Georgia governor’s race heats up as candidates make moves

Today’s newsletter highlights:

• State lawmakers discuss a possible special session.
• JD Vance will return to Atlanta for a fundraiser.
• GOP proposal raises fears about clean energy tax credits.

Heating up

State Rep. Jason Esteves, a candidate for governor in 2026, spoke to attendees at a "Stand Up for Science" event earlier this year in Atlanta.

Georgia’s political attention is fixed on the race for U.S. Senate and the prospect of a rare alliance between Gov. Brian Kemp and President Donald Trump.

But don’t forget about the 2026 race for governor. The contest is gaining steam as some contenders are making moves. Others are jockeying behind the scenes, laying the groundwork for what could be another crowded, high-stakes GOP primary.

Here’s the latest on the Democratic candidates:

• Jason Esteves. The Democratic state senator announced two highly respected hires this morning as he builds out his campaign. Meg Scribner, a veteran strategist who ran Jen Jordan’s 2022 bid for attorney general, will be campaign manager. Liz Post, an alum of U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath’s team, will lead fundraising as finance director.
• Michael Thurmond. The former DeKalb County chief executive has not yet entered the race. But don’t count him out. Though he’s sounded hesitant about running, he previewed a possible message in a deep-red part of Georgia. At the Cartersville-Bartow Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday, Thurmond told an audience of hundreds of his political backstory and talked of bringing more quality jobs to needy communities. “There is something magical and profound about honest labor,” he told the crowd, adding: “It is just as powerful to be a plumber or an electrician as it is to be a teacher.”
• Keisha Lance Bottoms. The ex-Atlanta mayor filed paperwork last month to begin fundraising and is making the rounds with donors. Expect a formal launch within weeks.
• Olu Brown. The former pastor of Impact United Methodist Church plans a formal launch for his long shot bid on May 31 in metro Atlanta.

Lt. Gov. Burt Jones (left) and Attorney General Chris Carr are expected to battle one another in the 2026 GOP primary for governor.

Meanwhile, the Republicans:

• Chris Carr. The Republican attorney general has kept a relatively low profile, with no major campaign events or political speeches in recent weeks. Instead, he’s focused attention on raising campaign cash — and his office’s expanding efforts to crack down on violent gangs.
• Burt Jones. The lieutenant governor is preparing for a formal campaign launch as soon as this summer. In the meantime, he’s stayed visible at bill signings and GOP events. (Most recently, he’s also promoted a new chicken restaurant in Athens tied to his family’s business empire.)
• Marjorie Taylor Greene. While the congresswoman has ruled out a U.S. Senate run, she’s been notably quiet on the governor’s race. GOP insiders remain skeptical she’ll run, but Greene has recently ramped up her commentary on state issues, including calls to eliminate Georgia’s sales tax. She also used her Senate announcement to take swipes at Kemp allies and other Atlanta’s “elites.”

Things to know

Dr. F. DuBois Bowman will be the next president of Morehouse College.

Good morning! It’s the last day for Gov. Brian Kemp to either sign or veto bills passed by the state Legislature this year. He’s signed at least 131 bills into law so far and hasn’t vetoed anything yet.

Here are three things to know for today:

• Congressional Republicans’ budget proposal could result in thousands of Georgians losing their health insurance, the AJC’s Ariel Hart reports.
• A federal judge ruled last year that a conservative voting rights group did not intimidate voters. But a panel of appellate judges appeared willing to reconsider the case during a hearing on Tuesday, the AJC’s Caleb Groves reports.
• Morehouse College named F. DuBois Bowman as it’s 13th president, the AJC’s Ernie Suggs reports.

Legislative overtime?

State Rep. Stacey Evans, D-Atlanta, says a special legislative session may be needed to deal with the economic fallout from federal cuts.

Democrats are sounding the alarms that Gov. Brian Kemp will be forced to call state lawmakers into a special session to grapple with federal budget cuts, economic turmoil and fallout from pending plans to slash public health spending.

At a legislative recap on Tuesday hosted by the Greenberg Traurig law firm, state Sen. Jason Esteves and state Rep. Stacey Evans — both from Atlanta — warned a return to Atlanta seems inevitable.

“We should all look for potentially a special session, perhaps in the fall, to deal with any shortfall issues that happen in our budget because of potential cuts in the federal government,” said Evans, who ran for governor in 2018.

“I’m deeply concerned that we will have to come back to session later this year and deal with all of the terrible decisions that are coming up out of Washington,” said Esteves, who recently launched his bid for Georgia’s top job.

The Republicans on the panel, state Rep. Chuck Martin of Alpharetta and state Sen. Greg Dolezal of Cumming, didn’t directly reject the threat of a return to Atlanta. But they argued that Georgia’s conservative budget makes the state better positioned to weather that uncertainty.

In another interesting exchange, Dolezal declared Lt. Gov. Burt Jones’ surprise decision to adjourn three hours before the midnight deadline one of the highlights of the session.

“This was the only session where I walked out 100% confident in everything that I voted in, that I didn’t miss anything. Because what happens in those last three hours is just not good government,” he said.

