Republican Rusty Paul says Democrats helped him win as Sandy Springs mayor
Today’s newsletter highlights:
- Donald Trump touts questionable poll in Georgia governor’s race.
- Federal judge is slated to hear arguments about Georgia’s voter challenge law.
- Marjorie Taylor Greene misses votes since announcing her resignation.
Bipartisan blowout
Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul never wanted his bid for a fourth term to become a political dogfight, telling voters that “potholes don’t have parties.” But he routed progressive challenger Dontaye Carter on Tuesday with help from both Republican heavyweights and key Democratic allies.
Paul, a former Georgia Republican Party chair and ex-state legislator, won with plenty of conservative muscle. State GOP Chair Josh McKoon — who joined Paul’s celebration — said the party sent out mailers and texts urging voters to reject his “radical” opponent.
But Paul was quick to note that his lopsided victory wouldn’t have been possible without a surge of Democratic support. That included a timely endorsement from state Rep. Esther Panitch, who helped blunt backing for Carter from Stacey Abrams and other Democratic figures.
“In a lot of ways, this has been the toughest election. In some ways, it’s been easier because I was more relaxed in this election,” Paul said, pausing for a beat. “Because one way or another, this is my last one.”
McKoon wasn’t about to cast a suburban mayoral blowout as a sign of Republican momentum heading into next year’s midterms. After all, Democrats swept last month’s statewide Public Service Commission races by roughly 26 points. And in nearby Roswell, former Democratic state Rep. Mary Robichaux ousted Mayor Kurt Wilson despite his endorsements from Republican Gov. Brian Kemp and U.S. Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Suwanee.
But he drew one conclusion.
“I’m very pleased that a former chairman of the Georgia GOP won over 70% of the vote in a city that everyone acknowledges is a very purple place,” he said.
Other takeaways:
- Roswell Mayor: Robichaux’s victory over Wilson hinged partly on outcry over a decision to remove trees near the historic Mimosa Hall & Gardens site. Robichaux said Wilson conceded the race and has offered to help with the transition.
- Atlanta City Council District 7: Thomas Worthy defeated Thad Flowers. Flowers is a former City Council chief of staff. Worthy is the chief public policy officer at Piedmont Healthcare and a former MARTA board member who was an attorney for former Republican Gov. Nathan Deal.
- Atlanta City Council District 11: Wayne Martin defeated Nate Jester. Jester is a military veteran and Harvard law graduate. Martin has worked for the Atlanta Housing Authority and Atlanta Public Schools.
- House District 106: Democrat Akbar Ali defeated Marqus Cole in a bid to succeed former state Rep. Shelly Hutchinson, who resigned from the Gwinnett-based district this summer to care for an ailing family member. Ali, 21, is set to become the youngest state legislator in the General Assembly.
Things to know
Good morning! Georgia’s legislative session begins in 40 days. We’re 167 days away from the primary for U.S. Senate, governor and other races.
Here are three other things to know for today:
- Voters settled runoff races across 30 counties in Georgia on Tuesday. The AJC’s Reed Williams has a roundup of the results across metro Atlanta.
- Two more special elections for the state Legislature are next week. Five Republicans and one Democrat are vying to replace the late state Rep. Mandi Ballinger in Cherokee County. And Democrat Eric Gisler and Republican Mack “Dutch” Guest are competing to succeed Marcus Wiedower in Athens, the AJC’s Michelle Baruchman reports.
- Georgia Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff said the Trump administration blocked his visit to an immigration detention facility, the AJC’s Lautaro Grinspan reports.
DIY poll
President Donald Trump touted a poll Tuesday showing his favorite Republican candidate for governor of Georgia — Lt. Gov. Burt Jones — with a dominant lead over his rivals.
What he didn’t mention was the poll was conducted by a young Walker County activist named Cooper Jacks who readily acknowledged it was “by no means professional.”
Jacks told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution he used political Facebook groups to help him reach 369 Republican voters and then posted the findings.
“I did it out of curiosity,” said Jacks of the poll Trump promoted to millions of followers.
It’s not unusual for Trump to elevate questionable surveys that boost him or his allies — or to rail against “fake polls” that show his numbers sliding.
But his pump-up of Jones comes as the lieutenant governor faces mounting pressure inside the GOP.
