Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s path from pariah to one of the state’s most popular politicians might be the most unlikely storyline of the 2022 election. But the recent Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll once again indicated the Republican’s rise.
Not long ago, Republican leaders were calling for Raffensperger to resign as former President Donald Trump declared him one of his top targets. Many expected Raffensperger not to qualify to run, let alone best Trump-backed challenger Jody Hice, as he did in May’s GOP primary.
But Raffensperger’s refusal to heed Trump’s demand to “find” enough votes to overturn his 2020 defeat has inadvertently helped him win crossover support in his reelection campaign against Democratic state Rep. Bee Nguyen. And he’s retained a large block of GOP support, too.
The AJC poll pegged Raffensperger with a 50% to 31% lead over Nguyen, powered by support from 20% of Democrats, more than one-third of independents and 80% of Republicans.
Nearly one-quarter of Black voters back Raffensperger — a higher proportion than any other Republican — as do a majority of voters older than 65.
Nguyen’s polling could rise. Her ad campaign, which warns Democrats that they don’t know “the real Brad Raffensperger,” is only now taking root. And Democrats expect the split-ticket trend, which is also hobbling Stacey Abrams, to taper off.
“There’s some confusion. There are some people who believe my opponent is a hero,” Nguyen said at a Forsyth County rally this weekend. “But should the bar for the state of Georgia be that low? In the words of Stacey Abrams: Not committing treason doesn’t make you a hero.”
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KEMP’S GOT PLANS. If former President Donald Trump returns to Georgia for a pre-midterm rally, don’t expect Gov. Brian Kemp to be on hand. That was the behind-the-lines message from Kemp aide Cody Hall on GPB’s “Political Rewind” on Wednesday.
“I don’t know that we’ve reached a final conclusion, but I would say that we will probably approach any potential rally by the former president like we have previous rallies,” Hall said. “And, you know, that’s going to be our continued approach on this issue.”
Credit: Jason Getz / AJC
Credit: Jason Getz / AJC
Kemp skipped each of Trump’s previous four rallies in Georgia since the 2020 election. He was also the prime target at several of them, including a September 2021 event where Trump said he’d rather see Stacey Abrams win than Kemp.
Hall also said the governor plans to campaign in tandem with Senate hopeful Herschel Walker. While the two have appeared at the same events, they’ve yet to headline a rally together.
“The governor has been crystal clear that he supports the ticket. He obviously did not get involved in the Senate primary, just like Herschel did not get involved in the governor’s primary. That’s how this business works,” said Hall.
“But look, we’re going to continue to campaign with the entire ticket. And the governor is fully aware of what’s on the line this November in terms of control of the United States Senate.”
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Credit: TNS
Credit: TNS
RATE HIKE. Nobody can accuse Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell of trying to make life easy for President Joe Biden and the Democrats in an election year.
Powell announced another round of interest rate hikes Wednesday, increasing rates by three-quarters of a percent, and issued a stark warning of what’s to come as the Federal Reserve tries to cool the nation’s high inflation rate, which was 8.3% in August compared to a year earlier.
Along with signaling that more hikes are around the corner, Powell said there is no longer a painless option to put the brakes on inflation. “The chances of a soft landing are likely to diminish,” he said, according to the Associated Press.
The tumultuous economic outlook is weighing heavily on voters ahead of the November elections. The AJC’s latest poll showed that the cost of living is the top issue for a plurality of Georgia voters, followed by jobs and the economy.
And as one anxious Democrat noted to your Insiders Wednesday, the Fed’s next meeting, where it could announce another possible rate increase, is scheduled for November 1, days before the election.
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COURTING RURAL VOTERS. Stacey Abrams, the Democratic nominee for governor in Georgia, explained her strategy of courting rural voters during an interview for NBC Nightly News that aired Wednesday.
“We want to harness those votes, but we don’t take those votes for granted,” she said. “And that’s why my campaign has been so intentional about traveling the state, traveling to places that may not necessarily, as a region, be inclined to support my candidacy.”
Abrams told NBC she felt that voters in rural communities are overlooked. During the interview she also acknowledged that she has a tough road ahead in her hopes of unseating incumbent Gov. Brian Kemp.