That drew a rebuke from Evans, who was among the House leaders caught unaware by the Senate’s maneuver. She, too, said she believes in the adage that “nothing good happens after midnight” when it comes to legislating.

“But you gotta let us know you’re going to go home. We still had bills we were making minor tweaks to, to make sure they were good law. And they didn’t make it over the finish line,” she said, adding: “Next time maybe we can talk to our neighbor a little better.”

Vance time

Vice President JD Vance will be in Atlanta next week for a fundraiser.

Vice President JD Vance is planning his first trip to Atlanta since the November election next week for a fundraiser with high-dollar donors.

A tipster sent along an invitation for next Wednesday’s event, which will cost a cool $100,000 per couple to attend the dinner and $250,000 to join the host committee.

The money will shore up the coffers of the Republican National Committee as it looks to keep the House and Senate in Republican hands after the 2026 midterm elections.

$6 fight

Georgia and a bunch of telecommunications companies will be in court today about a dispute over $6.

The companies had contracts with Georgia to use the public right-of-way for broadband internet cables. The contract included an annual fee of $294 per permit.

 In 2021, Georgia raised that fee by $6. The state told the companies they had to negotiate a new contract for the fee increase.

The companies sued, arguing Georgia is using the fee increase to terminate their existing contracts and force them into new deals “on vastly different and one-sided terms.” They said the lawsuit was never about the $6, but instead to protect their business investments from “bureaucratic overreach.”

The state says companies aren’t allowed to sue the government unless the government breaks the law or acts beyond its authority. The state says it hasn’t done either of those things, noting it never revoked a permit or terminated a contract.

The companies won in the lower court, prompting the state to appeal to the Georgia Supreme Court, which is scheduled to hear arguments today. Attorney General Chris Carr warned the lower court decision “causes deep constitutional concerns,” saying it would let companies use public rights-of-way with no regard to state rules about safety and maintenance.

Tax credits

Georgia transformed itself into a hub for the electric vehicle industry with the help of generous tax credits from the federal government. But what Congress gives, it can also take away.

A bill backed by House Republicans would end many of the tax incentives from the Inflation Reduction Act. These incentives benefited clean energy manufacturers, including solar and battery production, and buyers of electric cars.

It’s that last one that has many in Georgia worried. After all, state and local officials convinced Hyundai to build a $7.6 billion electric vehicle factory near Savannah. And Rivian has a $6.6 billion federal loan to build a factory in Georgia.

“We are concerned that, as written, this budget reconciliation text would significantly reduce federal investments in American job growth that are currently working very well in strengthening the domestic battery and mineral supply chain,” said Albert Gore, executive director of the Zero Emission Transportation Association, a coalition that includes Rivian.

On Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., warned repealing the credits could cost Georgia up to 42,000 jobs.

Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, a Republican from St. Simons Island who is running for Senate next year, seemed to excoriate the Inflation Reduction Act during a hearing on the Republican proposal.

“The only thing worse than the IRA itself was the Biden administration’s implementation of it,” he said. “It created levels of waste, fraud and abuse we’ve never seen before.”

U.S. Rep. Rob Menendez, a Democrat from New Jersey, challenged Carter on whether he thought the $31 billion in spending prompted by the law that went to Georgia was all “waste, fraud and abuse.”

Carter clarified he was referring specifically to spending in the greenhouse gas reduction fund, including money that went to a Georgia nonprofit founded by Democrat Stacey Abrams.

Listen up

U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, R-St. Simons Island, participated House Energy and Commerce hearing in Washington on Thursday.

Today on “Politically Georgia,” the hosts unpack the politics of Medicaid cuts for Republicans, especially U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, a Senate candidate who also leads the subcommittee charged with slashing health spending.

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.

You can listen and subscribe to the show for free at Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

Marathon meetings

Democratic members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee hold up signs with portraits of people on Medicaid during a hearing in Washington on Republicans' sweeping domestic policy bill.

Two U.S. House committee meetings went long into the night and are expected to continue today as Republicans hope to finalize the tax cut proposals and reductions in Medicaid and green energy programs found in the reconciliation legislation.

The Ways and Means Committee debated the impact of the extension of the 2017 tax cuts and new child tax credit proposals.

Meanwhile, the House Energy and Commerce Committee, where members discussed reductions in Medicaid spending, was interrupted repeatedly by protesters decrying the cuts.

Republicans accused Democrats of fear-mongering and distorting the true impact of the Medicaid proposals. Democrats fired back that their numbers — 7.6 million people could become uninsured — come from nonpartisan budget analysts.

U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., also has a new report out this morning that says the proposed Medicaid cuts could cause hospitals to close and weaken the economy.

Today in Washington

Happenings:

• President Donald Trump’s trip to the Middle East continues in Qatar.
• The House could vote on a Democratic-led resolution to impeach Trump for a third time.
• The Senate has votes scheduled on more of Trump’s nominees.
• The Senate Transportation Committee will hold a hearing on air traffic control issues that features leaders of the Federal Aviation Administration.

Shoutouts

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.