Today’s newsletter highlights:
- Test your knowledge with our weekly news quiz.
- Fundraising veteran said politics needs strong leaders.
- Lawmakers reflect on the Hurricane Helene anniversary.
Esteves’ challenge
Credit: AJC file photos
Credit: AJC file photos
Gubernatorial candidate Jason Esteves said it didn’t surprise him that a recent poll commissioned by a rival in the Democratic primary showed that he had little name recognition and thin support among likely voters.
The former state senator said the results show about what he expected, given voters don’t head to the polls until May.
“The poll results are what you would expect seven months from an election when the vast majority of voters are not paying attention,” said Esteves, who until recently served as a state senator representing parts of Atlanta. He’s also a former board of education chair for Atlanta Public Schools.
The survey of 620 likely Democratic primary voters was financed by the campaign of former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and conducted by Public Policy Polling, a left-leaning company. It found that Bottoms, who has also worked in the Biden administration and as a CNN commentator, led the field with support from 38% of respondents.
Former DeKalb CEO Michael Thurmond polled in second place with 12% support. He declined to provide any reaction when asked on Thursday.
Esteves ranked near the bottom at 4%. Thirteen percent of those surveyed said they have a favorable opinion of Esteves and 68% said they hadn’t heard of him.
He said he feels confident his support will grow as more voters hear his message.
“This is too early out,” he said. “I play basketball, so for me, we’re still in the first quarter. We’re warming up.”
Friday news quiz
Credit: AJC file photo
Credit: AJC file photo
Good morning! It’s time to test your knowledge of this week’s political news in Georgia and beyond. Make sure to check your answers at the bottom of today’s newsletter. And don’t forget to sign up to have this newsletter delivered to your email inbox every weekday morning.
The Trump administration is renaming military bases across the country. What Georgia base is expected to have a ceremony for its renaming today?
- A) Fort Moore
- B) Fort Stewart
- C) Fort Benning
- D) Fort Gordon
The 2026 Georgia race for secretary of state is taking shape. Who is the most recent contender to enter the contest?
- A) Penny Brown Reynolds
- B) Gabriel Sterling
- C) Kelvin King
- D) Tim Fleming
State Sen.-elect Jason Dickerson, a Republican, won the District 21 special runoff election Tuesday. Who represented the Republican-leaning district before him?
- A) Chuck Hufstetler
- B) Jason Anavitarte
- C) Drew Echols
- D) Brandon Beach
The Trump administration extended Georgia’s Pathways to Coverage Medicaid program through December of 2026. As of last month, how many people are currently enrolled in the program?
- A) 70,000
- B) 41,326
- C) 9,175
- D) 6,783
Packing up
Credit: Courtesy photo
Credit: Courtesy photo
It hit Kristin Oblander as she boxed up decades of campaign files with help from the Atlanta History Center’s archivists: the Democratic fundraiser was ending one of the longest, toughest tours in the trenches of Georgia politics in modern history.
Oblander jumped into politics full-time in 1994, managing Ron Slotin’s “Votin’ for Slotin” state Senate race. Over the next three decades, she worked for Roy Barnes, John Lewis, John Kerry and Barack Obama, building a reputation as a top Democratic fundraiser.
The Atlanta History Center is archiving her papers as she heads into retirement — and a new life in the south of France.
Her toughest assignment came in 1998, when she served as Barnes’ finance director. At the time, no Georgia governor had raised more than $3 million. She helped him haul in $12 million — and later $22 million in his failed 2002 reelection bid.
Her fondest memories include barnstorming the country as an early staffer on Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign, staging events for Obama across the South and serving as one of Lewis’ closest advisers for decades.
“There’s not an egotistical bone in his body,” she said of the late civil rights icon.
Looking back, she lamented the erosion of mutual respect in politics and the way campaigns manufacture division.
“The vast majority of voters have no idea how campaigns work, how consultants make issues more divisive than they actually are to turn out the votes,” she said as she packed her belongings.
“When people got out of their bubbles, they’d realize we’re all just Georgians and we’re all here on earth at the same time. That’s what just upsets me — the loss of civility.”
As for her advice for the current crop of wannabe politicians: strong leaders matter more than money.
“We need more leaders to step forward who aren’t so divisive. I can raise all the money in the world, but if the messaging is bad and doesn’t resonate with voters, it won’t matter.”
Storm struggles
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
A year after Hurricane Helene tore through swathes of Georgia, communities are still recovering.
