Georgia GOP Senate debate set while governor showdown remains uncertain
Today’s newsletter highlights:
- The Laken Riley Act is playing out differently in Minnesota.
- Mike Collins makes an aggressive play for Donald Trump’s endorsement.
- On the attack, John Cowan launches his latest campaign ad.
Debate over debates
The Republican runoff for U.S. Senate will get a showdown this weekend. The GOP runoff for governor won’t.
U.S. Rep. Mike Collins and former football coach Derek Dooley are set to face off Sunday in the Atlanta Press Club’s Loudermilk-Young Debate Series, giving voters a side-by-side look at the two Republicans competing to challenge U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff.
But Lt. Gov. Burt Jones will have the debate stage Monday all to himself after billionaire healthcare executive Rick Jackson declined the invitation, citing a scheduling conflict.
That set off a familiar runoff ritual: the debate-about-the-debate.
Jones, who accepted the invitation shortly after finishing first in the primary, spent the week posting a countdown clock marking how many days Jackson had gone without agreeing to the showdown.
“It’s unfortunately not surprising that Rick would back out. He can spend millions trying to fake who he is, but he can’t do that on a debate stage,” Jones said.
Jackson’s campaign countered that it already had an event planned with U.S. Sen. Rick Scott of Florida and said it has accepted a Gray TV invitation for a June 14 debate.
“Burt Jones said he would debate anytime, anywhere, and we look forward to seeing him then,” the Jackson campaign said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Atlanta News First has said it’s willing to host a debate on either June 7 or June 8.
The Atlanta Press Club debates, scheduled for Sunday and Monday, will be livestreamed. Many will also air Sunday, Monday and Tuesday night on Georgia Public Broadcasting.
Things to know
Good morning! Here are three things to know for today:
- Jillian Gibson is now acting district attorney in the Ogeechee Judicial District after the elected official overseeing the office died of an apparent heart attack last week, the AJC’s Alex Nettles reports.
- A Superior Court judge has given a landscaper another chance for benefits after being hurt on the sprawling property of Rick Jackson, the AJC’s Katherine Landergan reports.
- Atlanta officials are partnering with Morehouse School of Medicine on a proposed $800 million hospital to serve residents in the southern part of the city, the AJC’s Shaddi Abusaid reports.
Trump tea leaves
Collins is making another aggressive play for President Donald Trump’s endorsement in Georgia’s Republican Senate runoff.
Collins has hired Tony Fabrizio, one of Trump’s top political advisers and a key strategist behind the president’s 2024 campaign, to help lead his runoff effort against Dooley.
The hiring, first reported by our friends at Axios, comes days after Collins dismissed adviser Brandon Phillips following the latest in a string of controversies surrounding the longtime operative.
Some Republicans see Fabrizio’s arrival as a sign Trump could soon move to back Collins. But Georgia Republicans have spent years trying to read Trump tea leaves that never turned into an endorsement.
During the 2020 U.S. Senate race, speculation swirled for months that Trump was preparing to endorse another Collins — then-U.S. Rep. Doug Collins — in another bruising GOP battle. It never happened.
For now, both campaigns remain glued to every signal from Mar-a-Lago and the White House, waiting for an endorsement that could reshape the race overnight — or never come at all.
Close calls
The government doesn’t declare election winners in the United States. The closest we have is The Associated Press, which “calls” races on election night and the following days. By that metric, three races in Georgia remain in limbo.
As a reminder, any candidate with more than 50% avoids a runoff.
- Democratic primary for House District 130. State Rep. Sheila Clark Nelson is at 50.3%. While she is an incumbent, she’s only been in office a few weeks after winning a special election in April. If the results hold, she would avoid a runoff against Sha’Qunta Q. Calles.
- Republican primary for Public Service Commission District 3. Fitz Johnson is at 50.2%. There’s only one other person in the race — Brandon Martin — so there is no runoff. Johnson is trying to get a rematch with Democrat Peter Hubbard, who ousted him from the seat in a special election last year.
