces the new rules.
***
SHIFTING SANDS? The weekend brought national headlines about Republicans’ improving fortunes in polls across the country. But in Georgia, the dynamic remains relatively unchanged.
Stacey Abrams continues to trail Gov. Brian Kemp by significant margins, including in a poll released by left-leaning Data for Progress that shows Kemp with a 53% to 43% edge.
But the Senate race remains a margin-of-error nail-biter. A FiveThirtyEight analysis shows U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock with a roughly three-point edge over Herschel Walker.
And a series of recent polls shows Warnock mostly in the mid-to-high 40s —in clear runoff territory, but approaching an outright win. The Libertarian in the race, Chase Oliver, consistently draws a crucial 3% to 4%, which keeps both Warnock and Walker below the all important 50%-plus-one threshold.
Of course, we’re hearing plenty from Republicans who note that polls are showing independent voters starting to break to the GOP nationally — and they predict it’s only a matter of time until that trend surfaces in Georgia.
President Joe Biden tried to address Democrats’ growing anxieties, predicting that the mood will shift again before the Nov. 8 election in remarks at the White House.
“It’s been back and forth with them ahead, us ahead, them ahead. Back and forth. And the polls have been all over the place. I think that we’re going to see one more shift back to our side in the closing days,” he said.
***
34N-HOT WATER? The Georgia Secretary of State’s office announced Friday that it is investigating a pro-Herschel Walker super PAC known for giving away vouchers for gas and groceries — and generating enormous publicity — at multiple events around the state this election cycle.
The 34N22 group’s initiatives first drew attention in June, when a long line of cars formed at a Chevron gas station near downtown Atlanta as the group gave away $25 vouchers to highlight high energy prices.
While some voting rights advocates questioned how it could be allowed in a state that bans groups from distributing food and water to voters in line outside polling places, several election law experts said the policy was permissible so long as the vouchers were given without any condition.
PAC attorney Tippi Cain Burch wrote in a Sept. 30 letter to state officials that 34N22 “did not directly or indirectly condition the distribution of vouchers on any recipient’s agreement to register to vote, to vote for or against any particular candidate, or to vote at all.”
***
Credit: AJC
Credit: AJC
FAKE NEWS. U.S. Senate candidate Herschel Walker’s campaign used false statements about The Atlanta Journal-Constitution to raise money from supporters, the newspaper’s editor, Kevin Riley, said Saturday.
In a fundraising appeal to supporters last week, Walker described an event Tuesday where Walker said a racial slur was used against him. The AJC reported the incident in The Jolt on Wednesday morning.
But Walker’s email falsely claimed the paper never reported the incident, and further described a “male reporter” with the AJC at the event who “laughed in our faces” after being informed of the incident.
The AJC’s reporter at the event was a woman, who did not hear the slur, but worked with the campaign to report the event. A male photographer for the AJC never interacted with any of the campaign staff.
Informed of the inaccuracies, the Walker campaign took no action.
“Voters deserve to know about such a blatantly cynical effort to encourage donations,” Riley said. “We’re disappointed that the Walker campaign would choose to recklessly impugn and endanger our journalists.”
***
DIWALI DAYS. Gov. Brian Kemp took his campaign bus to Norcross on Saturday morning for a Diwali celebration at the Global Mall in Gwinnett County.
The event took place on the first of five days of celebration for the festival of lights, a religious holiday celebrated culturally by many of the nation’s 4.6 million Indian Americans.
“You have my commitment that I will continue to be focused on keeping Georgia the best state in the country for business,” Kemp told the crowd, reminding them of his decision to lift pandemic restrictions.
Attendees who spoke to our AJC colleague Anjali Huynh said they were grateful for Kemp’s acknowledgment of the holiday. For Sandhya Rajan, a Cumming resident, it was especially noteworthy that the program featured kids like her 11-year-old daughter, who danced at the event.
“It’s amazing in the sense that it feels like Kemp wants to connect,” Rajan said of the celebration. “I was like, ‘Wow, OK, he really is interested in us.’ That means a lot. … Nobody’s reaching out like that.”
***
HOMECOMING. The annual “Spelhouse” homecoming celebration for Spelman and Morehouse colleges drew two of the schools’ highest profile alumni this weekend: U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock and the Democratic nominee for governor, Stacey Abrams.
A TikTok video showed Abrams dancing with staffers and students at her campairn’s tailgate tent to cheers of “Go Stacey!”
Also on campus were Angelina Jolie and her daughter Zahara, a freshman at Spelman, who posed with Abrams signs, and actor Kerry Washington, who campaigned with Abrams and Democrats at several stops throughout the day.
Team Warnock also had a tent where the candidate posed with supporters. Wearing a Morehouse letter sweater, Warnock also stopped by a building on campus to point out his old collegiate portrait still hanging on the wall.
***
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
BEE NGUYEN OR BEE LOSE? Along with campaigning for Stacey Abrams on Saturday, actor Kerry Washington gave voters at “SpelHouse” homecoming a pop quiz about state Rep. Bee Nguyen, the Democratic nominee for secretary of state.
“Who are you voting for for secretary of state?” Washington asked.
When one man said Stacey Abrams, Washington corrected, “No! She’s running for governor.” Another student asked if she could call her mom for help with the answer.
Finally Washington asked another, “Would you rather Bee Nguyen or Bee Lose?” The answer: “Bee Nguyen.”
***
FOOTBALL SEASON. Johnson County High School standout and GOP Senate nominee Herschel Walker took a minute off the campaign trail Saturday night to be inducted into the Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame.
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Also in the inaugural class were Georgia-grown football greats, Fran Tarkenton and Buck Belue.
Walker also made an appearance at Buford High School football game for “senior night” under the Friday night lights.
***
SCOTUS APPEAL. About 24 hours after the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that U.S. Lindsey Graham must testify before the Fulton County special grand jury investigating former President Donald Trump, Graham appealed ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, our colleague Tamar Hallerman reports.
The South Carolina Republican requested an emergency stay and injunction from the high court while he appeals the lower court’s decision, a move designed to keep him out of court while he makes his case.
***
Credit: File photo
Credit: File photo
ON THE TRAIL:
- Gov. Brian Kemp has three stops planned today on his bus tour: IHS Pharmacy & Gifts in Metter, Mt. Vernon Community Center in Mt. Vernon, and the Veterans’ Community Center in Claxton.
- U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock will join Brookhaven’s mayor and police chief today to announce federal funding for six additional Brookhaven police officers.
- Herschel Walker’s Unite Georgia Bus Tour makes stops today at the Floyd County GOP headquarters in Rome, Carpets of Dalton Event Center in Dalton, and at Appalachian Gun and Pawn in Jasper.
***
Credit: Ryan Fleisher for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Credit: Ryan Fleisher for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
LATTO FANS. Stacey Abrams joined rapper Latto on stage Saturday night while Latto performed a song whose title can’t be repeated in this family-friendly newsletter. The rapper penned the lyrics in response to the Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade.
A video posted by a fan page shows Abrams holding a sign that read, “MY BODY MY CHOICE” as she took the mic and to address the cheering crowd.
“I’m not going to interrupt your fun,” Abrams said. “I just want to remind you that if you believe it’s, ‘My body and my choice,’ I need your vote.”
Latto was an opening act for Lizzo during a concert at State Farm arena.
***
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.
