Georgia Democrats press Rick Jackson to denounce Mike Collins
Today’s newsletter highlights:
- Test your knowledge with our weekly news quiz.
- Marjorie Taylor Greene joins Cameo.
- A Republican-dominated panel meets to begin its review of Georgia’s voting system.
Campaign distance
U.S. Rep. Mike Collins and Rick Jackson haven’t campaigned together since winning the GOP nominations for U.S. Senate and governor. Georgia Democrats want to turn that distance into a campaign issue.
Ahead of Saturday’s GOP gathering in northwest Georgia, U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff and Keisha Lance Bottoms challenged Jackson to condemn Collins and refuse to campaign alongside him.
“Rick Jackson must publicly condemn white nationalism, denounce Mike Collins’ associations, and stop campaigning with him,” Ossoff and Bottoms said in a joint statement invoking Collins’ son-in-law, a white nationalist influencer. “If he won’t, Georgians can only conclude that he is willing to tolerate extremism when it serves his political ambitions.”
It highlights an uncomfortable political dynamic for Republicans. Ossoff and Bottoms have campaigned as a joint ticket since she won the Democratic nomination. Jackson and Collins, by contrast, have yet to appear together.
They were expected to campaign together at President Donald Trump’s rally in Marietta last month, but Collins was a late scratch. And they aren’t expected to overlap at the annual Tillman Rally on Saturday in Rome.
Jackson spokesperson Garrison Douglas countered by pressuring Bottoms to accept Jackson’s proposal for a town hall-style debate in October. He also accused her of “fanning the flames” of boycott calls against a Black-owned Buckhead restaurant that faced backlash after Jackson visited.
“Rick, of course, believes white nationalism has no place in Georgia. Rick has spent his life helping people of every background and has brought that same commitment to the campaign trail — bringing Georgians together, not dividing them,” Douglas said. “Keisha Lance Bottoms can issue all the desperate press releases she wants, but she cannot hide from her failed record as mayor or the damage she did to our communities. Rick Jackson is running to make sure she never gets the chance to do it again.”
Friday news quiz
Good morning! How closely did you follow the news this week? Find out by taking our quiz. You’ll find the answers at the end of the newsletter.
A former Republican U.S. senator endorsed Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff’s reelection campaign this week. Who was it?
- A) Mitt Romney.
- B) Jeff Flake.
- C) Kelly Loeffler.
- D) Saxby Chambliss.
An outside group committed to spend $4.8 million on an ad campaign this week criticizing Republican U.S. Senate nominee Mike Collins for what policy position?
- A) Tariffs.
- B) The One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
- C) Iran war.
- D) Immigration enforcement.
Democratic U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren traveled to Georgia recently to tout what new federal law?
- A) Lulu’s law, which requires the Federal Communications Commission to allow mobile phone alerts for shark attacks.
- B) 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, which limits how many single-family homes corporations can own.
- C) The Medal of Sacrifice Act, which directs a presidential medal to posthumously honor first responders killed in the line of duty.
- D) The Gerald E. Connolly Esophageal Cancer Awareness Act, which directs the Government Accountability Office to study esophageal cancer care.
The FBI says “malicious cyber actors” have hit water utilities in seven states. What metro Atlanta county had a temporary disruption last week?
- A) Douglas.
- B) Clayton.
- C) Henry.
- D) Rockdale.
Pitfalls
Jackson is opening another front in his multimillion-dollar effort to define Bottoms by her record at Atlanta City Hall.
The Republican nominee for governor launched a new statewide TV ad today targeting spending controversies from Bottoms’ first months as mayor, including a first-class airline ticket for her husband, chauffeured rides and campaign finance violations from her 2017 mayoral bid.
“Keisha Lance Bottoms — out for herself,” the narrator says.
The spot echoes Jackson’s first general election ad, part of the billionaire’s $87 million reservation he’s deploying to highlight Bottoms’ record.
The AJC reported in 2018 that taxpayers initially covered a $2,610 first-class ticket for Bottoms’ husband, Derek, to join Atlanta’s delegation to the Super Bowl in Minneapolis. Bottoms said the city credit card was used by mistake and reimbursed the city after discovering the charge.
Another AJC investigation found Bottoms spent $11,651 on 27 chauffeured rides during her first five months in office, an average of $431 per trip. Her administration said she initially relied on a car service that had already been vetted for security and reliability.
And in 2021, Bottoms’ campaign agreed to a $37,000 state ethics fine stemming from the 2017 mayoral race. The campaign acknowledged accepting $6,900 above individual contribution limits and another $110,797 that violated other campaign finance provisions. State officials said some of the violations were “purely procedural.”
Showtime
We here at Politically Georgia will wish you a happy birthday for free. But if you want former U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene to do it, it’ll cost you.
The Rome Republican is the latest ex-member of Congress to join Cameo, the online platform where people can pay celebrities for personalized video messages.
Greene’s profile opened at about $150 per video. But the price later rose to $179 on Thursday. Cameo listed Greene’s profile as “hot.”
A slew of ex-lawmakers have joined Cameo in recent years, including Matt Gaetz and George Santos. Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado tried to join the platform in 2024, but quickly deleted it after questions of whether it would violate House ethics rules.
Looking ahead
It’s never too early to think about 2028.
Today, a Republican-dominated panel charged with recommending a new voting system for Georgia will hold its first meeting.
The Georgia Legislature created the committee during this summer’s special session. Their job is to find a new system of hand-marked paper ballots printed on demand ahead of the 2028 election cycle.
As our colleague Caleb Groves points out, overhauling the voting system in time for the next presidential election won’t be easy. It requires legislation, funding and a statewide contract put out for bid. Then, state officials would have to deploy the system and train people how to use it.
One political dynamic we’re watching: state Rep. Tim Fleming, the Republican nominee for secretary of state, is on the committee. It means he’ll have an outsized voice in recommending a system that, if he wins in November, will be his job to certify.
Listen up
The “Politically Georgia” podcast is off today. We’ll see you Monday, when we’ll answer questions from listeners.
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.
Today in Washington
- Trump will host a roundtable on mining at the U.S. Department of State headquarters.
- The Senate will consider new sanctions on Russia, the continuing resolution to fund the government past Sept. 30, and a bloc of Trump’s nominations.
- The House is out until Aug. 31.
Fake news
Republicans have launched a website in Georgia that looks like a news site covering politics but is really just political messaging in disguise, independent journalist Judd Legum reports.
The Peach State Post and at least five other sites are financed by One Nation, a dark money group tied to Senate Republicans’ main political committee. The group pays Meta to run ads to promote the content to voters, Legum reports.
He found that some of the information on these websites mirror attacks on Democrats found in One Nation’s ads. For example, a July 30 article criticizes Ossoff for opposing the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which is the same theme of a One Nation ad about Ossoff.
Shoutouts
Today’s birthdays:
- Atlanta City Council member Kelsea Bond.
- David Zevallos, campaign manager for Josh McLaurin, the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor.
Upcoming birthday:
- David Pierce, board member of Amicalola Electric Membership Corporation (Saturday).
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
Answers to this week’s news quiz
- B) Jeff Flake. The Arizona Republican said his respect for Ossoff’s character outweighed their policy disagreements.
- C) The Iran war. The ad from Defend the Vote Action Fund notes the war has already cost taxpayers $100 billion.
- B) 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act. U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock wrote the provision that limits corporate ownership of single-family homes.
- B) Clayton County. The FBI would not confirm Georgia was among the seven states that were targeted. But Clayton County officials confirmed they had a disruption and immediately notified state and federal law enforcement authorities to investigate.
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.