Governor hopefuls focus on affordability during Politically Georgia forum
Today’s newsletter highlights:
- Mike Collins features Brian Kemp in new U.S. Senate ad.
- Poll shows Latino voters have regrets about voting for Donald Trump.
- Tim Echols takes a sabbatical after election defeat.
First look
About a year from now, Georgia voters will be headed to the ballot box to choose a new governor.
The AJC’s Politically Georgia forum in Atlanta last night gave hundreds in the room — and thousands watching — an early look at where the leading candidates stand in a race with no clear front-runner.
Here are three takeaways:
1. Taking advantage
Lt. Gov. Burt Jones was the only major Republican running for governor to skip the forum. Attorney General Chris Carr made sure no one forgot it.
“There’s one no show. The lieutenant governor,” Carr said. “I am told he had a family conflict. Y’all, he’s got a lot of family conflicts, all right?”
The audience laughed at that last line, which was a not-so-subtle jab at Jones’ family. His father, Bill Jones, plans to build a hospital on some land south of Atlanta. Carr has accused Burt Jones of using his influence to push for legislation that would allow it to happen.
Jones’ campaign has said Carr is “grasping at straws,” noting he’s lagging in the polls. The latest AJC poll shows Jones has an early advantage in the race with the support of 22% of likely Republican primary voters. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is second at 15% while Carr was third at 7%.
But a whopping 55% of likely Republican primary voters are undecided.
2. Affordability
Georgia voters made a statement on Tuesday when they ousted two Republican members of the Public Service Commission who voted to raise electricity rates six times in the past three years. It appears politicians from both parties got the message.
“A lot of the conversation about the elections was about affordability. You’re a fool if you don’t recognize that,” Carr said.
Democrats lost the presidential election last year, in part, because they ceded the affordability argument to Republicans. On Wednesday night, all of the leading Democratic candidates for governor touted their pledges to make life more affordable, whether it was former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan vowing to set aside 10% of the state’s reserves to help pay for things like child care or former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms focusing on workforce housing for teachers.
“There’s so many of them that want to talk about affordability, especially after yesterday,” Duncan said after the forum. “It all of a sudden became an important issue. But we’ve been talking about it since day one.”
3. Zingers
It can be hard to stand out in a crowded forum like this. But each candidate came away with some memorable lines. Here’s a sampling:
- Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms: “I think if people look back on my record as mayor, they would likely say that I’m more of a moderate. But there’s some issues that people thought that I was too far right, and some issues that people thought that I was too far left. I don’t subscribe to a title.”
- Attorney General Chris Carr: “We need Congress to get back to work. Compromise cannot be a bad word.”
- Democrat Geoff Duncan, a former Republican lieutenant governor: “Here’s a sneaky little fact about Republicans. Not all of them think Donald Trump hung the moon. Not all of them want to be in the cult.”
- Former Democratic state Sen. Jason Esteves: “I’ve heard Donald Trump’s name over and over again. But y’all, if Democrats want to win this state, Donald Trump is not the only thing that we need to be talking about.”
- Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger: “Everybody’s property taxes are going up. We need an immediate property tax cap for seniors.”
- Former DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond on his long career in government: “That doesn’t make me an insider. That makes me flexible.”
Things to know
Good morning! It’s Day 37 of the federal government shutdown. We’re 67 days away from the start of Georgia’s legislative session.
Here are three other things to know for today:
- Did you miss last night’s forum of gubernatorial candidates? You can catch up by watching our live stream and reading updates from our live blog.
- Randy Travis, a former Fox 5 investigative reporter, defeated an incumbent to win a seat on the Lawrenceville City Council on Tuesday, the AJC’s Rodney Ho reports.
- The federal government shutdown is now the longest in history. Here’s how it is impacting Georgia.
Kemp’s brand
President Donald Trump appears in U.S. Rep. Mike Collins’ latest Senate ad nearly a dozen times. But another moment that jumped out comes about 13 seconds in: a clip of Gov. Brian Kemp praising Collins.
“Mike, thank you for your leadership,” Kemp says at a Capitol press conference.
The minute-long ad released today is meant to reinforce an image of Collins as a “conservative workhorse” with backing from MAGA-aligned figures like Vice President JD Vance.
But the use of Kemp is strategic.
The governor, of course, is supporting Collins’ rival Derek Dooley in the Senate race. Kemp remains one of the most influential figures among Georgia GOP voters, with an endorsement that ranks just behind Trump’s in the latest AJC poll.
Collins is doing two things at once: showcasing his Trump world endorsements and signaling to primary voters that he also values Kemp’s brand.
Voting stats
Just how big was the Democrats’ victory in the Public Service Commission races? Consider this mind-boggling statistic: Democratic candidates increased their share of the vote in 157 of Georgia’s 159 counties compared with the 2024 presidential election.
