Former President Donald Trump seems poised to pick his running mate by Monday’s start of the Republican National Convention. Georgia’s GOP delegates are torn over who he should pick.
Much of the buzz is centered on U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and J.D. Vance of Ohio, though North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum is also in the mix. Trump could also pick a wild card.
Labor Commissioner Bruce Thompson and Cobb GOP chair Salleigh Grubbs both told our AJC colleague Shaddi Abusaid they prefer a fourth contender: Ben Carson, Trump’s former secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
Other members of Georgia’s contingent to the RNC hope Trump selects a younger candidate who complements his personality but can lead the party in the next election cycle.
“I just know that it needs to be somebody that can run again next time,” said Kathleen Thorman, the former GOP chair in deep-red Gordon County.
Brant Frost V, one of the younger Georgia delegates attending next week’s convention, said Vance is “the best option in 2028.” He added: “The rest would just be awful or a placeholder.”
His sentiment was echoed by Brandon Phillips, the top aide to U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, R-Jackson.
“If you believe that Trump is going to win and you don’t want to play it safe, I think a bold choice would be J.D. Vance,” said Phillips, 38. “You want to add someone to your team who is going to be an articulate and bold messenger, a tactician in moving that agenda on Capitol Hill.”
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Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
MTG IN MILWAUKEE. U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is in line for a speaking slot at next week’s Republican National Convention.
The day and time have not been announced, but she is among the few speakers who have been identified ahead of the meeting in Milwaukee.
Greene, R-Rome, is among the most prominent supporters of former President Donald Trump and one of the most visible politicians of the far-right.
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Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
THE RNC. Most of Georgia’s delegates are arriving at the Republican National Convention next week, but a handful of party leaders are already there hashing out rules and procedures ahead of the four-day gala.
Brian Jack, the 3rd Congressional District GOP nominee, has one of the most prominent roles as co-chair of the convention rules committee. RNC member Ginger Howard and delegate Brant Frost V are also on that panel.
State GOP chair Josh McKoon and Suzi Voyles are on the much-watched platform committee. And Brandon Phillips is among the Georgians on the credentials committee.
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PRIMARY CHANGE? The RNC rules committee has endorsed a significant change that could have consequences in Georgia.
The committee adopted a report expected to be ratified next week that encourages states to hold closed primaries, meaning only registered Republicans can vote in nomination contests. Georgia now has an open system that allows any registered voters to cast ballots in any party’s primaries.
Under the rules change, states that make their primaries closed would receive one additional delegate starting in 2028.
Republicans have long debated whether to overhaul the primary system to block Democrats and Independents from weighing in on key races. But it would also restrict GOP voters from influencing Democratic contests.
Republicans tested the idea in a non-binding primary question earlier this year, with about two-thirds of GOP voters approving allowing “only registered Republicans” to vote in the primary.
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Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
OSSOFF JUDICIAL BLOCK. U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff joined with Republicans on the Judiciary Committee to block one of President Joe Biden’s judicial nominees from advancing to the floor, citing a controversial ruling involving a transgender prison inmate.
It was a rare break from Biden for Ossoff, a Georgia Democrat. Every other Democrat on the panel voted in favor of advancing Judge Sarah Netburn’s confirmation. The 11-10 vote became the first time that one of Biden’s judicial nominations had failed in committee.
Netburn currently serves as a federal magistrate judge in New York, a position that doesn’t require Senate confirmation. Biden had nominated her to a district judge position that would have come with a lifetime appointment.
Republican senators, women’s rights groups and conservatives opposed Netburn largely because of her 2022 ruling regarding a transgender woman convicted of sex crimes against women. Netburn had recommended that the woman, who started publicly identifying as transgender at the age of 51 and had been sentenced to a 15-year term at a men’s prison, be transferred to a women’s prison despite objections from the Bureau of Prisons.
After Ossoff helped block Netburn’s nomination to a federal judgeship, a spokesman told Reuters he applies “rigorous and independent judgment on behalf of his constituents.”
During the same meeting, several other judicial nominees were approved to be sent to the floor. They included Embry Kidd, a Florida judge tapped to fill a vacancy on the Atlanta-based federal appeals court.
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Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
BUDDY UP. U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter is launching a new initiative called “Take Buddy to Work Day” that encourages constituents to invite him to their workplace during the August break.
Carter, R-St. Simons Island, told WTOC-TV that he hopes these visits allow him to get to know his district and the needs of his constituents even better.
“I was in business for 32 years,” he said. “I always was frustrated whenever there would be laws passed that impacted my business by people who I felt like didn’t know anything at all about my business. That’s why I want to learn. I want to be invited to your workplace and your nonprofit to see exactly what it is that you do.”
Applicants must be located within Carter’s First Congressional District. Today is the deadline to fill out the application on his website.
