The debate eve blitz of activities in Georgia today might as well be a microcosm of the White House campaign.
There’s a mix of everything on tap, from fresh broadsides over former President Donald Trump’s criminal conviction to Republican efforts to undercut President Joe Biden’s Democratic base.
The busy schedule is just a prelude to Thursday’s showdown in Atlanta, the first and potentially only time Biden and Trump will share the same debate stage this election cycle.
The Democratic National Committee plans to launch five billboards in both English and Spanish at high-traffic areas across Atlanta reminding voters of Trump’s conviction on 34 felony counts in the New York hush money case.
“The man Georgia voters rejected in 2020 has only gotten more unhinged and vengeful in the past four years,” DNC spokeswoman Jackie Bush said of the needling.
On the airwaves, the Biden campaign is continuing its $50 million paid media blitz in June with a new ad in Georgia and other battleground states. The spot runs Wednesday and invokes the pro-Trump mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Republicans, meanwhile, are trying to force Democrats on the defensive with several events in metro Atlanta appealing to Black voters, particularly men, amid polls that show eroding support for Biden’s reelection.
U.S. Reps. Byron Donalds of Florida and Wesley Hunt of Texas are among the Black conservatives who are leading a “Barbershop Roundtable” in Atlanta. A few hours later, many of the same leaders will headline a “Congress, Cognac & Cigars” event in Fairburn.
And former U.S Sen. Kelly Loeffler is providing Trump air cover with a 30-second digital ad welcoming Trump to Atlanta — and urging Black Georgians to rally behind his comeback bid.
“Instead of the promise of more big government, Donald Trump stands for the promise of America’s strength and prosperity — which is the only promise worth believing this November,” said Loeffler.
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Credit: Steve Schaefer/AJC
Credit: Steve Schaefer/AJC
SKIPPING THE DEBATE. It’s looking like the festivities surrounding Thursday night’s presidential debate could be devoid of some prominent attendees: members of Georgia’s congressional delegation.
The state’s 14 U.S. House members are finding it difficult to plan an escape from Washington because of votes scheduled through Friday afternoon. Yes, there are direct flights in the evening that could allow for a quick trip down and back, but members haven’t yet been told how late Thursday night’s floor session will last or how early they will be expected back on Friday.
As for the Senate, the chamber is on recess until after the July 4th holiday. U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, an Atlanta Democrat, participated in an event with the Biden campaign on Tuesday focused on small businesses but he won’t make the debate.
Instead, Ossoff will campaign Thursday in Ohio on behalf of fellow Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, who is facing a tough reelection campaign. Ossoff’s team tells us this event was on his calendar way before the debate was announced.
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Credit: Courtesy photo
Credit: Courtesy photo
NO NASTY-FEST. Count Savannah Mayor Van Johnson among those hoping for civil discourse in Thursday’s presidential debate. Asked Tuesday what question he’d ask if given the chance, Johnson said he’d press President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump to name a policy favored by their opponent that has benefited the country.
“I’ve been in a bunch of elections myself and have never won by talking about nothing other than what’s wrong with my opponent,” said Johnson, a second-term mayor who also served four terms as a city alderman. “Whether it be President Biden’s age or Donald Trump’s criminal convictions, let’s hear instead about what your ideas are.”
Johnson, a Democrat who was a Biden Electoral College elector following the 2020 election, said he’d been invited to a debate watch party in Atlanta but is unlikely to attend due to a Savannah City Council meeting, which begins at 2 p.m. Thursday.
“I don’t know if I’ll make it,” he said. “I think it’ll be a little more raucous than the debate itself.”
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YOUR TURN. What would you ask President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump at Thursday night’s debate if you were a moderator? Would you ask about the economy? Immigration? Abortion? Jan. 6?
Just send a note to our email addresses listed below, and we’ll use your ideas for our coverage. We want to hear from you.
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TIPS, TARIFFS, TAXES. Just in time for the arrival of President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump for the Atlanta debate, our pal Jamie Dupree explored the presidential candidates’ positions on economic matters in his weekly “Washington Insider” column.
Trump is pushing tax-free tips for service industry workers and hiking tariffs on imported goods. Meanwhile, Biden is wrestling with the future of American tax policy, as cuts implemented during Trump’s term are set to expire next year.
The talk gives Dupree hope that “in between the verbal jabs expected during their first debate, maybe President Joe Biden and Trump can talk tax policy.”
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Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
PROTESTS PLANNED. Opponents of Atlanta’s planned public safety training center and those who want an end to the Israel-Hamas war have announced plans to protest around the same time as Thursday’s presidential debate, the AJC’s Jozsef Papp reports.
The Atlanta chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America is organizing the protest calling for a cease-fire in Gaza. Kelsea Bond, co-chair of the group’s Atlanta chapter, said members are not happy with either President Joe Biden or former President Donald Trump.