“We were hit hard about a year ago, and we’ve been going as hard as we can to recover since then,” said State Rep. James Burchett, R-Waycross, who sponsored Helene relief efforts during the last legislative session.
The storm toppled trees, downed power lines, devastated farms and claimed the lives of at least 37 people in Georgia.
State Sen. Russ Goodman, R-Cogdell, said he’s proud of federal and state lawmakers for passing disaster aid in the wake of the storm, but said there’s still more work.
“We’ve come a long way, but when you have a storm like that, it changes the landscape for a long time,” said Goodman, chair of the Senate Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee.
Some of that federal aid for farmers has been slow to move. Under the package passed by Congress, about $4 billion in block grants were to be negotiated individually by the 14 eligible states and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That money is expected to fill in gaps that other USDA disaster assistance programs don’t cover. Georgia’s block grant agreement is under legal review.
After months of discussions with USDA, Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper said in a statement that additional relief “will soon be available through Georgia’s Hurricane Helene Block Grant Program.”
U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., has pressed Harper and USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins to deliver on block grant funding. Harper has countered, saying Ossoff has treated negotiations as a “political game.”
Burchett said the state needs to do more to prepare for future storms.
“It’s not if it happens — it’s when the next hurricane is going to hit,” he said.
Victory lap
Credit: Stephen B. Morton/Georgia Port Authority
Credit: Stephen B. Morton/Georgia Port Authority
Gov. Brian Kemp’s visit to the coast this morning to tout Georgia’s tourism numbers may also serve as a victory lap for Hyundai’s massive new investment in the state.
It’s his first visit to southeast Georgia since Hyundai Motor Co. announced a plan to supercharge its electric vehicle campus with a $2.7 billion expansion that adds another 3,000 workers.
The stop comes just weeks after a Sept. 4 immigration raid at the campus’ battery factory, still under construction, that triggered an international firestorm. While Hyundai has reaffirmed its commitment to Georgia, the raid has strained U.S.–South Korea relations, delayed construction and prompted new talks over visa rules for Korean employees.
Listen up
There is no “Politically Georgia” podcast today. We’ll be back on Monday to answer questions from the listener mailbag.
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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.
Shutdown countdown
Credit: J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Credit: J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Congressional Democrats and Republicans have spent the week pointing fingers at one another ahead of a potential government shutdown at the end of Tuesday.
Democrats this week said they are willing to negotiate but are not interested in a temporary funding bill that does not address the expiration of the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced subsidies at the end of the year and other health care cuts found in the tax and spending law that President Donald Trump signed in July.
Republicans say Democrats have made unreasonable and unnecessary demands and will receive the blame if agencies are shuttered.
The White House further politicized the impasse by issuing a memo through the Office of Management and Budget directing agencies to prepare for workers not to just be furloughed but fired en masse if there is a shutdown.
“Programs that did not benefit from an infusion of mandatory appropriations will bear the brunt of a shutdown,” the memo said, according to Politico.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said the threat of mass firings is “an attempt at intimidation.”
“Donald Trump has been firing federal workers since day one — not to govern, but to scare,” the New York Democrat said in a statement. “This is nothing new and has nothing to do with funding the government.”
Today in Washington
- President Donald Trump is scheduled to attend the Ryder Cup golf tournament in New York.
- The House and Senate are out this week.
Shoutouts
Credit: Courtesy photo
Credit: Courtesy photo
Today’s birthday:
- Matt Krack, state press secretary for U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock.
Want a birthday shoutout in the Politically Georgia newsletter? There’s a form for that. Click here to submit the shoutouts. It’s not just birthdays. We’re also interested in new jobs, engagements, birth announcements, etc.
Before you go
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
Answers to this week’s quiz:
- D: Fort Gordon. Originally, the Augusta post was named after Confederate General John Gordon, a slave owner who was generally recognized as the head of the Ku Klux Klan in Georgia. It was renamed to Fort Eisenhower in honor of President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 2023. Today’s ceremony will honor Master Sgt. Gary Gordon, who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroism during the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu, Somalia.
- A: Penny Brown Reynolds. The former Fulton County state judge and Biden administration official briefly hosted the daytime TV series “Family Court with Judge Penny.”
- D: Brandon Beach. The former Republican senator landed a job in the Trump administration as the U.S. treasurer.
- C: 9,175. The Kemp administration expected up to 100,000 enrollees before the Pathways to Coverage program launched.
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.
AJC reporter Caleb Groves contributed to this report.
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