The shift was so big that Peter Hubbard and Alicia Johnson would have won the race even without the votes from metro Atlanta’s deep-blue core counties, a fact Democrats have been crowing about.
Still, it’s tough to draw any sweeping conclusions because of the lower turnout compared to typical election cycles. There were very few new voters, as 97% of the electorate also cast ballots in 2024, according to an analysis by the AJC’s Phoebe Quinton.
Other tidbits:
- Nearly three out of every four voters was over the age of 45.
- Some 22 counties flipped from Republican to Democrat compared to the 2024 vote.
- Black voters had the highest turnout with 21%, followed by white voters at 20%.
- Turnout topped 30% in Clinch, Fayette and Stewart counties.
Regrets
Latino voters in Georgia who supported Donald Trump for president in 2024 have some of the highest rates of buyers’ remorse, according to a new bipartisan poll from UnidosUS.
In the sample of 400 Georgia Latino voters, 37% said they voted for Trump and 59% said they voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris. Among the Trump voters, 21% said they would not vote for Trump again if they could do it over, the AJC’s Michelle Baruchman reports.
About two-thirds of of Georgia’s Hispanic voters disapprove of Trump’s performance. Nearly half of Georgia’s Latino voters are newer voters, with more than one-quarter voting for the first time in 2024 while 22% first cast ballots in 2020 or 2022.
The economy is the largest concern as 47% said cost of living and inflation is the most important issue, and 48% believe the minimum wage is too low and ranked it as a top issue. On immigration, creating a path to citizenship is the the policy Latino voters most want to see.
MTG’s ‘revenge’
U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is pushing back on a new viral video from a Democratic colleague who says her populist rise as a critic of Republican leaders is just sour grapes.
U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., posted a video on social media Tuesday after Greene’s appearance on “The View.” She said the Rome Republican was on a “revenge tour” against President Donald Trump after he refused to support her as a candidate for the U.S. Senate.
Greene, in an appearance on “The Hill on News Nation” Wednesday, said Ocasio-Cortez had her facts wrong. Greene said she decided on her own not to run for Senate because “the Senate is basically where all good things go to die.”
“The other problem with AOC is, I think she’s really jealous that I came into her home state, stomped around and actually had a great conversation with the ladies on ‘The View,’” Greene said.
Greene also shot down speculation she was aiming to run for president in 2028, calling it “baseless rumors.”
Listen up
Today on the “Politically Georgia” podcast U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene joins the show to talk about her breaks with Republican leadership. Plus, we break down the results of the Public Service Commission elections.
You can listen and subscribe to Politically Georgia for free an 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
- President Donald Trump will make an announcement at the White House. He’ll also meet with the presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
- The House is on an indefinite recess.
- The Senate will vote on whether to advance legislation that would block the Trump administration from carrying out strikes in and around Venezuela.
- U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, D-Atlanta, will highlight the impact of the government shutdown and lack of funding for nutrition programs by participating in a food distribution event.
Remote work
The two Republicans on the Public Service Commission who lost their reelection bids this week won’t leave office until Dec. 31. But at least one says he won’t be around the commission’s downtown Atlanta headquarters, the AJC’s Drew Kann and Kristi E. Swartz report.
Republican Commissioner Tim Echols told supporters that he and his wife are leaving immediately on what he called an “extended sabbatical contemplating our next adventure.” He later clarified that he will stay in office and take part in votes via Zoom.
Other commissioners have occasionally joined hearings remotely in recent years. Still, Echols’ decision is something to watch, especially with the PSC’s scheduled Dec. 19 vote on whether to let Georgia Power greatly expand its electricity generation. The utility’s proposal will likely cost tens of billions of dollars and could raise electricity rates for years to come.
Shoutouts
Today’s birthdays:
- Niles Francis, publisher of the Peach State Politics newsletter.
- State Rep. Karen Mathiak, R-Griffin.
- State Rep. Mitchell Scoggins, R-Cartersville.
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
The Federal Aviation Administration says it will cut 10% of flights on Friday because of the government shutdown. The impact on Atlanta is unclear.
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.
About the Authors
Greg Bluestein is the Atlanta Journal Constitution's chief political reporter. He is also an author, TV analyst and co-host of the Politically Georgia podcast.
Tia Mitchell is the AJC’s Washington Bureau Chief and a co-host of the "Politically Georgia" podcast. She writes about Georgia’s congressional delegation, campaigns, elections and the impact that decisions made in D.C. have on residents of the Peach State.
Patricia Murphy is the AJC's senior political columnist. She was previously a nationally syndicated columnist for CQ Roll Call, national political reporter for the Daily Beast and Politics Daily, and wrote for The Washington Post and Garden & Gun. She graduated from Vanderbilt and holds a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University.
