Republicans report more cash than Democrats in races for two top Georgia offices

Today’s newsletter highlights:

• Judicial Council of Georgia tries tracking threats against judges.
• Keisha Lance Bottom’s campaign for governor focuses on Donald Trump.
• Congress faces yet another partial government shutdown deadline.

Fundraising watch

Former State Sen. John F. Kennedy, a Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, has about $1.7 million on hand for his campaign. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

The infamous Republican Party boss Mark Hanna once declared in 1896 just two things are important in politics: “The first is money. And I can’t remember the second.”

That cynical view has been disproven again and again in Georgia, where plenty of Davids have toppled deep-pocketed Goliaths over the years. And yet, money still matters. A lot.

And last night’s financial disclosure deadline for state candidates delivered a fresh trove of data covering fundraising from July through Jan. 31. Here’s what jumped out:

1. Governor’s race

Among Republicans:

• Rick Jackson, the billionaire health care executive, entered the race just days after the reporting deadline so he won’t file numbers until the next round. But the Republican has already reshaped the contest. He’s pledged to spend at least $50 million and has already written seven-figure checks for ad buys. That’s put pressure on the other GOP contenders.
• Lt. Gov. Burt Jones loaned himself $10 million last year, but didn’t add any more of his own money. He closed the seven-month stretch with about $15 million in his leadership committee, including the loan, plus another $4 million in other accounts. Notably, Jones’ committee collected more than $500,000 from Fighting for Georgia, an Atlanta-based anti-tax group, about $240,000 from the Sports Betting Alliance, and an $80,000 check from former GOP gubernatorial and Senate contender Guy Millner.
• Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger loaned himself $5 million and raised another $860,000, ending with $5.4 million in his account.
• Attorney General Chris Carr raised nearly $1.4 million, boosting his balance to $3.1 million.

On the Democratic side, the numbers show far more parity — and far less cash.

• Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, the front-runner for the Democratic nomination, tallied about $810,000 on hand after raising $1.1 million.
• Former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan collected nearly $1.1 million over his first seven months in the race and ended with about $600,000 in the bank.
• Former state Sen. Jason Esteves finished with about $1.2 million after raising roughly $1.1 million.
• Former DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond closed with about $700,000 in the bank after raising $725,000 and loaning himself another $300,000.
• State Rep. Ruwa Romman raised nearly $250,000 and finished with less than $40,000 in the bank.
• State Rep. Derrick Jackson didn’t raise any cash this period but didn’t spend any either. He ended up with about $60,000 in the bank.

2. Lieutenant governor’s race

Republicans:

• State Sen. Blake Tillery led the Republican field with $2.6 million in the bank, fueled by $2.1 million in donations and a $100,000 loan.
• Former state Sen. John F. Kennedy has about $1.7 million on hand after raising another $1.2 million.
• State Sen. Steve Gooch reported $1.2 million in the bank, raising another $420,000 and loaning himself $50,000.
• State Sen. Greg Dolezal finished with $1 million in his account after raising about $1 million and loaning himself $300,000.
• State Rep. David Clark trailed the pack, ending with about $385,000 in the bank after raising $470,000.

Democrats:

• State Sen. Josh McLaurin raised nearly $200,000 and loaned himself $20,000 to report about $140,000 in the bank.
• Former Macon-Bibb Commissioner Seth Clark raised $125,000 and ended with about $115,000.

Things to know

Jay McMaster, a 93-year-old retiree, was among the jilted First Liberty investors who attended a meeting on Monday with Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. (Greg Bluestein/AJC)

Good morning! The Georgia Senate on Monday took its first step toward approving Lt. Gov. Burt Jones’ plan to phase out the state income tax when a legislative committee passed two bills on a party-line vote.

Here are three other things to know for today:

• A northwest Georgia man will spend more than three years in federal prison after he threatened to kill President Donald Trump during a TikTok livestream last summer, the AJC’s Alexis Stevens reports.
• Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is leaning into his office’s ongoing probe of a $140 million Ponzi scheme as he competes in a crowded field for governor, Greg Bluestein reports.
• An affidavit used to justify the FBI’s raid of a Fulton County election warehouse is scheduled to be unsealed today, the AJC’s Caleb Groves reports.

Judicial threats

Prosecutor Pat Harrington spoke at a January news briefing about multiple arrests in connection with the shooting of Tippecanoe County Judge Steven Meyer and his wife at their home in Lafayette, Ind. (Obed Lamy/AP)

The U.S. Marshals Service reported more than 560 threats against federal judges across the country during the 2025 fiscal year. But we don’t know how many threats were made against Georgia’s state judges because no one keeps track.

That could be changing. The Judicial Council of Georgia’s Standing Committee on Judicial Security has tracked 35 threats against 30 justices and judges since late 2024, resulting in nine arrests, according to Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Nels S.D. Peterson.

Peterson told us the effort is “still completely in the absolute formative stages,” noting that the committee is essentially keeping tabs on reports that people decide to pass on. There is still no formal mechanism in place to track these threats, but Peterson said they’re working on it.