And she said she is “the underdog in this race,” adding that is “always going to be the case when you’re running against an incumbent.”
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Credit: Natrice Miller
Credit: Natrice Miller
MEDICAID EXPANSION. All six Democrats in Georgia’s congressional delegation collaborated on a letter to Gov. Brian Kemp, encouraging him to expand Medicaid in response to the planned closure of Atlanta Medical Center.
The letter notes that 14 hospitals have closed in Georgia over the past 10 years and that a report by the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform says that at least 19 more hospitals in Georgia are at risk of closure.
Led by U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop, the lawmakers wrote that accepting federal dollars to increase the number of Georgians who qualify for Medicaid could help stem the tide of hospital closures.
“Our state’s failure to expand Medicaid has compounded the financial stress faced by hospitals like AMC, leaving our medical centers with unreimbursed care and patients who can only access ER visits, not preventative medicine,” they wrote. “This current situation, wherein those hospitals dealing with a disproportionate burden of uncompensated care are left to struggle against financial strain, is unsustainable.”
Along with Bishop, U.S. Reps. David Scott, Hank Johnson, Lucy McBath, Carolyn Bourdeaux and Nikema Williams also signed on to the letter.
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Credit: TNS
Credit: TNS
HONORING JOHN LEWIS. The U.S. Senate has signed off on legislation to rename Atlanta’s main post office after Congressman John Lewis, who died in 2020.
The measure, which was already approved in the House, now heads to President Joe Biden to sign into law. U.S. Reps. Nikema Williams, D-Atlanta and Buddy Carter, R-Pooler, led the effort in the House while U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock was the sponsor in that chamber.
The post office, located at 3900 Crown Road Southwest in Hapeville, would become the “John R. Lewis Post Office Building.”
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TODAY IN WASHINGTON:
- President Joe Biden is in New York City, where he will receive a briefing on Hurricane Fiona’s impact on Puerto Rico.
- In addition to confirmations, the U.S. Senate is scheduled to take a procedural vote on legislation that would require political organizations to disclose more donor data.
- The House has scheduled votes on legislation related to law enforcement funding and public safety.
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ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL.
State Sen. Jen Jordan, the Democratic nominee for Georgia attorney general, will be the featured speaker at tonight’s Coweta County Democrats’ dinner in Newnan.
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Credit: Elijah Nouvelage
Credit: Elijah Nouvelage
NO “WOKE.” Jake Evans lost the GOP nomination for the 6th Congressional District to Rich McCormick by 30 points in June. But it seems like Evans is just getting started when it comes to warning the world about “wokeness.”
Evans has founded Trailblazer Rising, Inc., with a stated goal to “ensure our youth doesn’t go woke.”
The group has its own “Trailblazer value system,” which warns of “critical Race Theory and other indoctrinations that promote an anti-American agenda.” It says it also opposes “rioting, looting, and other unacceptable public disorder,” and that “those that weaponize power should be held accountable.”
The “Trailblazer Education Initiative” includes plans to speak to schools and youth groups “to spread the Trailblazer Value System.” And a “Trailblazer Ambassador Initiative” would recruit middle and high school students to begin chapters in their schools.
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BRIDGE BUILDER. Our once-and-always fellow Insider Jim Galloway has retired from his daily AJC duties, but he is still writing columns when a story is too good not to.
Jim’s latest column for the AJC is about the rededication of a covered bridge in the shadow of Stone Mountain.
The bridge originally stretched across the Oconee River in Clarke County, but was eventually relocated to Stone Mountain Park, just west of the mountain’s massive homage to Confederate generals. But as DeKalb County CEO explained, the bridge itself was built by Washington W. King, the son of an enslaved man in Georgia. From the column:
“And so, we come back this day to rededicate this bridge. But more important, we come to send a message," said Thurmond, once a member of the park's governing board. “That the people of Georgia will own this park. And this park will exist and be maintained not for one, not for two, not for thee, not for you," Thurmond said, finger pointing in different directions, “but for all of us. All of our histories will be celebrated, will be protected."
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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.
