Georgia Democrats frame FBI raid as attack on elections in 2026 and beyond
Today’s newsletter highlights:
- Test your knowledge with our news quiz.
- Democratic candidates for governor reveal fundraising totals.
- Jon Burns wants to put literacy coaches in elementary schools.
Election fears
President Donald Trump isn’t the only one talking about rigged elections.
Georgia’s Democratic candidates for governor are warning about 2026 and beyond now that the Trump administration has seized ballots from the state’s 2020 election.
Former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan framed the episode as a warning shot during a candidate forum last night hosted by Georgia Men for Democracy Now. He said the actions by the Trump administration risk eroding trust beyond Georgia.
“This is not about relitigating the 2020 election. This is a direct attack on the 2026 election, and it’s trying to sow seeds of doubt and chaos and confusion,” he said.
Former state Sen. Jason Esteves was even more direct, accusing Trump and Georgia Republicans of deliberately trying to “rig the 2026 election.” He tied the Fulton County raid to a broader pattern of voter suppression and pledged to roll back parts of the state’s 2021 elections overhaul.
“Let’s be honest, it’s not just Donald Trump who is trying to rig elections and take away your voting rights,” he said. “Republicans have been doing that for over a decade.”
Former DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond drew parallels between the Fulton County raid and past efforts by state officials to take over local elections in his county. He warned that Trump’s recent talk of “nationalizing” elections should alarm voters across the spectrum.
“This is not about 2020,” Thurmond said. “This is about 2026 and 2028.”
Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and state Rep. Ruwa Romman, who were not in attendance, have issued similar warnings in recent days.
Friday news quiz
Good morning! It’s time to test your knowledge with our weekly news quiz. You’ll find the answers at the end of this newsletter.
Multiple Metro Atlanta local governments are considering reparations for Black residents harmed by slavery and racial discrimination. What could prevent them from sending people checks?
- A) A state law passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature barring local governments from approving cash payments for reparations.
- B) A clause in the state Constitution that prohibits governments from giving gifts to people.
- C) A new federal law that bans diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
- D) Credit rating agencies threat to downgrade local governments’ bond rating over the size of the financial liability.
Georgia’s rural counties are struggling with a shortage of lawyers, making it difficult for people to navigate the legal system. What is one solution Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Nels S.D. Peterson proposed this week?
- A) A state-funded student loan repayment program for lawyers who agree to work in rural areas.
- B) A new state income tax credit for attorneys who work in rural areas.
- C) Using artificial intelligence to give legal advice to people in rural areas.
- D) Boost funding for Georgia’s legal aid program that offers help for people in civil cases.
Georgia House Republicans rejected one of Gov. Brian Kemp’s budget proposals this week. What was it?
- A) A one-time $2,000 payment to most state employees.
- B) Borrowing $650 million to pay for new construction projects.
- C) Cutting Georgia’s income tax rate to 4.99% from 5.19%.
- D) Tapping Georgia’s budget surplus to send most taxpayers checks of up to $500.
President Donald Trump endorsed a candidate in the race to replace former U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene in Congress. Who was it?
- A) Former state Sen. Colton Moore.
- B) Former Lookout Mountain District Attorney Clay Fuller.
- C) Tom Gray, senior pastor of Mars Hill Community Church in Powder Springs.
- D) Trey Kelly, former chair of the Fulton County Republican Party.
Gabbard explanation
President Donald Trump on Thursday shifted the White House’s narrative on why Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard was present during the raid of the Fulton County election office.
Gabbard has said Trump asked her to be there. But in a speech at the National Prayer Breakfast on Thursday, Trump said it was Attorney General Pam Bondi who asked Gabbard to attend.
“She took a lot of heat two days ago because she went in at Pam’s insistence,” Trump told the crowd. “She went in and she looked at votes that want to be checked out from Georgia. They say, ‘Why is she doing it?’ Right, Pam? Why is she doing it?’ Because Pam wanted her to do it.”
On Wednesday, during an interview with NBC News, Trump said he didn’t know why Gabbard had traveled to Georgia. And Gabbard sent a letter to members of Congress on Monday saying “my presence was requested by the president” who wanted her to observe the FBI agents executing the search warrant.
After Trump’s latest remarks, a spokesperson for Gabbard posted a statement on X saying both Bondi and Trump asked her to go to Atlanta. That statement appears to have been deleted.
