Burt Jones considers Medicaid expansion as 2026 race for governor looms
Today’s newsletter highlights include:
- Georgia voters across the state OK expanded alcohol sales.
- State Senate Republicans reelect their leadership team.
- President-elect Donald Trump picks his chief of staff.
As Republican Lt. Gov. Burt Jones charts a course toward an expected run for governor, he’s mulling a break with Gov. Brian Kemp on health care policy.
The governor, midway through his second term, has firmly opposed expanding Medicaid throughout his tenure — and even told a room of hospital chiefs that the idea is off the table in 2025 and perhaps beyond.
Jones, who presides over the state Senate and is a key ally of President-elect Donald Trump, is taking a different tack. He noted the tight committee vote on an expansion plan earlier this year and said he’s firmly undecided on the prospect during an appearance on the “Politically Georgia” podcast on Thursday.
“It’s a debate we’re going to continue to have. I don’t know where I am on it, to be honest with you,” he said, adding that he’s brought in different advocates to address the benefits and shortcomings of expansion.
“I have not formulated a conclusion on it right now, but I’m open to let it have a legislative debate,” he said.
Earlier this year, House Speaker Jon Burns effectively tabled the expansion discussion in his chamber until 2025 by proposing a commission study the issue. Burns and his deputies had entered the session signaling they were receptive to expanding the program.
Some key Republicans have joined Democrats in pushing for a full expansion, arguing that it’s a cheaper way to expand health coverage to hundreds of thousands of Georgians while also boosting struggling health care systems, particularly in rural parts of the state.
But many rank-and-file GOP legislators echo Kemp’s long-standing opposition to a full-scale expansion, saying it’s too costly and inflexible. Kemp backs an alternative, called Georgia Pathways, which requires enrollees to meet work or academic requirements. He told hospital executives a few months ago he’s determined to stick with that program.
“We are committed to rolling that program out in a Georgia-specific way to get health care to those who need that care and help them pursue greater opportunities,” Kemp said.
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GOOD MORNING! We somehow made it to Friday. The election post-mortems are underway in Vice President Kamala Harris’ camp, and many are blaming President Joe Biden for staying in the race too long.
In Georgia, Democrats are looking inward, pointing fingers at the state party leadership. Biden didn’t directly address his role in the election during a speech in the Rose Garden on Thursday, but urged the public to “don’t forget all that we accomplished.”
Here are three things to know for today:
- A second Trump administration could bring big changes to health care policies, as detailed by the AJC’s Helena Oliviero, Ariel Hart and Shelia Poole.
- A record 5.28 million Georgia voters turned out in this year’s election, or about 64% of registered voters, per the AJC’s Mark Niesse.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated President-elect Donald Trump, including praising his courage during an assassination attempt.
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ALCOHOL Y’ALL. Booze won in a landslide on Tuesday.
Voters across eight Georgia counties were asked to OK expanded alcohol sales this week, and you could say the results were a mandate for drinks.
Georgia was the first state in the South to prohibit alcohol completely in 1907, a ban that lasted until 1935 — two years after national prohibition had already ended.
Still, hostility to alcohol has lingered in much of the state for decades. Blue laws banned the sale of alcohol on Sundays until 2011, when then Gov. Nathan Deal signed a law allowing local governments to decide for themselves.
Since then, there’s been a bevy of local elections across the state on the issue. And it’s not just rural, out of the way towns. Until Tuesday, you couldn’t buy packaged alcohol on Sundays in Albany, a city of nearly 70,000 people. More than 67% of voters opted to change that.
“I guess what you’re seeing is just the passing of an era throughout the state,” Albany Mayor Bo Dorough said.
In Elbert County, 55% of voters OK’d the sale of packaged distilled spirits and alcoholic drinks. The city of Elberton had already allowed this. It’s why locals could buy alcohol at the local Walmart, which was in the city limits, but they couldn’t buy it at the Ingles grocery store, which was not.
“I really expected some groups to go on a campaign trying to protest it,” said Lee Vaughn, chair of the Elbert County Commission. “But nothing. It was crickets.”
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LEGISLATIVE LEADERS. Republicans in the Georgia Senate have voted to keep their leadership team intact after protecting their 33-23 majority in this week’s election.
That means state Sen. John F. Kennedy of Macon will get another term as president pro tempore. Joining him are:
- Sen. Steve Gooch of Dahlonega as majority leader.
- Sen. Jason Anavitarte of Dallas as majority caucus chair.
- Sen. Randy Robertson of Cataula as whip.
- Sen. Matt Brass of Newnan as vice caucus chair.
- Sen. Larry Walker III of Perry as secretary.
The bigger question will come today, when Senate Democrats meet to decide who will succeed retiring Minority Leader Gloria Butler of Stone Mountain and other party leaders.
