The latest New York Times/Siena College 2024 presidential election poll shows Donald Trump leading President Joe Biden in Georgia and four other key battleground states. A dive into the crosstabs of the poll released over the weekend shows even greater concerns for Biden’s reelection hopes.
Biden trails the former president 49-43 among likely Georgia voters, just outside the survey’s margin of error of 4.5 percentage points. He’s showing significant weakness among core Democratic supporters.
Some 19% of Black voters — who make up the backbone of the Democratic voting base in Georgia — support Trump’s comeback bid. Republican presidential contenders typically register about 10% support from Black voters in Georgia.
And roughly 9% of Biden’s supporters in the 2020 election, in which he carried the state by fewer than 12,000 votes, now say they back Trump. That’s compared to 2% of Trump supporters in 2020 who indicate they’ll now vote for the Democratic incumbent.
Both Biden and Trump are deeply unpopular, with unfavorable ratings surpassing 50%. But some 60% of voters say they disapprove of Biden’s job performance, including 20% of Democrats and about two-thirds of independents.
Biden’s age continues to be one of his biggest vulnerabilities. An overwhelming 69% of Georgia voters said the 80-year-old is “just too old to be an effective president.” That’s an opinion shared by a majority of every demographic polled, including 52% of Biden’s supporters.
Quentin Fulks, the Georgia native who serves as a top Biden deputy, said the poll isn’t cause for concern in an interview Sunday with MSNBC’s Symone Sanders.
“We’re focused on laying this foundational base of drawing that contrast using the innovative techniques that we are doing right now to figure out where to reach voters most effectively so that we can head into 2024 and win in November,” Fulks said. “But, no, we don’t care about a poll in November of 2023.”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution will release its own poll of likely Georgia voters later this week, so stay tuned.
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Credit: Bob Andres/AJC
Credit: Bob Andres/AJC
MAKING MOVES. Even as he leads the Georgia polls, former President Donald Trump is making the procedural moves to set himself up for the state’s March 12 primary.
Georgia GOP chair Josh McKoon said Trump was the first White House candidate to pay the $25,000 contribution to the state party to cement his place on the ballot.
McKoon noted the state party’s executive committee — composed of Trump allies — will help determine who winds up on the ballot.
The state GOP has been ramping up efforts to raise cash to help pay the legal fees for three members charged with serving as pro-Trump electors in the Fulton County election-interference case: former Georgia GOP chair David Shafer, state Sen. Shawn Still and Georgia GOP executive committee member Cathy Latham.
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Credit: Steve Schaefer/AJC
Credit: Steve Schaefer/AJC
ABRAMS SPEAKS OUT. The most influential voice in Georgia Democratic politics, Stacey Abrams, addressed the Israel-Hamas war, the 2024 presidential election and her political future in a Sunday interview on MSNBC’s “Inside with Jen Psaki.”
The two-time gubernatorial contender joined calls for humanitarian aid for Gaza, though she declined to say where she backs a ceasefire in the conflict.
The AJC’s Greg Bluestein has other key takeaways from Abrams’ appearance.
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TLAIB CENSURE PART 2. U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said she will submit a revised resolution to censure Democrat Rashida Tlaib of Michigan in hopes of addressing one of the main objections from the 23 Republicans who opposed the measure. Greene’s original censure measure was tabled by the House last week.
The new version of the bill will no longer accuse Tlaib of inciting an insurrection. Instead, the measure will call the Oct. 18 protest of Israel’s retaliatory strikes against Hamas that led to hundreds of arrests an “illegal occupation.”
And it’s likely to reference fresh comments from Tlaib over the weekend when she labeled Israel’s war a “genocide of the Palestinian people” and defended using a phrase that is considered antisemitic.
Greene, a Rome Republican, is reminding these Republicans that most voted earlier this year to censure Democrat Adam Schiff of California for comments he made about investigations of former President Donald Trump.
Every House Republican supported censuring Schiff. Georgia Reps. Austin Scott of Tifton and Rich McCormick of Suwanee were among the 23 who opposed rebuking Tlaib last week, saying that while they disagreed with what she said, it was protected speech. Greene said she hopes the revised bill changes their minds.