“As the president said, he asked for Director Gabbard to be there,” Alexa Henning, Gabbard’s deputy chief of staff, wrote, according to CBS. “Attorney General Bondi also asked for her to be there. Two things can be true at the same time.”
Campaign cash
Two more Democratic contenders for governor are rolling out fresh fundraising numbers as the field settles into a familiar pattern.
Former state Sen. Jason Esteves said he raised more than $1.1 million between July and Jan. 31, bringing his total haul to about $2.3 million since launching his campaign. His campaign emphasized that none of the money came from self-loans.
That puts Esteves in striking parity with his top Democratic rivals. Keisha Lance Bottoms, Geoff Duncan and Michael Thurmond all reported raising roughly $1 million over the same period.
Another candidate, state Rep. Ruwa Romman, said she raised about $250,000 from more than 2,500 donors — a smaller total, but one she’s pitching as evidence of grassroots support.
Literacy coaches
Georgia has just over 50,000 people in prison, a number that’s expected to swell to 55,000 by 2030. They keep House Speaker Jon Burns awake at night.
“How many Georgians in our prison system would be leading productive lives if they had learned to read?” Burns said.
Burns, a Republican from Newington, sees a direct connection between the state’s literacy crisis and it’s increasing prison population. Only about one out of every three Georgia fourth graders can read proficiently, according to state data.
On Thursday, Burns announced his biggest proposal yet to combat the problem: placing literacy coaches in every elementary school in the state. This wouldn’t be a pilot program. He wants to adjust the state’s school funding formula to ensure the money is available every year.
“We are not in the state we’re in because of our teachers. They are doing an incredible job,” Burns said. “But they need additional resources. I think we can all agree on that.”
The big question: how much will it cost? House Republican leaders didn’t say other than “we’re going to figure that out.”
The Georgia Department of Education placed full-time literacy coaches in 60 elementary schools throughout the state starting in 2024. A state study found a 15% improvement in student reading after one year, with the strongest gains in kindergarten.
Under the Gold Dome
It’s Day 14 of the legislative session. Some happenings:
- 8 a.m.: House Regulated Industries Occupational/Professional Licensing Subcommittee meets to discuss House Bill 1095, which would establish permanent consumer fireworks sales facilities.
- 8 a.m.: House Special Committee on Resource Management meets to discuss House Bill 1063, which would require electric utilities to protect residential and retail customers from costs associated with data center construction and operation.
- 9 a.m.: House and Senate convene.
Nationalized elections?
The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board has a takedown of President Donald Trump’s call earlier this week to “nationalize elections.”
Not only is the idea plainly unconstitutional and a no-go for people like Republican U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, the Journal warns that Trump’s heavy-handed tactics in Fulton County are likely to backfire on him in the midterm elections.
From the editorial:
There's no shortage of panic in the press after Mr. Trump's FBI recently raided an election office in Fulton County, Ga., seeking something, anything, to lend credence to his claims about the 2020 election. Yet that mischief won't save him in November.
MAGA mouthpiece Steve Bannon suggested that Mr. Trump “have ICE surround the polls," and “call up the 82nd and 101st Airborne." Yeah, after Mr. Trump's political debacle in Minneapolis, independent voters would love that.
Listen up
There is no “Politically Georgia” podcast today. We’ll be back on Monday.
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 sign executive orders before traveling to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida for the weekend.
- The House and Senate are done for the week.
Shoutouts
Upcoming birthdays:
- Tyler Adams, partner with Connect Public Relations (Sunday).
- Attorney General Chris Carr (Sunday).
Transitions:
- Felicia Blakely-Agostini is the new executive director of the Democratic Party of Georgia. She was previously the party’s finance director, where she oversaw a major expansion of fundraising and operations.
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
Answers to this week’s news quiz:
- B) A clause in the state Constitution that prohibits governments from giving gifts to people. It’s known as the “gratuities clause” and has prevented many other government-funded relief programs.
- C) Using artificial intelligence to give legal advice to people in rural areas. He said during his State of the Judiciary address that artificial intelligence may “offer opportunities.”
- D) Sending most taxpayers checks of up to $500. The House plan would send the checks to homeowners instead.
- B) Former Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit District Attorney Clay Fuller. In a social media post, Trump said Fuller “knows the Wisdom and Courage required to Defend our Country.”
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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