Jon Ossoff goads Marjorie Taylor Greene by urging her to run for Senate

U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff staged the second rally of his 2026 reelection campaign over the weekend in Savannah. With the field of Republican challengers still a work in progress, Ossoff avoided mentioning any potential opponents by name.

He did, however, dis one disinterested party: U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.

The firebrand Republican from Rome has said she won’t run for the Senate seat, prompting Ossoff to goad her during his 26-minute remarks. He chastised Greene over her support for the sweeping spending cuts in the recently signed law championed by President Donald Trump.

“By the way Marjorie, it’s not too late to run for the Senate,” Ossoff said. “Don’t listen to the polls, Marjorie. You can do it.”

Greene could still run in a statewide contest next year. She’s hinted at a bid for governor to succeed a term-limited Gov. Brian Kemp.

As for the GOP challengers to Ossoff, the one most familiar to Savannahians got many heckles from the crowd, even if Ossoff never mentioned his name. U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, the Savannah-area native who represents coastal Georgia in the House, was the first Republican to announce a bid earlier this year.

Carter has branded himself a “MAGA warrior” and he was denounced by name by many attendees during Ossoff’s critique of Trump’s movement.

Things to know

Credit: AP file photo

Credit: AP file photo

Good morning! Georgia’s own Jimmy Carter secured the Democratic presidential nomination 49 years ago today at the party convention in New York. He would go on to win the presidency that November.

Here are three other things to know for today:

First Liberty fallout

Credit: Screenshot

Credit: Screenshot

Within days of the collapse of First Liberty Building & Loan, investors began seeking lawsuits against the Newnan-based lender to recoup their losses. But the political fallout for the GOP connected firm is only just beginning.

Democratic leaders, along with some Republicans, are calling on candidates who received campaign cash from First Liberty founder Brant Frost IV and other executives to return the donations.

Investigators accuse Frost of funneling more than $570,000 in investor funds into political contributions — money that helped bolster Republican causes and candidates.

Democratic Party of Georgia chair Charlie Bailey accused recipients of benefiting from “money defrauded from unsuspecting donors.”

“Now the question is whether Brian Kemp, the Georgia Republican Party, and all the electeds who received this money will do the right thing and return it to the hardworking Georgians from whom it was stolen,” he said.

Over at Peach Pundit, former Republican state Rep. Scot Turner wrote that there’s a “massive stain” on anyone connected to the contributions:

Federal and state disclosures show the Frost family has given more than $530,000 in recent years to dozens of candidates in Georgia and beyond.

In another development, we’re told Brant Frost V, the son of the firm’s founder, resigned over the weekend as chair of the Coweta County GOP.

Frost hasn’t returned calls seeking comment, but the party’s website now lists Alan Brady as the acting chair.

Appointment problem

How’s this for a scheduling problem: the state agency that oversees Georgia’s food assistance program must interview people who apply for the program to see if they are eligible. Georgia averages about 60,000 applications per month.

“That’s a lot of interviews,” John Hallman, deputy commissioner for the Office of Family Independence, said in perhaps the most obvious comment ever.

It’s especially a problem for families with the most serious needs. In those cases, Georgia must issue benefits within seven days. But scheduling those interviews is difficult. Most of the people opt to receive their appointment notification by mail, which takes about three days. Sometimes the notification doesn’t reach them in time to let them know about their scheduled appointment.

To fix this, Hallman wants to try something new. Instead of scheduling these interviews, he wants to move to “on demand” interviews. That means people can call during business hours without an appointment and “we just have a person there waiting to answer the call and do the interview.”

Hallman said he’s “very excited about this,” but noted it’s not a done deal. Georgia needs permission from the federal government to do this and is still waiting for approval.

What could have been

Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC

Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC

Former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan’s highly-publicized break with the Republican Party has him considering a run for governor next year as a Democrat. But a new book shows what could have happened in an alternate reality.

Vice President Kamala Harris’ transition team considered Duncan for a position in her Cabinet had she won the presidential election, according to “2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America.”

Harris had promised to name a Republican to her Cabinet, and Duncan — who was elected as a Republican in Georgia — was among those vetted by the transition team led by Yohannes Abraham, according to authors Josh Dawsey, Tyler Pager and Isaac Arnsdorf.

Other Republicans who were considered: former Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, former Wyoming U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney, former Illinois U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger and former Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval.

For what it’s worth, the authors say Harris would have chosen Denis McDonough as her chief of staff. McDonough had that job under former President Barack Obama.

Georgia on their minds

Credit: AJC file photo

Credit: AJC file photo

Georgia could add a new congressional district after the 2030 census, and Democrats are already angling to make sure they can decide what its boundaries will be.

The National Democratic Redistricting Committee says it will focus its resources on Georgia’s state House races in 2026, one of at least 13 states it is targeting in the midterm election cycle.

Eric Holder, who was U.S. attorney general under former President Barack Obama, is heading up the effort. He said the national congressional map, while “not yet sufficiently fair, is highly competitive.”

“The elections happening this fall and next year will determine whether more states allow the will of the people to prevail or if our nation will turn toward a gerrymandered autocracy as it did in 2011,” he said.

Democrats gained two seats in the Georgia House of Representatives during the 2024 elections. But it was widely seen as a missed opportunity as they failed to capture several metro Atlanta seats. Republicans control 100 of the 180 seats. A party needs to win at least 91 seats to have a majority.

Campaign watch

Credit: AJC file photo

Credit: AJC file photo

Another Democrat is considering a bid for Georgia’s No. 2 job.

LeMario Brown, a pecan farmer and small business owner who is the mayor pro tem of Fort Valley, said Sunday he filed paperwork to explore a potential bid for lieutenant governor.

A news release describes Brown as a “moderate 39-year-old Democrat, lifelong Georgian and advocate for rural development.”

While three Republican state senators are running to succeed Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, the Democratic field has been slower to form. Democratic state Sen. Josh McLaurin of Sandy Springs is the most prominent announced candidate, though state Sen. Sonya Halpern of Atlanta could also join.

Listen up

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Today on the “Politically Georgia” podcast hosts Greg Bluestein and Patricia Murphy take listeners to Plains, Georgia, where the community is working to preserve the legacies of the late President Jimmy Carter and first lady Rosalynn Carter, who died in 2024 and 2023, respectively.

The hosts also answer listener questions about tax cuts, marijuana policy and the new “America First” license plates.

You can listen and subscribe to the show for free at Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

Have a question or comment for the show? Email us at politicallygeorgia@ajc.com or give us a call at 770-810-5297 and you could be featured on a future episode.

Today in Washington

Shoutouts

Credit: Christina Matacotta for the AJC

Credit: Christina Matacotta for the AJC

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Before you go

Credit: Jacquelyn Martin/AP

Credit: Jacquelyn Martin/AP

One year after a failed assassination attempt, President Donald Trump handed the FIFA Club World Cup trophy to the English soccer club Chelsea after the final match in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

That’ll do it for us today. As always, you can send your best scoops, gossip and insider info to greg.bluestein@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com, patricia.murphy@ajc.com and adam.beam@ajc.com.