“They censured Adam Schiff so they should be able to vote to censure her,” she wrote on social media. “We can not stand by doing nothing while one of our colleagues calls for the genocide of our great friend and ally Israel.”
Greene announced her new approach to disciplining Tlaib two days after Greene voted against $14.3 billion in emergency funding for Israel to help in its war with Hamas.
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Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
WAVE THE FLAG. U.S. Rep. Mike Collins posted video of himself delivering a University of Georgia flag to Congressman Aaron Bean of Florida, who lost a bet over who would win last month’s rivalry football game.
“What’s on the menu today for me: A humble pie with Georgia peanuts,” Bean said as he and fellow Republican Collins planted the flag outside of his office at the Capitol.
Bean, who represents a suburb of Jacksonville, also noted the annual Georgia-Florida game is a boon for the city regardless of which team garners the most points.
“I tell you who’s the big winner: Jacksonville,” he said. “We just love that.”
Meanwhile, Collins is gearing up for Tuesday’s voter forum where he and the others who are running for Republican Conference vice chair will answer questions from colleagues about their vision for the role. A vote could come as soon as Wednesday.
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TODAY IN WASHINGTON:
- President Joe Biden visits an Amtrak facility in Delaware and delivers remarks on federal infrastructure dollars being used to improve passenger rail.
- The House and Senate are in session with evening votes scheduled.
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Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
OSSOFF HEARING. U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., will hold a third hearing of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Human Rights this morning to continue his inquiry into the foster care system in Georgia and around the country. Today’s hearing will be at Georgia State University’s College of Law.
Ossoff’s two earlier hearings have featured Georgians involved in the foster care system, either as children, parents or case workers. The witnesses described abusive conditions in some settings, as well as state oversight that failed to correct some problems, while exacerbating others.
Lawyers for the state’s child welfare agency have ripped the hearings as lacking context, details and accuracy, which Ossoff’s office has dismissed.
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FIRST LADY IN AUGUSTA. First lady Jill Biden is returning to Georgia this week to champion workforce development initiatives under her husband Joe Biden’s administration.
Biden will spend Wednesday morning in Augusta before traveling to Pittsburgh. Both cities have been designated as Investing in America Workforce Hubs in addition to Baltimore, Phoenix and Columbus, Ohio. In each of these cities, the federal government is partnering with state and local agencies, private businesses and educational institutions to focus on job training and workforce diversity.
In Augusta, Biden will meet with local Workforce Hub partners including Mayor Garnett Johnson. There will also be representatives from Augusta Technical College, Aiken Technical College, the Richmond County School System, local businesses and trade unions.
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Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
NEW HOPE. Then-Georgia House Speaker David Ralston responded to passage of a 2022 mental health reform bill by telling members, “Hope won.” Earlier this week, one of the state officials behind the reform initiative, Commissioner Kevin Tanner of the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, previewed what the victory will soon mean.
Tanner visited Georgia Regional Hospital to check progress on the Operation New Hope wing of the regional mental illness treatment facility in Savannah. Once renovations are completed next year, the 30-bed ward will serve as a step-down area for male patients who have been under state care for years and are now considered fit enough to rejoin their communities.
Program coordinators will assist them in sharpening life skills they will need once released, such as cooking, shopping and cleaning for themselves and scheduling and attending appointments.
The Savannah effort is a pilot for the program that Tanner hopes to implement at mental health care facilities around the state. The department has the funding to retrofit the wing of Georgia Regional and will seek money for operations during the 2024 legislative session.
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Credit: Courtesy photo
Credit: Courtesy photo
DOGS OF THE DAY. What’s black and white and read all over? The AJC in the Davis home, where Banjo Davis is one of a pair of AJC-loving cats who call Jolt subscriber Mark Davis their person.
Banjo loves the AJC print edition since it makes kitchen counters easier to walk on. His brother uses the front page as both a pillow and a blanket.
For being loyal AJC customers, as well as two clever cats, you’re our Dogs of the Day!
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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