Georgia politicians court midterm voters amid shutdown blame game

Top Georgia Republicans embraced the White House’s campaign, which has already resulted in billions of dollars in cuts to projects in Democratic-led states. U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, a Republican competing to unseat Ossoff next year, wagered that voters would blame Democrats for the fallout.

The events showcased how Georgia Democrats are rallying behind the party’s strategy as Trump threatened mass layoffs and other cuts across the federal government. With both sides digging in, the stalemate in Washington showed little sign of breaking.

Still licking their wounds from Trump’s return to power last year, Democrats see the shutdown as a rare chance to punch back.

“Democrats have not shut down the government. Donald Trump has picked a fight with Americans,” said Duncan, a former Republican who is now a leading Democratic contender for governor.

“So the only thing left to do is stand up for the American people. The American people deserve better than to be mistreated,” Duncan said during a visit to Mosaic Health Center in Clarkston, which serves uninsured Georgians.

The shutdown began Wednesday when Democrats demanded that Congress extend more than $1 trillion in health care spending, while refusing Republican demands to pass a short-term spending plan without those concessions.

They want an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies that lowered premium prices and out-of-pocket costs for many. About 1.5 million policyholders in Georgia benefit from the subsidies, which are set to expire Dec. 31 if Congress fails to reach a deal.

Republicans, who control Capitol Hill and the White House, aren’t committing t o any spending increases until the government is reopened. And Trump is trying to make it as painful as possible for Democrats.

The White House is preparing to shed large numbers of federal workers while freezing or canceling previously approved spending.

White House budget director Russ Vought already announced plans to withhold billions of dollars in infrastructure projects in states represented by Democratic U.S. senators. On Friday, Vought said he would freeze another $2.1 billion for a transit project in Chicago.

In Georgia, the Democrats’ fight is just as personal. Esteves, another gubernatorial contender, met Friday at Manuel’s Tavern in Atlanta’s Virginia Highlands neighborhood with about a dozen Centers for Disease Control and Prevention staffers who were either recently laid off because of Trump’s budget cuts or furloughed because by the shutdown.

“The president is weaponizing despair. He’s weaponizing silence. He wants us to give up. We have to stand up, speak out and fight,” said Esteves, who was asked whether the Democratic strategy could come back to haunt them.

“The only thing that’s going to backfire is the fact that 1.5 million Georgians are going to be impacted,” he said. “And we can prevent that if Republicans stop playing politics and focus more on people.”