“Many of us have been in Atlanta and no matter how many people come out and say that they want this war to stop, they want a permanent cease-fire in Palestine, the president is not really budging on it,” she said. “We don’t think Trump would be any better so we are protesting both of them.”
PETA also announced plans to protest outside the debate. A person dressed in a mouse costume will call for the end of the National Institutes of Health’s experiments on animals.
An Atlanta Police Department representative told Papp the agency is aware of the plans for protests but declined to share any law enforcement strategies.
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Credit: Ziyu Julian Zhu/AJC
Credit: Ziyu Julian Zhu/AJC
TRUST IN ELECTIONS. Confidence in Georgia’s election system is an issue ahead of the 2024 vote, fed by false claims and discredited conspiracy theories from the 2020 election. Four prominent state leaders will spend the next several months seeking to “raise awareness of efforts to subvert elections across the country and help move us beyond polarizing rhetoric.”
Former Georgia Govs. Roy Barnes and Nathan Deal are teaming with ex-Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin and ex-U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss in the bipartisan Democracy Defense Project initiative. Barnes and Franklin are Democrats while Deal and Chambliss are Republicans.
Insider Greg Bluestein and his AJC colleague Mark Niesse unpack the plans for how the group will reassure voters.
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Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
LISTEN UP. Today on “Politically Georgia,” former U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss, a Republican, discusses the bipartisan Democracy Defense Project, which aims to counteract efforts to make people distrust elections.
Former U.S. Rep. Doug Collins, a Gainesville Republican, outlines what he thinks former President Donald Trump needs to do to win Thursday night’s debate.
And the AJC’s Michelle Baruchman recaps the news outlet’s latest poll and what it tells us about how young voters are viewing the presidential contest.
Listen live at 10 a.m. on WABE 90.1 or follow “Politically Georgia” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
Tuesday’s show featured former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, who lent insights on what President Joe Biden needs to do to win the presidential debate.
Also, Atlanta Track Club CEO Rich Kenah talked about why the Peachtree Road Race is the “party of the summer.”
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Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
LIBERTARIAN ON BALLOT. Georgia’s Chase Oliver will appear on the state’s presidential ballot in November as the Libertarian Party has qualified its electors for the 2024 election. Oliver, an Atlanta resident, won the party’s nomination at its national convention last month in Washington, D.C.
Oliver and the electors will file qualifying paperwork with the Secretary of State later this morning.
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Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
TODAY IN WASHINGTON:
- President Joe Biden spends a final day prepping for Thursday’s debate.
- First lady Jill Biden hosts a Pride Month celebration at the White House.
- The House begins debate on appropriations legislation.
- U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, D-Marietta, joins members of the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force to announce the introduction of a bill related to gun safety.
- Hotel heiress Paris Hilton testifies at a House Ways and Means Committee hearing on strengthening child welfare. Singer Randy Travis testifies on music royalties and copyright issues during a House Judiciary subcommittee meeting.
- The Senate is in recess until July 8.
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Credit: Taylor Croft/AJC
Credit: Taylor Croft/AJC
COSTLY CHALLENGES. The Cobb County Board of Elections is the latest vote-counting body to consider how to manage voter eligibility objections filed under the state’s latest challenge law. The legislation enacted this year creates a path for those volunteers to question the voters who appear to have moved from the state and is expected to result in a wave of challenges.
The Cobb board voted Monday to only consider challenges to voters labeled as active after a local resident questioned the registration of 2,472 voters, 2,365 of whom are inactive, meaning they’re already on track for their registrations to be canceled. The board also discussed the possibility of charging the costs of mailing notifications of eligibility hearings to challengers.
Elections Director Tate Fall said the cost of notifying all 2,472 voters in this challenge is estimated to be $1,600, excluding labor.
The Cobb board’s actions come two weeks after the Fulton County elections board adopted rules requiring activists to show detailed evidence before questioning a voter’s eligibility.
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LIBRARY DISPLAY REMOVED. A public library in Richmond Hill near Savannah has removed a LGBTQ Pride Month display of reading materials following a protest by local residents.
The Savannah Morning News reports the collection of books was initially set up in the library’s children’s section at the start of June. Staff moved the display to the adult section on June 5 before removing it completely on June 14. The library’s regional director, Jennifer Durham, said she first received complaints about the display on June 5 and a protest, staged by about 25 residents, was held outside the library on June 12.
Durham said she alone made the decision to remove the display from the library.
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AS ALWAYS, Politically Georgia readers are some of our favorite tipsters. Send your best scoop, gossip and insider info to greg.bluestein@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com, patricia.murphy@ajc.com and adam.vanbrimmer@ajc.com.