- Republican primary for state school superintendent. Incumbent Richard Woods is at 49.9%, which would put him in a runoff with Fred “Bubba” Longgrear. Some Republican leaders, including Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns, are backing Longgrear. For what it’s worth, the Atlanta Press Club plans to hold a debate between Longgrear and Woods on Monday.
Senate watch
In Georgia’s Republican U.S. Senate runoff, both candidates have made it clear they support the Laken Riley Act, named after the nursing student who was killed on the University of Georgia’s campus.
But the immigration enforcement law is playing out differently in Minnesota, where the Trump administration’s crackdown resulted in two deaths and widespread protests.
The Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, Minnesota’s version of the Democratic Party, hosts its state convention this weekend, where delegates will endorse candidates for the U.S. Senate. The Laken Riley Act has been a key part of the race.
Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan has criticized U.S. Rep. Angie Craig for being one of the few House Democrats to vote for the law when it passed Congress last year. The law allows noncitizens to be held without bail if they are charged with certain crimes.
Craig has said she regrets her vote, saying that “any bill that gives ICE new authority in this administration was the wrong decision.”
To refresh your memory, a majority of Georgia’s Democratic Congressional delegation voted for the law, including U.S. Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock and U.S. Reps. Sanford Bishop and Lucy McBath.
Listen up
Today on the “Politically Georgia” podcast we examine the fast-moving alliance between Democratic nominee for governor Keisha Lance Bottoms and Ossoff.
You can listen and subscribe to “Politically Georgia” for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube 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.
Open secret
One of the worst-kept secrets in Georgia Republican politics is now official: Cole Muzio and the Frontline conservative network he leads are backing Jones for governor.
Muzio has spent months signaling his preference for Jones over Jackson, both on social media and at conservative gatherings. But in a letter to supporters this morning, he made the endorsement formal.
“Talk is cheap. Action must be proven. That’s why Frontline proudly endorses Burt Jones for Governor — a leader who has won, is winning, and will win big for Georgia,” he wrote.
The move gives Jones another stamp of approval from a grassroots conservative network with deep ties to evangelical circles and a close alliance with Kemp.
Today in Washington
- Trump has no public events on his schedule.
- The House and Senate are out for the week.
Clyde‘s side hustle
The Savannah Police Department has inked a deal with a familiar name: Clyde Armory, the gun store and weapons contractor still owned and operated by U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Athens.
According to The Savannah Morning News, Clyde Armory will provide the department with firearms, gun-mounted red-dot sights and related accessories for about $148,000.
The News asked Savannah Mayor Van Johnson if he is comfortable doing business with Clyde, since he infamously described the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol that wounded more than 100 Capitol Police officers, as “just a normal tourist visit.”
In response Johnson told the News, “The City does not and cannot base its procurement decisions on every statement, political opinion, or personal position held by a vendor, company owner, officer, shareholder, or employee.”
On the attack
Dr. John Cowan, the neurosurgeon who is in the Republican runoff in Georgia’s 11th Congressional District, has launched his latest campaign ad.
Called “Swamp Creature,” the ad labels his runoff opponent, congressional aide Rob Adkerson, as an establishment figure who is no friend to Trump.
“Rob Adkerson is exactly what’s wrong with Washington — decades on the inside, getting rich off the taxpayers while families back home foot the bill,” Cowan said in a news release. “That’s not conservative leadership. That’s a swamp creature.”
The campaign says it will spend six figures to run the ad on television, radio, and digital platforms, boosting his total spend to date above $1 million.
Meanwhile, an anonymous critic continues to send daily emails highlighting Cowan’s now-deleted social media posts where he appears to criticize Trump.
Shoutouts
Transition:
- Christine Hayes, formerly deputy executive council for Kemp, has joined Chubb as senior litigation policy council with the government and industry affairs group.
Want a birthday shoutout in the Politically Georgia newsletter? There’s a form for that. It’s not just birthdays. We’re also interested in new jobs, engagements, birth announcements, etc.
Before you go
In new court filings last week, Emory University officials say they had “no choice” but to call police to break up a pro-Palestinian protest on campus two years ago.
That’ll do it for us today. As always, you can send your best scoops, gossip and insider information 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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