Lagging behind her primary rival by a 2-to-1 margin in the latest poll, Stacey Evans this morning launched the first TV attack ad of the Democratic contest for governor, accusing Stacey Abrams of cutting a HOPE scholarship deal with Gov. Nathan Deal and other Republicans that hurt African-Americans.
The contest has been fraught with racial tension. An AJC/Channel 2 survey of likely Democratic voters, released two weeks ago, showed 38 percent of black respondents backing Abrams, while Evans had the support of 10 percent. The Evans spot is a clear attempt to slice away at Abrams' target base of black women voters -- and diminish Abrams' credentials as the former leader of the House Democratic caucus. Watch the ad here:
The ad begins with a young African-American woman speaking to the camera:
"I'm a high school senior who's registered to vote. I'm going to college next year, but a lot of my classmates aren't. I just learned that Stacey Abrams cut a deal with Republicans. She stood there with them after eliminating nearly 60,000 HOPE scholarships and grants. Ninety-seven percent of African-American high school graduates lost access to full scholarships. Ms. Abrams, Georgia students need HOPE."
We're told the Evans campaign is putting six figures of air time in every Georgia market behind the ad. Some details behind the attack, from Politifact:
The changes to HOPE, which had Republican and Democrat backing, were effective for fiscal 2012, which started July 1, 2011. For the first time, technical college students had to maintain a 3.0 grade-point average -- instead of a 2.0 -- to qualify for a HOPE grant. For all but the top students, HOPE awards were cut -- to cover about 90 percent of tuition costs (now about 80 percent). Another new requirement meant students had to start college within seven years of their high school graduation in order to receive a HOPE scholarship.
A couple points: She's now likely to argue that she was being diplomatic, but when we spoke to Evans about the pain these changes had caused future blue-collar workers in 2013, she characterized the after-effects as unintentional:
Technical college officials now report that 11,471 of their students lost the HOPE grant as a result of the change, about 11 percent of 107,629 full-time students enrolled that year. More than half - 5,844 - have never returned.
Worse, full-time enrollment for the next year withered by nearly 25 percent. The comparable drop-off for the academic-minded University System of Georgia -- as a result of its own tougher standards -- was 1.2 percent. Worse still, Georgia's technical college system ended up losing 60 percent of its HOPE funding. The university system lost 20 percent.
"Your jaw drops. That's amazing. And that couldn't have been the intent. Nobody thought that was going to happen. I'm sure nobody would have wanted to pass a bill that would have done that," said state Rep. Stacey Evans, D-Smyrna.
Point No. 2: Former Gov. Zell Miller, creator of the state lottery and HOPE scholarship, signed off on the bargain that Gov. Nathan Deal and Abrams cut.
We’ve reached out to the Abrams campaign for comment, but have not heard back.
Here’s the response from the spokeswoman for the Abrams campaign:
"Facing a Republican effort to gut the program, Stacey Abrams saved the HOPE scholarship and preK while Stacey Evans took a symbolic position that could have ended the program. Disingenuous and self-serving attacks that voters are tired of are a hallmark of the Evans campaign, so this ad is no surprise."
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The Atlanta Press Club and GPB have scheduled a debate of Republican candidates for governor for Thursday, May 17. It just got a little less crowded.
Author Marc Alan Urbach has dropped out of the GOP contest to succeed Gov. Nathan Deal. Urbach, who ran for president in 2016, had minimal impact on the race. He was known for making outlandish statements at debates while wearing a cowboy hat. He endorsed state Sen. Michael Williams on his way out.
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On that same note: The aforementioned Michael Williams on Thursday criticized the Boy Scouts of America for dropping the word "boy" from the organization's name. He said the group "caved to left-wing social engineers who want to remove the concept of male masculinity from society."
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We told you Wednesday of former health secretary Tom Price's eyebrow-raising comments about Obamacare's individual mandate echoed Democratic arguments to keep the 2010 health law in place. Now the ex-Georgia congressman is saying his remarks, which came during a speech at a health care conference, were reported out of context.
In an op-ed in The Hill newspaper, Price called the effective elimination of the mandate in the GOP's tax bill a "major victory for tens of millions of Americans struggling to pay inflated health-care costs."
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It appears that U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, who was initially critical of President Donald Trump's threats to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, is beginning to warm to the president's hard-talking approach. From our friends at WABE (90.1FM):
He now says it appears the move may have helped, because other countries seem more willing to discuss trade deals, like the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
"I think the president's really put himself in a position to see what he can put on the table for us to get in return for coming back into the deal. And that's not a bad strategy if it works," Isakson said following a meeting Wednesday with the Atlanta Council on International Relations.
Isakson might also have been trying to put some salve on wounds caused by the failure to launch of Trump's nominee to head the Veterans Administration. There are reports that the White House isn't pleased with Georgia senator.
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A Georgia operative has been named in a report released by a Missouri House committee, accusing him of knowingly falsifying a settlement document filed with the state ethics committee.
The Kansas City Star reports that Austin Chambers, a former aide to U.S. Sen. David Perdue, is accused of falsely claiming that Gov. Eric Greitens' campaign obtained a veterans' charity donor list as an in-kind donation.
The group’s director has said that’s not true, and accuses Chambers of duping him into taking the blame during an April 2017 phone call.
Chambers, an ally of Vice President Mike Pence’s top aide Nick Ayers, has denied any wrongdoing. He also has not spoken to the Missouri committee.
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The campaign of Bobby Kaple, one of four Democrats vying to challenge U.S. Rep. Karen Handel in Georgia's Sixth District this year, is out with a new robocall featuring a familiar voice. Likely Democratic voters across the suburban district began receiving calls yesterday afternoon from former Atlanta mayor Andrew Young.
The onetime congressman and United Nations ambassador talks about Kaple's twins, who were born prematurely, and the importance of affordable health care, two prominent themes in Kaple's first television spot.
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U.S. Rep. Drew Ferguson, R-LaGrange, has signed onto a letter urging the committee that awards Nobel peace prizes to consider President Donald Trump for his moves to engage North Korea in nuclear disarmament talks.
