As metro Atlanta's Snowjam melts into the region's consciousness, Gov. Nathan Deal's political opponents hope the government's troubled response to the weather bogs down his march to re-election.

The governor’s backers say the icy gridlock that stalled metro Atlanta will fade from voters’ minds by the sunny May 20 primaries and be a faint memory by November’s elections. But his opponents are painting it as the latest in a series of tone-deaf moves from Georgia’s top leader.

Deal has responded with a vigorous public schedule and plans a series of announcements in the coming weeks on new state emergency procedures designed to show the governor is embracing needed changes.

“Sometimes people remember things like that, sometimes they don’t,” Deal said of the weather debacle. “It happened. It’s an event of history now, but it’s recent history.”

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U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., was first elected to the House in 2022 after the seat was vacated by U.S. Rep. Jody Hice, who resigned to run for secretary of state. (Alex Brandon/AP 2024)

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Tracy Woodard from InTown Cares (left) and Lauren Hopper from Mercy Care organization work with residents at the Copperton Street encampment in August 2024. 
(Miguel Martinez / AJC)

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