Donald Trump’s endorsement is powerful but limited in Georgia, poll finds

Today’s newsletter highlights:

• Politicians play blame game with food assistance program.
• Parking fees for Georgia parks will likely increase.
• Sandy Springs mayoral candidates debate term limits

Trump bump?

Gov. Brian Kemp (left) and President Donald Trump continue to exert influence over Republican voters in Georgia.

Do endorsements matter in Georgia’s midterm elections? Sort of.

About 36% of likely Republican primary voters say Trump’s endorsement makes it more likely to vote for that candidate, and another 10% say it makes them less likely. But for the majority — 53% — Trump’s support makes no difference at all.

The other most coveted GOP endorsement in Georgia is from Gov. Brian Kemp. About 31% of likely Republican primary voters say his support makes them more likely to vote for a candidate, while 7% say it would dissuade them. About 62% say it doesn’t matter.

Of course, Georgia voters have seen the limits of Trump’s influence before.

He backed former U.S. Sen. David Perdue over Kemp in 2022, along with three other insurgent GOP challengers aiming to unseat GOP statewide incumbents. Trump’s picks went down in Republican primaries.

Two years later, Trump helped former football star Herschel Walker run over his competition in the Republican primary. But he ran out of steam, losing to Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock in the 2022 runoff.

Things to know

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens is running for reelection.

Good morning! We’re only a week away from the Nov. 4 elections for Public Service Commission and various local governments. It’s day 28 of the federal government shutdown. Members of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association plan to hand out leaflets at 20 airports across the country today, including Atlanta, to mark the first day they are working without pay.

Here are three other things to know for today:

• Georgia leaders say they can’t bail out a federal food assistance program, even though the state has $14.6 billion in reserves, the AJC’s Tia Mitchell, Caleb Groves and Michelle Baruchman report.
• Elected leaders across the region say that during Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens probable second term he should use his political heft to improve collaboration, the AJC’s Reed Williams reports.
• The husband of the director who oversees the state’s child protective services had a blood alcohol level four times the legal limit when he left the scene of a North Georgia crash with two kids in his pickup truck, the AJC’s Shaddi Abusaid reports.

Digging in

Workers stock the shelves at Sandy's IGA in Hancock County, which has one of the highest rates of childhood food insecurity in the country.

Shuttering the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program would be perhaps the most disruptive consequence so far of the federal government shutdown, which has dragged on for nearly a month. The Republican National Committee sent out a news release on Monday declaring that “Jon Ossoff voted to shut down the government and now 1,356,000 Georgians, including 526,000 children, will be left to struggle.”

“Democrats remain at the table and ready to negotiate reopening the government,” the letter reads.

A Kemp spokesperson says there is “no mechanism by which the state can put money on EBT cards.” Kemp himself continued to blame Democrats.

Price hike

A sign welcomes guests to A.H. Stephens State Park in Crawfordville.

People flocked to Georgia’s state parks during the coronavirus pandemic, a habit they’ve mostly kept up in the years since. Now, Georgia wants to make a little more money from the surge.

Auditors also encouraged the state to increase fees for state-owned golf courses to take advantage of peak hours. State officials said they are thinking about it.

Term limits

Candidates in this year's Sandy Springs mayor's race: Andy Baumann, Dontaye Carter, Rusty Paul (incumbent) and Jody Reichel.

Both Andy Bauman and Jody Reichel have backed term limits for the city’s top job, specifically limiting the mayor to eight years in office. Paul is seeking his fourth term. He’s only the second mayor in the city’s 20-year history.

Reichel said the city needs “new energy,” adding it would have been better had Paul used his most recent term to mentor her and Bauman to eventually take over.

Bauman said term limits are “not the biggest issue in this race,” but noted cities with no restrictions on mayors often “lose your sense of urgency.”

Paul has promised he won’t run for reelection if he wins on Tuesday. But both Bauman and Reichel say he’s said that before, which Paul denies. Still, Paul says term limits are bad for voters because it limits their options.

“Voters can term limit any candidate during any election if they so choose,” he said.

Dontaye Carter, the fourth candidate in the race, says all three of them have been in office too long. Bauman has been on the City Council for 12 years and Reichel for eight, which he says was plenty of time for them to push their agendas.

“Everybody that’s in this race had an opportunity to guide the direction of this city,” he said.

Listen up

Former DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond is a Democratic candidate for governor.

Loeffler spotlight

House Speaker Mike Johnson spoke as (left to right) Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Majority Whip Tom Emmer and Small Business Administrator Kelly Loeffler listened at a news conference on Monday in Washington.

Loeffler accused Senate Democrats, including Georgia’s Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, of causing the shutdown by refusing to approve the House Republicans’ government funding bill. Programs providing loans and grants to small businesses have dried up as a result and those awarded federal contracts are no longer being paid, she said.

“Senate Democrats have intentionally put that momentum at risk, the SBA loan guarantee programs have been halted, and Main Street’s capital has been choked off because Senate Democrats are playing politics with lives and livelihoods,” she said.

Loeffler said the shutdown will shrink the economy and will lead to job losses that will not easily be recovered.

Ossoff and Warnock have voted repeatedly for the Democrats’ bill to reopen the government that would also extend federal health insurance subsidies set to expire at the end of the year. But Republicans have voted against that proposal.

Today in Washington

U.S. soldiers greeted President Donald Trump today as he arrived at the U.S. Navy's Yokosuka base south of Tokyo, Japan.

Happenings:

• President Donald Trump’s trip in Asia continues with meetings in Japan.
• The House is in an indefinite recess during the shutdown.
• The Senate will vote on more of Trump’s nominations.
• House Democrats will hold a series of meetings and events in Washington to highlight the impacts of the government shutdown.

Shoutouts

State Rep. Karen Lupton, D-Chamblee, spoke against the elimination of DEI programs at Kennesaw State University at a rally in Atlanta in May.

Today’s birthday:

• State Rep. Karen Lupton, D-Chamblee.