An AJC poll of likely Republican voters in November showed Jones with 22% support — a narrow edge over Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger at 15% and Attorney General Chris Carr at 7%. Another 55% were undecided.
And allies of all three contenders are nervously watching to see whether U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene reverses course and jumps into the race after abruptly announcing her resignation from Congress.
Jones happily circulated Jacks’ do-it-yourself poll in a social-media post, declaring: “We are putting the gas pedal to the floor across Georgia!”
Carr’s campaign, meanwhile, knocked him for promoting a “fake poll.”
“Georgians won’t be taken for a ride by this fraudulent campaign trying desperately to dodge Burt’s record of self dealing,” Carr aide Neil Bitting said.
Voter rolls
The battle to manage Georgia’s voter rolls heads to federal court today where advocacy groups will try to convince a judge to stop a handful of counties from canceling people’s registration.
Senate Bill 189, passed last year, makes it easier for people to get their neighbors’ voter registrations canceled. All they have to do is show documentation that the voter has moved to another state.
Advocacy groups, including the A. Philip Randolph Institute, say local election boards in Chatham, Forsyth, Gwinnett and Spalding counties have been canceling people’s voter registrations “based on unvetted documentation and unreliable information” from private citizens, including screenshots of property records or social media posts.
Attorney General Chris Carr, who is running for governor, argues the federal court doesn’t have the authority to toss out Georgia’s law, saying the court should “allow the legislature’s policy decisions to continue to govern Georgia elections.”
Still, these voter challenges are not always successful. Metro Atlanta counties rejected more than 45,000 such challenges in the runup to the 2024 presidential election, the AJC’s Caleb Groves reported.
Bon voyage
Gov. Brian Kemp is in Panama this week with economic development recruiters and Georgia Ports Authority officials to tour the country’s famous canal and assess the logistics infrastructure that helps keep the hubs in Brunswick and Savannah humming.
The second-term governor said he wants to focus on ways to “innovate and invest in our infrastructure at home.”
The last time a Georgia governor visited Panama was in 2013, when then-Gov. Nathan Deal aimed to position Georgia to take advantage of a multibillion-dollar Canal expansion that allowed much larger container ships to cut through the isthmus.
That visit came amid pushback from Washington over Georgia’s plans to deepen Savannah’s port, a gridlock that took years of bipartisan cooperation to overcome decades of delays rooted in politics, environmental problems and regulatory issues.
Now the port faces a different set of challenges. Container volumes were down 8.4% at the Savannah port in October as the Trump administration’s tariffs slowed traffic. But Georgia Ports Authority President and CEO Griff Lynch said he’s optimistic things will turn around in January.
Listen up
Today on the “Politically Georgia" podcast state Rep. Houston Gaines talks about his run for Congress. Then, former state Sen. Jason Esteves discusses his Democratic campaign for governor.
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.
MTG stays home
U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene appears to not have returned to Washington after her surprise announcement during the Thanksgiving recess that she would be stepping down from Congress.
The Rome Republican has missed four votes so far this week, two each on Monday and Tuesday. A spokesperson for Greene did not respond to a text message inquiring about whether she would be out the entire week.
Greene’s resignation announcement came on the heels of a public and bitter split with President Donald Trump. And she indicated that she was hoping to return to private life and had grown weary of the vitriol and threats that spiked after Trump began calling her a “traitor.”
She said she would be leaving officially on Jan. 5, but there are no House votes after Dec. 18 because of the winter holiday recess. It is unclear how much Greene plans to participate between now and then.
Today in Washington
- President Donald Trump will pose for a photo with White House interns then make an announcement from the Oval Office.
- The House will vote on a series of bills related to education and regulations for small businesses.
- The Senate will consider more of Trump’s nominations and legislation that would roll back a Biden administration land management rule.
Correction
Yesterday’s newsletter should have said that Roswell Mayor Kurt Wilson finished first in the Nov. 4 general election ahead of Tuesday’s runoff race.
Shoutout
Today’s birthday:
- State Rep. Sharon Henderson, D-Covington.
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
South Korean diplomats who visited Atlanta this week say they want to move on from an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant near Savannah that strained relations between the two countries. But Lee Sung-hwan of the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned: “It will matter absolutely to see that it in fact does not happen again.”
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.
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