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BIDEN’S PRESSER. There were some minor gaffes during President Joe Biden’s news conference Thursday evening to close the NATO Summit. But his performance was nothing along the lines of the June 27 debate in Atlanta.
Still, it is unclear if Biden in his first wide-ranging presser of 2024 did anything to stem the small yet growing number of Democrats calling for him to step aside and to allow them to choose another nominee to run for president in November.
Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, D-Atlanta, appeared on CNN at the conclusion of the conference and cited recent AJC reporting on Georgia delegates to the Democratic convention and their steadfast support for Biden.
“The Atlanta Journal-Constitution polled delegates across the state, not just in my deep blue district but all across the state of Georgia, and 96% of those delegates are hardcore sticking with our President Joe Biden,” Williams said. “And as long as he’s at the top of the ticket, I am standing with my president.”
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Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
LISTEN UP. Today on “Politically Georgia,” state Sen. Josh McLaurin, D-Sandy Springs, talks about being roommates in law school with U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance, an Ohio Republican and a leading candidate to serve as former President Donald Trump’s vice presidential running mate.
Also, Bishop Reginald Jackson, the leader of one of Georgia’s largest Black church denominations, discusses heading a coalition of religious leaders in backing President Joe Biden.
Listen live at 10 a.m. on WABE 90.1 or follow “Politically Georgia” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
On Thursday’s show, former Congressman Michael Barnes of Maryland talked about his failed effort in 1980 to change Democratic Party rules in hopes of removing then-President Jimmy Carter as the party’s nominee. He also talked about why he thinks Biden should step aside.
In addition, former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, a Republican, discussed his latest commentary in the AJC where he encouraged Democrats to replace Biden as their nominee.
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GARLAND CONTEMPT FAILS. Four House Republicans joined with Democrats on Thursday to block an effort to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress.
If the resolution had passed, Garland would have faced a fine of $10,000 a day until he turned over the audio recordings of special counsel Robert Hur’s interview with President Joe Biden as part of an investigation into the president’s possession of classified documents. Republicans are convinced the tapes show evidence of Biden’s mental decline and were not satisfied with the Department of Justice only releasing a written transcript.
Georgia’s delegation split strictly along party lines with all Republicans in favor of the contempt resolution and all Democrats opposed. The measure failed on a 210-204 vote Thursday.
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Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
MEDICAID CLASH. Gov. Brian Kemp on Thursday reiterated his opposition to full Medicaid expansion while speaking to a room full of health care executives.
“Do we want to be like California, which is proposing raising taxes in the middle of an inflation crisis to cover the cost of swelling Medicaid rolls?” Kemp said in remarks to the Georgia Hospital Association’s annual meeting, according to a report from the AJC’s Ariel Hart and Greg Bluestein.
Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
Around the same time as Kemp’s speech, U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., introduced a bill that would use federal powers to bridge the gap in states like Georgia that have not expanded Medicaid.
“If I had my way … we’d pass Medicaid expansion tomorrow,” Warnock told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. In the meantime, he said, his bill would expand private insurance on the Affordable Care Act marketplace exchange to those who earn below the federal poverty level and aren’t currently eligible for Medicaid.
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TODAY IN WASHINGTON:
- President Joe Biden makes a campaign stop in Detroit.
- The House and Senate are done for this week and on recess next week so Republicans can head to their party’s convention in Milwaukee.
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Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
HOLLOW ORDINANCE? Savannah drew plenty of media attention — as well as scrutiny from Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr — with its “lock up your gun law,” which makes leaving a firearm in an unlocked vehicle illegal.
When the ordinance was adopted in April, many locals questioned its enforceability. Would the police issue citations to victims of gun thefts? How difficult would it be to prosecute those who refused to pay the fine?
According to reporting by the Savannah Morning News’ Drew Favakeh, the early answer to the first question is no. Between April 15 and July 6, Savannah police recorded 52 gun thefts from vehicles but have yet to issue a single citation. It is unclear how many of those weapons were stolen from unlocked autos vs. locked cars.
Asked about the situation Tuesday at a news conference, Mayor Van Johnson, a champion of the law, said he expects the ordinance to be enforced. A police spokesperson told Favakeh officers review each report on a case-by-case basis to determine if a citation is warranted.
The law faces at least one legal challenge and prompted a letter from Carr that stated the ordinance “directly” conflicts with state law. The attorney general cited a statute that prohibits local governments from regulating possession, ownership or transfer of firearms or other weapons.
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VALDOSTA PARADE. Those who find themselves in Valdosta this Saturday might want to check out a parade honoring the city’s first Black council member — Ruth K. Council — on her 90th birthday.
Council served six years on the Valdosta Council, starting in 1974. She was mayor pro tem in 1980.
The parade begins at 3 p.m. on Council’s namesake street, Ruth Council Drive. The procession will continue onto Bunche Drive, where Council now lives and plans to watch. She’ll likely stay indoors, her daughter said, as temperatures are forecasted to reach 98 degrees.
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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.