We expect state Sen. Harold Jones II of Augusta to seek her post. Sens. Kim Jackson of Stone Mountain and Emanuel Jones of Decatur are potential candidates for whip, while Sen. Elena Parent of Atlanta is running for caucus chair. Several others are rumored to join the mix.
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DA POLITICS. Georgia and California don’t have much in common these days. But on Tuesday, voters in both states ousted a pair of progressive prosecutors in favor of independents.
Georgia voters in Athens-Clarke and Oconee counties chose independent Kalki Yalamanchili over Democrat Deborah Gonzalez for district attorney. In California, voters dismissed Democratic DA George Gascon in favor of Nathan Hochman, a former Republican turned independent in deep blue Los Angeles County.
There were lots of examples of social justice-minded prosecutors getting elected four years ago with a focus on reducing incarceration and racial disparities in law enforcement.
There’s since been a course correction as voters, rightly or wrongly, have associated those policies with a perceived increase in crime — even though crime has generally been in decline for decades.
The race in Athens-Clarke and Oconee counties was a little different than in California, but shared some of the same narratives. Gonzalez focused on what she called the root causes of crime, with an emphasis on marginalized communities, the AJC’s Fletcher Page wrote. But she came under scrutiny following the killing of 22-year-old Laken Riley on the University of Georgia campus. An immigrant from Venezuela who authorities said entered the U.S. illegally has been charged with murder.
Gonzalez said it was her focus on changing the system that prompted the backlash. But she also lost support from other left-leaning politicians who criticized her for administrative missteps.
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HONORING VETERANS. State officials had to hurry this week to find a new location for their annual Veterans Day ceremony after a nearby gas leak forced the evacuation of the state Capitol.
The Georgia Supreme Court stepped in, offering up their august chambers for the event on Thursday morning. Crews were still working to repair the line on Thursday, but the leak has been contained and the gas shut off, the AJC’s Ashley Ahn reported.
This year’s ceremony featured Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns, Gov. Brian Kemp and state Rep. Chas Cannon, R-Moultrie, who spent 20 years in the U.S. Army. Cannon reflected on what it means to be a veteran, including leaving his wife behind after only a few days of marriage for a long deployment.
Kemp thanked veterans during his brief speech, noting they were a big reason why people this week “were able to enjoy the freedom to choose our leaders.”
“We can sleep soundly at night knowing the finest fighting force in the world that has ever been known is standing on our watch,” Kemp said.
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LISTEN UP. Today on “Politically Georgia,” former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan offers his take on where never-Trump Republicans stand after the election. Then, former Democratic state Rep. Brenda López Romero and Republican state Sen. Jason Anavitarte of Dallas talk about the Latino vote. And the hosts will answer questions from the listeners’ mailbag.
Be sure to download the AJC’s Politically Georgia podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are uploaded by noon each day, just in time to have lunch with us. You can also listen live at 10 a.m. EDT on 90.1 FM WABE. Have a question for the show? Give us a call at 770-810-5297.
On Thursday’s show, the hosts discussed down ballot races in Congress and the Georgia Legislature. Then, Republican Lt. Gov. Burt Jones spoke about the election, the upcoming legislative session and the 2026 governor’s race. And former state Democratic Sen. Jen Jordan talked about white women voters.
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ELECTION DRAMA. Don’t miss this wild Election Day story from the AJC’s Rosie Manins.
It started when the city of Camilla’s top election officials both resigned Monday afternoon, just hours before Election Day. The city posted on Facebook that a special election for two city council seats was canceled.
But the next day, a judge appointed some replacement election officials and ordered the precincts to stay open for 12 hours. Polling places stayed open until 3:50 a.m. Wednesday.
Confusion reigned throughout much of the day, as some voters were unsure if they could vote in the presidential election. The city said its message only applied to the special city council races. All other elections run by Mitchell County officials went on as scheduled. There’s a lot more to the story.
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TRUMP’S TEAM. President-elect Donald Trump made his first big hire by announcing Thursday that Susie Wiles will be his White House chief of staff.
She will be the first woman in U.S. history to land the job.
Wiles cut her teeth in politics in Jacksonville, Florida, and served as manager of Trump’s latest presidential campaign, where she was credited with being a steady hand who earned the president’s trust.
“Susie is tough, smart, innovative, and is universally admired and respected,” Trump said in a news release.
And a bit of trivia about Wiles: her late father is former NFL player and broadcasting legend Pat Summerall.
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SHOUTOUTS. Today’s birthdays:
- State Sen. Nan Orrock, D-Atlanta.
- State Sen. Max Burns, R-Sylvania.
Want a birthday shoutout in the Politically Georgia newsletter? There’s a form for that! Click here to submit the shoutouts. It’s not just birthdays. We’re also interested in new jobs, engagements, birth announcements, etc.
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AS ALWAYS, send your best scoops, gossip and insider info 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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