The issue came into sharp focus in January when a Tippecanoe County judge in Indiana and his wife were shot and injured as part of a plot to derail a criminal case that was before him. Peterson mentioned the case during his State of the Judiciary speech last week, adding that the rule of law “requires that we protect judges from those who would do them harm because of their rulings.”

Fulton County update

Paul Brown is the former special agent in charge of the FBI field office in Atlanta. (Jason Getz/AJC)

The aftermath of the FBI seizing Fulton County’s 2020 election documents included this startling report from MSNOW: Paul Brown, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Atlanta field office, was forced out of his job after he questioned the investigation.

But a new document obtained by the AJC in a public records request complicates that picture. It’s a letter, signed by Brown, requesting that Fulton County’s elections board voluntarily give the FBI records related to the November 2020 presidential election. (Those records were actually being held by the county’s clerk of court. In December, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the clerk seeking access to them.)

The letter is undated, so it’s difficult to place it on the timeline. And it contains no hint of emotion. But at the very least, it raises questions about how Brown felt about this case.

Bottoms up?

Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms is a Democratic candidate for governor. (AP)

Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms’ campaign for governor didn’t bother even alluding to her primary opponents in a three-page strategy memo released this week.

Instead, the Democratic front-runner in the race for governor outlined her focus on lowering costs and “protecting Georgians against abuses of power by Donald Trump and his administration.”

It’s a telling signal that her campaign sees Trump — not her rivals — as the unifying villain of the race.

She also reinforced her core economic pillars, including calls to expand Medicaid, eliminate state income taxes for teachers, boost K-12 funding and provide free technical and community college.

Under the Gold Dome

The Capitol in Atlanta. (Jason Getz/AJC)

It’s Day 16 of the legislative session. Some happenings:

• 8 a.m.: The House Human Relations and Aging Committee meets to discuss House Bill 1081, which would add people with cognitive decline to the state’s definition of adults with disabilities.
• 8 a.m.: House Motor Vehicles Committee meets to discuss House Bill 809, which would raise the minimum speed limit to 50 miles per hour.
• 10 a.m.: House and Senate convene.
• 1 p.m.: Senate Children and Families Committee meets to discuss Senate Bill 343, which would prohibit social media platforms from allowing people 14 or younger from having an account.
• 2 p.m.: House Public and Community Health Committee meets to discuss House Bill 1118, which would provide up to three weeks of maternity leave for public officers and employees.
• 2 p.m.: Senate Education and Youth Committee meets to discuss Senate Bill 471, which would make permanent a law banning school districts from requiring students to wear face masks unless their parents can opt out of it.

Still going

Robert McBurney is a Fulton County Superior Court judge. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

Plaintiffs in a long running lawsuit that sought access to Fulton County’s 2020 ballots have appealed a judge’s decision dismissing most of their claims.

The plaintiffs are a group of Fulton County residents that include influential conspiracy theorist Garland Favorito. They want to see more than five years’ worth of ballots to prove the election was marred by rampant voting fraud. State and federal investigations found no evidence to support those claims.

Last week, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney dismissed most of the claims in the lawsuit and ordered the plaintiffs to pay nearly $39,000 in attorneys fees to the county and the Superior Court clerk’s office. On Friday, the plaintiffs appealed that decision to the Georgia Court of Appeals.

Despite the judge’s ruling, the lawsuit’s aim of gaining access to county election materials may have been largely fulfilled when the FBI seized Fulton County election records.

Listen up

AJC investigative reporter Dylan Jackson is a guest today on the "Politically Georgia" podcast. (Jeremy Freeman/Dagger)

Today on the “Politically Georgia” podcast senior investigative reporter Dylan Jackson joins the show to talk about the AJC’s sweeping investigation into PFAS contamination tied to northwest Georgia’s carpet industry.

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.

Homeland Security funding

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (right) spoke at a recent news conference in Washington as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries listened. Both are Democrats from New York. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

Funding for the Department of Homeland Security runs out on Friday unless Republicans and Democrats can agree on policy changes for immigration enforcement.

Democrats have pledged to block any bill to fund DHS, which includes U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, unless it contains provisions to create transparency and limitations on the aggressive immigration raids that have unfolded in cities like Minneapolis. Democratic leaders said Monday that proposals from Republicans fell short, the Associated Press reported.

Democrats say they will not approve temporary funding to buy additional time beyond Friday. But there’s a political problem with that stance because other agencies fall within the department, including Transportation Security Administration agents at airports, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Coast Guard. Workers for those agencies will be sent home during a shutdown or required to work without pay.

But even without new funding ICE and U.S. Border Patrol still have plenty of money available because of the “big, beautiful” spending law Republicans pushed through last year. Those agencies would be the least impacted by a partial government shutdown.

Today in Washington

• President Donald Trump will sign legislation. He also has policy meetings scheduled.
• The House will vote on a bill that would prohibit Tasers and other less-lethal weapons from being classified as firearms and another that would require the Department of Energy to assess the needs for certain minerals.
• The Senate will vote on more Trump nominations.

Shoutouts

State Rep. Yasmin Neal is a Democrat from Jonesboro. (Abbey Cutrer/AJC)

Today’s birthday:

• State Rep. Yasmin Neal, D-Jonesboro.

Belated birthday