Churches, lawmakers press Kemp on Georgia troops in Washington

Today’s newsletter highlights:

• Rick Jackson’s spending spree puts him in rarefied company.
• The Senate Leadership Fund reshuffles its advertising in Georgia’s U.S. Senate race.
• Democratic AGs launch a $1 million ad buy for Tanya Miller.

Deployment debate

Gov. Brian Kemp speaks to a group of Georgia National Guard troops in Washington, D.C., in 2025. (Courtesy)

More than a year after Gov. Brian Kemp sent Georgia National Guard troops to Washington, a coalition of churches, advocacy groups and Democratic lawmakers is pressing him to bring them home.

The coalition sent Kemp a letter this week calling for an end to Georgia’s participation and demanding answers about how long he plans to continue the deployment, what type of training the Guard members received and what would happen if there is an emergency in Georgia.

Georgia has about 556 Guard members among the 3,073 troops still deployed in the capital, the largest contingent of any state, according to the most recent figures. President Donald Trump has extended the broader mission through January 2029.

“Georgia’s National Guard exists first and foremost to serve the people of Georgia,” the letter says.

“Keeping hundreds of Georgia citizen-soldiers on an extended domestic policing mission hundreds of miles from home reduces resources available to our communities, commits taxpayer dollars to an expensive federal operation, and involves our state in establishing troubling precedents for military involvement in civilian policing and elections.”

Signers include New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, Big Bethel AME Church, Common Defense, state Sen. RaShaun Kemp and state Reps. Karen Lupton and Ruwa Romman.

They’re looking beyond Kemp. Separate letters went to Republican Rick Jackson and Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms asking whether they would continue the deployment if elected. Both candidates have previously said they would review the mission and decide whether changes are warranted.

Kemp ordered the deployment of Army and Air National Guard members in September 2025, saying Georgia was proud to support the Trump administration’s effort to ensure the “security and beauty of our nation’s capital.” His office has not said whether he plans to keep Georgia troops there through the end of his term.

Things to know

Units 3 (left) and 4 (right) are seen at Plant Vogtle, operated by Georgia Power Co., in Burke County near Waynesboro in May 2024. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

Good morning! Here are three things to know for today:

• After more than a decade attending the Congressional Black Caucus’ annual gathering, U.S. Rep. Everton Blair returned this year as one of the lawmakers being honored, Tia Mitchell reports. Georgia’s first openly gay member of Congress called the whirlwind week “electric.”
• The Atlanta City Council is urging the mayor’s administration to resume plans for light rail along the Eastside Beltline, more than a year and a half after local leaders on a MARTA advisory board pressed pause on the project, Asia Simone Burns reports.
• Georgia Power and Google have struck a deal for the tech giant to pay a premium for electricity from planned upgrades to the utility’s nuclear reactors, a move the companies say will ease the cost of those improvements for other customers, Kristi E. Swartz reports.

Cha-ching

Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Jackson speaks during his rally at The Bibb Mill Event Center in Columbus last month. (Abbey Cutrer/AJC)

Jackson’s spending spree now puts him in rarefied company.

The billionaire Republican is the third-biggest political advertiser in the country this election cycle, according to an AdImpact analysis, with $138 million in aired spending.

That trails only defeated California gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer at $210 million and conservative advocacy group One Nation at $147 million, and puts Jackson ahead of the Senate Leadership Fund, the GOP’s Senate-aligned super PAC, at $111 million.

Not bad company for a candidate in a single governor’s race.

Collins ads cut

(From right) Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz, U.S. Rep. Mike Collins and State Rep. Houston Gaines, R-Athens, observe students practicing during a tour of the Piedmont University Nursing Facility on Sunday in Athens. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

The Senate Leadership Fund is reshuffling some of its advertising in Georgia’s U.S. Senate race, canceling about $522,000 in reservations boosting Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Collins in recent days.

Most of the cuts came from Atlanta broadcast television, with smaller reductions in Albany and Macon.

The GOP’s main Senate superPAC says the move is part of a routine rebalancing of its buys to maximize viewership, not a retreat from the Republican nominee. The group also launched a new ad days ago.

All told, SLF and other Republican groups still have about $25 million reserved in Georgia, according to AdImpact, compared with nearly $33 million on the Democratic side.

Left out

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, arrives for a hearing of the Senate Finance Committee on Capitol Hill in July. (Mark Schiefelbein/AP)

The New York Times reports that former President George W. Bush and U.S. Sen. John Cornyn are helping raise money Monday for Republican Senate nominees in a half-dozen battleground states.

Georgia’s Collins isn’t among them. Neither are Texas nominee Ken Paxton, who defeated Cornyn in a bitter primary, or North Carolina nominee Michael Whatley.

The Collins omission comes just days after Cornyn said Georgia was “pretty close to done” and as national Republicans debate how heavily to keep investing in the race.

Collins’ campaign has brushed off the snubs.

“We have received continued investment from Republicans,” said Meyer Siegfried, a Collins spokesman, said earlier. “Any claims to the contrary are not based in reality.”

Listen up

U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff waves to the crowd at a joint rally in Savannah with Democratic gubernatorial nominee Keisha Lance Bottoms in June. (Sarah Peacock for the AJC)

Today on the “Politically Georgia” podcast, Jason Carter weighs in on the midterm elections, Trump and whether U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff could run for president in 2028.

You can listen and subscribe to “Politically Georgia” for free on Apple Podcasts, 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 is in New York City for United Nations General Assembly meetings.
• The Senate will consider a Trump nomination.
• The House is out until after the midterm elections.

Ad watch

State Rep. Tanya Miller, D-Atlanta, is the Democratic nominee for attorney general. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

The Democratic Attorneys General Association announced that it has purchased $1 million in ad space to boost party nominee Tanya Miller. Sean Rankin, who serves as president of the association, said this is just the start of the group’s investment.

Miller faces state Sen. Brian Strickland, the Republican nominee, in November.

“She is the only candidate in the race who will put everyday Georgians first, safeguarding their rights and freedoms and delivering real and lasting change that will benefit the entire state,” Rankin said in a statement. “She’s a leader who will restore service in the attorney general’s office. With so much at stake, this race is shaping up to be one of the most important flip opportunities this midterm cycle, and we will continue to work with Miller and her team to win this race.”

Meanwhile, a left-leaning conservation group is investing in ads backing Democrats in two Public Service Commission races.

Democrats Peter Hubbard and Shelia Edwards are competing against Republicans Fitz Johnson and Josh Tolbert. The Georgia Conservation Voters Action Fund’s is running an ad on digital platforms that has biting language about data centers and includes a message of support for Hubbard and Edwards, saying they will fight to stop data centers and lower electricity bills.

The group said it plans to invest $1 million in total in hopes of flipping these two PSC seats.