Speaker Johnson meets with Warnock after he questioned the GOP’s faith
Today’s newsletter highlights
- Lucy McBath probed Alveda King’s devotion to Trump.
- A new analysis shows Rick Jackson gaining ground on Burt Jones.
- Rob Adkerson hopes for a phone call from Trump.
Pulpit politics
Time and again, U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock — who doubles as the senior pastor of Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church — has accused Republicans who voted to cut social services or crack down on immigration for failing to live up to the teachings of Jesus. But apparently U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson wasn’t aware until Tuesday.
Johnson caught a clip of Warnock’s interview with the New York Times promoting his new book. In it, Warnock wondered “whether the religion is more performative than substantive,” pointing to Republicans voting for the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” that cut Medicaid and food assistance in exchange for continuing tax cuts for the wealthy.
“I would ask my colleagues, ‘What is it in the gospel that says that this is right?’” Warnock told the Times.
Johnson asked Warnock for a meeting, and he agreed. The two spoke for about a half-hour on Tuesday . A Politico reporter caught Warnock afterward, and he said that he and Johnson agreed to disagree.
“We also talked about our faith and our upbringing, and that, for me, was important because I think just at a human level it would help around this place if we had more authentic conversations across our differences,” Warnock told Politico.
In a statement to Politico, Johnson called the meeting a “positive, fruitful discussion about matters of faith and our different opinions regarding public policy.”
None of this is new to Georgia voters. Warnock’s office often refers to him as the “Senator Reverend” as he has long merged his faith and his politics. We’ve written articles and recorded podcasts where Warnock talked about how his belief that the government should be providing safety net programs like Medicaid expansion and the Affordable Care Act because Jesus directed his followers to help those in need.
Things to know
Good morning! Here are three things to know for today:
- Rick Jackson and Lt. Gov. Burt Jones split Habersham County equally in last month’s primary. Greg Bluestein writes the county offers a glimpse of the GOP’s divided electorate.
- Democrats are pushing to rename military bases that were originally named for Confederates. Tia Mitchell reports that puts U.S. Rep. Austin Scott in a complicated position.
- Here’s a look at the most recent polling in the race for Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in Georgia.
Waiting game
As Rob Adkerson addressed a few hundred supporters at the Governor’s Gun Club in Kennesaw on Monday night, the Republican congressional candidate kept glancing down at his phone.
“We’ve got the momentum, we’ve got the numbers, and there’s a lot of folks trying to make sure that the right people get involved with this thing,” he told the crowd, adding that he’d been instructed to keep an eye on his device. “If my phone vibrates, I’m going to answer it right in front of you guys, just so you know. I don’t know if that’s going to happen, but either way, we’re going to win this thing because of your support and your help.”
The hoped-for caller, of course, was President Donald Trump, who looms over this race perhaps more than any other Republican runoff on next week’s ballot.
Adkerson is locked in a head-to-head matchup with neurosurgeon John Cowan, the first-place finisher in the May primary who has partly self-funded his campaign.
What makes the contest stand out is that it’s the only one of four open Republican-held U.S. House seats where Trump hasn’t weighed in. Neither has U.S. Rep. Brian Jack, Trump’s top ally in Georgia, nor other major GOP power brokers such as Gov. Brian Kemp.
That vacuum has made the race unusually unpredictable.
Cowan finished second to Marjorie Taylor Greene in a 2020 congressional contest and had been preparing to run for her seat if she sought higher office. Instead, when U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk announced his retirement, Cowan jumped into the race despite living outside the district.
He’s running as a MAGA ally, even as rivals have highlighted old social media posts critical of both Trump and Greene.
“I’m 100% behind president Trump. He’s the most transformational president of my lifetime,” he said at an Atlanta Press Club debate on June 1, pointing to his rival. “He’s addressing the issues that politicians like you have failed to address for the last 50 years.”
Adkerson, meanwhile, has cast himself as the race’s unapologetic Trump loyalist while working as Loudermilk’s top aide. He has lined up support from some of the area’s most prominent conservatives, including state Sen. Ed Setzler, former state Sen. Lindsey Tippins and former state Rep. Scot Turner.
Setzler delivered a blunt appeal to the crowd:
“You know Rob. You know his heart,” he said, exhorting them to rally their friends and neighbors. “The election is going to go to the side that wants it the most.”
