A.M. ATL: It’s coming

Morning, y’all! We don’t often consider fall a big bloom season, but all over Georgia, new pops of color come out as the weather gets cooler. Think cheery purple asters and yellow splashes of goldenrod, silk-grass and sunflowers. The changing leaves can’t have all the fun!

Let’s get to it.

THE FIRST LIBERTY FALLOUT CONTINUES

(Arvin Temkar/AJC)

The State Ethics Commission has fined two Republican groups linked to the defunct First Liberty Building & Loan for violating campaign finance laws. The combined tab comes in at $150,000.

The Georgia Republican Assembly and its political action committee failed to properly disclose six figures in spending used to support numerous candidates in recent years, the commission unanimously decided.

What does this have to do with First Liberty?

• If you’ll recall, Newnan-based First Liberty Building & Loan collapsed last summer after federal authorities accused founder Brant Frost IV of operating a $140 million Ponzi scheme.
• The company used conservative-coded messaging to allegedly lure in investors and then used company money for campaign contributions and other personal spending.
• The GRA-PAC, chaired by Frost’s son, received about $162,000 in Frost family money.
• The State Ethics Commission launched its own investigation and has accused the GRA-PAC and the Georgia Republican Assembly of numerous violations of campaign finance laws.

The $150K combined penalty is notably large but not as large as the $300,000 fine imposed by the commission last year on a voting rights group initially founded by Democrat Stacey Abrams.

🔎 READ MORE: What the GRA says and what happens next

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MIDTERM MEDITATIONS

U.S. Rep. Mike Collins speaks to supporters in June 2026. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Not to freak you out, but midterm elections will be here in less than two months. Actually, maybe it’s a relief since we’ve been talking about them for approximately 5,000 years.

Now that we’re in the home stretch, the AJC Politics team gathered up the biggest questions we’ll be pondering as Election Day slouches closer.

Will Mike Collins drag down the Republican ticket?

The polls aren’t looking great for U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, who’s challenging U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff for his seat. Collins’ campaign controversies include ugly and ongoing antisemitic messages from a former aide and Collins’ own son-in-law. Among some state GOP circles, they’re hoping a possible Collins loss doesn’t affect other key GOP races.

Can Rick Jackson juggle two major voting bases?

As Greg Bluestein writes, “It’s not easy proclaiming that you’ll be ‘Trump’s favorite governor’ while also trying to win over skeptical independent voters who voted two or three times against the president.” Jackson has bigged up his role as a political outsider and “foster care to billionaire” success story but still knows he needs to woo mainline Trump supporters.

Can Keisha Lance Bottoms break through Jackson’s messaging and money?

The former Atlanta mayor has been on a media blitz, and Bluestein says she’ll need more of the same to break through her gubernatorial opponent’s omnipresent ads and seemingly bottomless campaign coffers.

🔎 READ MORE: More on all the above, plus two other burning questions

MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS

🔧 Atlanta-based Fortune 500 firm Genuine Parts, parent company of NAPA Auto Parts, plans to split into two separate, publicly traded companies. Here’s how they’re doing it.

💬 “We are delighted by his foolish trip to Texas.” That’s what the Ossoff campaign had to say about Mike Collins’ appearance at President Donald Trump’s midterm convention in Dallas.

🕊️ Tomorrow is the 25th anniversary of the September 11th attacks. We’ll have more on that then, but here are nine ways to commemorate the anniversary in the Atlanta area.

DON’T PULL YOUR PUNCHES, BRENT KEY

Georgia Tech’s football coach Brent Key is known for keeping it real when talking to the media, and he kept it ... maybe a little too real when talking about Tech’s narrow loss to Colorado last weekend.

• Key also called his team’s performance “garbage” and apologized to fans. As he said, “if you don’t wear it and you’re not out front and honest about it, you ain’t got a prayer to go fix something.” We love accountability.
• Tech has a tall order this weekend, taking on the Tennessee Volunteers at home. (Apologies in advance, marital ties oblige me to root for Tennessee in this one.)

🔎 READ MORE: Tech ‘will reveal a lot about itself’ this weekend, Ken Suguira writes

IT’S “FLAGSHIP” DAY!

Another Thursday means another episode of “Flagship,” the AJC’s podcast that dives deep into the most fascinating stories on the desks of AJC reporters.

• This week, I talked to one of my favorite AJC writers, Adam Van Brimmer. Based in Savannah, he’s the guy to go to for coastal Georgia news and Savannah-area recommendations. (The baked oysters at Sorry Charlie’s Oyster Bar will solve all your problems.)
• Our convo also marked the first time I ever met Adam in person, so excuse our garrulity. We talked turtles, industrial changes and why Savannah is awesome.
• Also on “Flagship” this week: News from the AJC’s charming business team and an interview with a Georgia man fighting back against the state’s concerning maternal mortality rates.

🎧 LISTEN: Catch Flagship on the AJC website or anywhere you get your podcasts. Just search “AJC Flagship”

NEWS BITES

Key games we’re looking forward to on the Falcons’ schedule this season