A.M. ATL: Governor hopefuls meet, finally

Morning, y’all! We face a tough TV viewing choice tonight — the end of the Braves-Dodgers playoff game or the Georgia gubernatorial debate between Keisha Lance Bottoms and Rick Jackson. Perhaps pitching ace Chris Sale can mow down the defending champs in a rare sub-2-hour baseball game?

Let’s get to it.

SCRAPPY SHOWDOWN?

The last time Georgia’s gubernatorial candidates met face-to-face came in a hotel parking lot, where Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms confronted Republican Rick Jackson over a campaign ad. At 8 tonight, the two trade words in a more formal setting: a town hall-style debate, expected to be the lone debate between the two candidates ahead of the Nov. 3 election.

How to follow the action:

• The debate airs on Atlanta News First and Gray television stations around the state (WALB in Albany, WRDW in Augusta, WTVM and WXTX in Columbus and WTOC in Savannah).
• Live updates at AJC.com with analysis and commentary from Greg Bluestein, chief political reporter, and senior political columnist Patricia Murphy.
• Today’s Politically Georgia newsletter breaks down “what to watch for in the debate.” The must-read daily roundup of political news publishes mid-morning and is available exclusively to subscribers. Sign up here.

Just one man’s opinion here, but after two cycles of Brian Kemp vs. Stacey Abrams, the Bottoms-Jackson race has been a snooze-fest. This debate could get spicy, with Jackson sure to attack Bottoms on her record as a one-term Atlanta mayor and Bottoms primed to pick at Jackson’s carefully curated rags-to-riches persona.

As football coach Lane Kiffin might say, “get your popcorn ready.”

📢 READ MORE: Why debates still matter in Georgia

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GEORGIA-BOUND MIGRANTS

With our state’s agricultural base and robust Latino communities, it comes as no surprise that Georgia is a top-10 destination state for migrants. Using seven years’ worth of U.S. Customs and Border Protection data, our colleagues at the Associated Press found that more than 147,000 legal and illegal southern border crossers made their way to Georgia between 2018 and 2025.

Here’s the 411 on the data:

• Georgia ranks seventh nationally. The data set includes 4.5 million immigrants.
• Migrants must provide border officials the street address of their intended residence when they are processed.
• The information is considered reliable since truthful reporting is vital should the person end up in immigration court or try to gain legal status.

📊 Dive deeper into the AP’s findings

So where’d the immigrants come from and where did they settle?

• Venezuelans were by far the biggest migrant group, more than doubling the next largest, Mexicans.
• Gwinnett County was the most popular destination, and nearby Gainesville was the migrant epicenter outside metro Atlanta.
• As for concentrations of nationalities, one Atlanta ZIP code (30329) drew more than 1,300 Nicaraguans; Marietta was a popular draw for Brazilians, while Cubans settled in Moultrie, a south Georgia town near the Florida border.

🗺️ READ MORE: Top destinations for Georgia-bound migrants

HOMECOMING HORROR

A mass shooting at a high school homecoming game celebration shocked Dooly County over the weekend. Two men in their early 20s were killed and 35 people, ranging in age from 14 to 51, were injured at a late Saturday night neighborhood block party.

• The shooting happened in Vienna, an hour south of Macon along I-75. The equivalent of half the town (population 3,000) attended the gathering, drawn from as far away as Atlanta by social media promotion.
• It’s unclear how many of the victims were struck by bullets. The sound of gunfire caused panic among attendees, and the crowds were so thick some were hurt trying to flee.
• An even larger party took place the night before following Dooly’s 40-21 victory over Wilcox County. The Saturday gathering happened following the homecoming dance.
• Said Lisa Bryant, a retiree who lives near the shooting location: “Everybody’s packing. Young kids got guns. … ‘And if I’ve got one and you’re shooting at me, I’m gonna try to get you before you get me.’ That’s human nature.”

🕯️ READ MORE: Georgia town hunts for answers

MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS

🚓 Memo: ICE bans high-speed chases. Immigration agents are no longer authorized to chase fleeing vehicles. The change comes after an ICE chase in Savannah earlier this year ended with a fatal collision between a Guatemalan national who was trying to evade a traffic stop and a local schoolteacher.

🏛️ Split-ticket voters could decide Georgia races. Remember 2022, when Republican Brian Kemp got 200,000 more votes than GOP Senate candidate Herschel Walker in the same election? Today’s candidates, particularly Jackson and Jon Ossoff (Democrat for Senate), are courting the same crossover voters.

⛽ High gas prices hit truckers hardest. Georgia’s estimated 75,000 semitruck drivers are feeling the pinch of diesel prices that are up 65% from a year ago. Small companies that can’t negotiate fuel surcharges hurt the most, and 90% of Georgia’s registered motor carriers operate 10 trucks or fewer.

WELCOME TO THE YARD

For two years now, the AJC has celebrated Black Georgians through UATL, a media platform dedicated to African American culture. The latest focus is on historically Black colleges and universities under the theme The Yard. The title is a nod to the nickname many HBCU students give their campuses.

Here’s what to expect:

• The Yard is meant to help readers understand what is happening across HBCU communities, from policies and leadership to bands and football.
• The Yard’s coverage is led by reporter Brooke Howard, who is on campuses and in the community telling the stories of HBCU life.

🎓 Learn more about the AJC’s HBCU coverage

Launching The Yard during SpelHouse week is no coincidence. The homecoming celebration is a must-attend for alums of all-male Morehouse and all-female Spelman and captures the energy, history and cultural reach of Atlanta’s HBCU community through parades, step shows, concerts, royal court coronations, fashion shows, parties and, of course, a football game (1 p.m. Saturday vs. my hometown Savannah State Tigers).

🏈 SpelHouse: part reunion, part festival and an enduring expression of HBCU culture

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Their research could hopefully lead to treatment breakthroughs for neurological and psychiatric disorders.

Five ways to celebrate the High Museum’s centennial

My fave: an afternoon block party on Peachtree Street on Oct. 18.

ON THIS DATE

Oct. 6, 1991

City goes crazy over miracle team. It was 5:22 p.m. when David Justice, his back to the right field wall and his bare left hand already raised in triumph, let the last fly ball settle gently into his glove, and a city starved for victory went politely berserk. … Twice before in their 26 seasons in Atlanta, the Braves have won the Western Division title, but never before did it move this city so deeply.