King quotes
Democrats must tread lightly when dealing with Alveda King, a niece of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and a prominent Trump supporter who has defended the president against charges of racism. Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath probed King’s devotion to Trump by using her uncle’s famous quotes.
During a House Judiciary Hearing aimed at criticizing the Southern Poverty Law Center, McBath brought up MLK’s famous “Letter from Birmingham Jail” and Trump’s pardon of Jan. 6 rioters.
“Your uncle writes to fellow clergymen about the dangers of turning a blind eye to those who do wrong to your neighbors,” McBath said. “How do you reconcile that with the presidential pardons of 1,200 violent extremists?”
King answered by quoting from that same letter: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” She then brought up instances of political violence targeting conservative groups, but McBath cut off.
“I’m moving on,” McBath said.
Close race
A new analysis from the Republican-friendly Cygnal polling firm suggests Jackson is gaining steam with voters who backed Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger or Attorney General Chris Carr in the first round of the GOP race for governor.
The memo says Jackson has opened a double-digit lead over Jones since the primary, with his image improving as Jones’ standing has slipped. Cygnal is the go-to polling firm for Kemp, though pollster Brent Buchanan told us neither runoff candidate is a client.
Jones’ allies are skeptical. They point to an April survey by the same firm that showed both candidates stuck in the 20s, arguing it badly missed the trends of the first round.
Ortega speaks
The man suing Jackson for workers’ compensation benefits gave an interview to Telemundo Atlanta last week.
Facundo Ortega told the news agency he hurt himself when he slipped and “ended up hanging from the tree with the full weight of my backpack on me, and that’s when I felt the jolt and the pain in my back,” according to a translation provided by the AJC’s Lautaro Grinspan.
Ortega’s attorney hasn’t commented on his client’s legal status. But the AJC’s Katherine Landergan reviewed court documents in the case showing Ortega’s attorney said workers on Jackson’s property were “undocumented.”
A Superior Court judge ruled in Ortega’s favor, giving him another chance to secure benefits. Ortega said he had to “pinch myself” because he couldn’t “believe that I won.”
“They want to walk all over us or intimidate us, I don’t know,” he said.
Grinspan said that last comment appeared to be more directed at society in general rather than Jackson specifically.
Are you a Buddy Carter voter?
If you backed Buddy Carter in the primary, we want to hear from you for an upcoming story. Are you supporting Mike Collins, Derek Dooley or skipping the runoff altogether?
Click here to email and tell us why.
Listen up
Today on the “Politically Georgia” podcast we discuss U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff’s on-the-record comments that he won’t run for president in 2028. We also dig into the Republican runoffs for the U.S. Senate and governor’s races.
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.
Immigration enforcement
The U.S. House on Tuesday passed the reconciliation bill that will fund immigration enforcement to the tune of $70 billion. This was the final phase of an agreement that ended the longest government shutdown in history after Democrats refused to fund agencies related to immigration over the deaths of two Americans during protests in Minneapolis.
The reconciliation bill allowed Republicans to fund U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol without Democrats using the filibuster to block a vote in the Senate.
The House passed the bill entirely along partisan lines with all Republicans in favor and all Democrats plus an independent opposed.
Trump will sign the legislation into law this morning.
Today in Washington
- Trump will sign the reconciliation bill funding immigration enforcement into law and meet with students who are finalists for the Presidential 1776 Award, a history competition.
- The House will vote on several bills aimed at rooting out fraud in government programs.
- The Senate will vote on more Trump nominations.
- Georgia U.S. Reps. Andrew Clyde, Clay Fuller and Rich McCormick will play for Team GOP in the annual Congressional Baseball Game.
Attack ads
The latest Burt Jones ad bundles several of the sharpest attacks on Jackson into one spot, starting with the newest: an accusation that Jackson lied about receiving Kemp’s endorsement.
The ad out today opens with footage of Kemp saying, “I have not endorsed anybody,” then pivots to Jackson’s past donations to Stacey Abrams and Liz Cheney.
It closes by reviving allegations involving Medicare fraud tied to Jackson’s business record.
Shoutouts
Today’s birthdays
- Molly Aziz, senior budget and policy analyst with the Georgia House Budget and Research Office.
- Joe Davis, a faithful reader of this newsletter.
Before you go
A Georgia developer will pay $1.1 million to the federal government to end claims that it damaged, mishandled, lost and disposed of tens of thousands of Native American artifacts and human remains
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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