Georgia runoffs: Live updates on election aftermath, redistricting special session

Although Georgia Republicans announced they will not be redrawing political maps this special session, Democrats say the fight is far from over. 

"It is unequivocally a good thing that they're not doing it this session," Georgia Democratic Party Chairman Charlie Bailey said minutes after the news was announced. 

But Bailey warned Republicans "to think long and hard" about whether they want to take up redistricting after the November election.

State Rep. Tanya Miller, the Democratic nominee for attorney general, said Republicans should firmly commit to not altering the state's legislative and U.S. House districts until after litigation over the current maps winds its way through the courts. She said redrawing districts should not occur until after the 2030 Census. 

"I'm happy that they have decided to pull this, but at the end of the day, there's nothing stopping them from doing it again," Miller said. "Absent that kind of principled commitment, I'm a little hesitant to read too much into this, except (that) we live to fight another day." 

Tanya Miller, Georgia's Democratic nominee for attorney general, condemned Republicans' focus on redistricting at a Democratic news conference ahead of Wednesday's special session. 

"The voters choose their leaders. The leaders do not choose their voters," she said. "We know exactly what (Republicans) are doing. You can use a map and you can use a pen with just as much violence to communities." 

Miller ended with a call to voters, reminding them that leaders in the state should not yield more power than constituents. 

"Show up in November and let them know who really is in charge of democracy in the United States of America," she said. 

Democratic state legislators gathered at the south steps of the Capitol on Wednesday surrounded by people holding "hands off Georgia" and "say no to Jim Crow 2.0" signs to push back against Republican plans to redistrict the state.

Democratic Party of Georgia chair Charlie Bailey accused Republicans of attempting to dilute Black voter strength while everyday Georgians struggle with healthcare, taxes and rising gas prices. 

"They don't want to talk about any of that, do they?" he asked. "They want to come in here and defend their own power. They want to come in here and defend their own political corruption." 

Bailey took shots at Republican nominee for governor, Rick Jackson, and "insider corrupt politicians" in Georgia. 

"Any politician that will come out and say it is an appropriate thing to use taxpayer dollars to take the voting power of Black Georgians, they don't deserve to be governor of this state," he said. 

Meanwhile, Republican House leaders announced they would not take up redistricting in this special session, despite Gov. Brian Kemp's call to do so.

The morning after winning the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate, Congressman Mike Collins has released his first general election campaign ad, where he talks up the bipartisan support he received while getting two bills signed into law. 

The ad also paints his opponent, Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, as too extreme.

"Hard-working. Bipartisan. Results. Everything liberal Jon Ossoff isn't," the narrator says. "Liberal Jon Ossoff: He's weak, he's woke, he's the worst of Washington."

The 90-second video posted on social media points out that Collins, who has served two terms in the U.S. House, had one bill signed into law by President Joe Biden and one, the Laken Riley Act, by President Donald Trump. 

Mike Collins has built a political career and his U.S. Senate campaign on his background as the owner of a trucking company who understands how policies can affect small-business owners. But a new video from U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, his opponent in November, attempts to put Collins' origin story in a much different light.

The Ossoff spot, which clocks in at two minutes, says Collins benefited politically and professionally from his father, the late Congressman Mac Collins, taking over his trucking business and later his seat in the U.S. House. And it ties this nepo-baby story back to President Donald Trump, who endorsed Collins and whose agenda Collins says he will back if elected to the Senate.

"His rich daddy, a former congressman and career politician himself, handed Mike the keys to a company with dozens of employees, making multimillionaire Mike richer while real truckers did the actual work," the narrator says. "Maybe that's why Trump likes him so much."

Georgia won't be redrawing its political maps in the coming weeks after all.

Lawmakers returned to the state Capitol today for a special session. On the agenda was remaking the state's political boundaries in the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling weakening the Voting Rights Act.

But Greg Bluestein reports Republican leaders in the state House say they won't pass new maps during the session. Many say they worry redistricting could energize Democratic voters ahead of the midterms.

Faith leaders, civil rights groups and others have already held protests today opposing the move.

U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock warned state legislators about blowback at the polls this fall if Republicans pass new political maps.

“Come November, we intend to hold you accountable,” the Democrat said during a rally on the south steps of the Georgia Capitol.

Warnock was surrounded by the heads of roughly a dozen civil rights and progressive organizations and hundreds of other supporters, who waved signs stating, “Say no to Jim Crow 2.0” and “Don’t slice up Georgia.”

The senator, who is also senior pastor at the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, said Republicans who vote in favor of redistricting shouldn’t turn around and attend MLK Day services at his congregation, which has become an annual stop for many politicians. 

“Make no mistake, the Legislature is coming for the power of ordinary, everyday voters,” he said. “They don’t want to be held accountable.”

Warnock's comments came shortly before news broke that the General Assembly would not take up redistricting in this special session. 

Democratic nominee for governor Keisha Lance Bottoms kicked off the general election campaign on Wednesday by hitting at her Republican rival, Rick Jackson, after his win against Lt. Gov. Burt Jones in the Republican runoff.

The former Atlanta mayor stood in front of the shuttered Northridge Medical Center in Commerce in her first general election campaign event. She dubbed Jackson "slick Rick" and characterized him as a healthcare billionaire who profits as Georgians struggle with medical bills.

"Elon Musk has come to Georgia," she said. 

"Rick Jackson has said if he is elected, he will be Donald Trump's favorite governor," Bottoms continued. "Is that what we want?"

An analysis of Tuesday night's precinct-level results compared to the May primary shows just how much Rick Jackson's support grew across the state, especially in metro Atlanta.

The map compares how Jones and Jackson performed against other candidates in May compared to their head-to-head contest Tuesday night.

For example, in Jones' home county, Butts County, he improved by a net of just 0.9 percentage points.

Statewide, Jackson bested Jones by about 38,000 votes. His growth in support in Metro Atlanta netted Jackson about 32,000 of those.

House Republicans were told this morning they’ll have Friday off for the Juneteenth holiday during the special session, but will return Saturday and continue meeting Monday and Tuesday. They’re also off Sunday for Father’s Day.

The schedule offers another clue that lawmakers are preparing for a multiday special session, even as questions remain about whether redistricting will ultimately be on the agenda.