The Republican National Committee is trying to deescalate a tense battle over abortion restrictions in November. But the party may have inflamed anti-abortion activists within its own ranks.
The RNC adopted a party platform that omitted a call for a national abortion ban for the first time in 40 years, instead veering toward former President Donald Trump’s stance that the debate should be left to the states.
Trump wants to avoid alienating more moderate voters with talk of strict new abortion limits even as he takes credit for appointing three of the six U.S. Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022.
The fallout is still uncertain. Some national conservative activists vented their frustration. In Georgia, the reaction was still in flux, with many activists holding their tongues. State Sen. Jason Anavitarte set the scene.
“I think Donald Trump is making abortion a state issue,” Anavitarte told Politically Georgia. He then invoked his support for Georgia’s 2019 anti-abortion law that restricts the procedure as early as six weeks.
“We’re proud of Georgia’s heartbeat bill and we’ve made our position very clear in terms of where we stand. But I can’t guess what the ripple effect will be. We’ll see where leaders land on it.”
Some pro-choice groups say that the RNC platform still jeopardizes access to abortion because there is a provision encouraging states to establish fetal personhood. Georgia did so already as part of the same law that makes abortion illegal after roughly six weeks of gestation.
Critics of the provision say that such language could lead the way to a national abortion ban even if the GOP makes attempts to indicate during next week’s convention that the matter has been taken off the table.
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Credit: AP
Credit: AP
MAYORS FOR BIDEN. Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens reiterated his support for President Joe Biden shortly after the president met virtually with Democratic mayors from across the country.
“I just got off the @DemMayors call with The President,” Dickens wrote in a post on X Tuesday night. “He is locked in and determined to beat Donald Trump, build on his outstanding record of job creation, rebuilding our infrastructure, reducing prescription drug prices, and protecting women’s rights.”
Politico reported that more than 200 mayors were on the Zoom meeting, which began with Biden acknowledging his poor performance at the debate in Atlanta.
The mayors generally expressed support for Biden and asked questions about his vision for a second term, Politico said.
In a second message on X, Dickens wrote that Biden is ready to campaign against former President Donald Trump and the Project 2025 conservative action plan drafted by allies and intended to serve as a blueprint for his second term in the White House.
“He’s ready to roll and so am I,” Dickens wrote. “Let’s go.”
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BALLOT ACCESS. Georgia’s presidential ballot could soon get more crowded.
Supporters of independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. submitted boxes full of signatures to state elections officials hours ahead of a Tuesday deadline. State law requires signatures of at least 7,500 registered voters to land on the ballot.
It came a day after several other longshot contenders, including Cornel West and Claudia De la Cruz, turned in signatures.
Credit: TNS
Credit: TNS
A new Georgia law also grants another avenue for third-party contenders to cement a spot on the ballot. Any “political party or political body” that has achieved ballot access in at least 20 states or territories can automatically qualify for Georgia’s presidential ballot.
It would take a political upheaval for any of these candidates to stand a chance of defeating either President Joe Biden or former President Donald Trump. But in a state as competitive as Georgia, even minor voting shifts can have an outsized impact.
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Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
GEORGIA 2026. Macon-Bibb Mayor Lester Miller is often asked whether he’s a Republican or a Democrat. He offers a snappy, if vague, answer. “I am.”
The nonpartisan mayor, who easily beat back a challenger in May to secure a second term, has recently floated another possibility: A run for governor.
He posted a poll to his Facebook page last week gauging voter interest in a bid for higher office. He later told WGXA he’d prefer to serve a third term as mayor but wanted to test the waters for a gubernatorial bid.
“I think our state needs to be a little bit more in the center,” he said. “We need to recognize that not everybody is Republican or Democrat. We have people who just want the right things and want the right person in office.”
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NO TOSS UP. Has Georgia shifted to the right in a post-debate political landscape? The analysts at the Cook Political Report think so.
The outlet on Tuesday changed Georgia from a “toss up” rating to a “lean Republican” designation. It was one of six changes to its political rankings in the aftermath of President Joe Biden’s disastrous debate.
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Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
LISTEN UP. Today’s episode of “Politically Georgia” features the AJC’s Tamar Hallerman, who will discuss where Georgia Democratic delegates stand on keeping President Joe Biden on the ticket. AJC education reporter Martha Dalton will share her reporting on religion in schools.
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 Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who recently took a formal role in Biden’s campaign. She encouraged voters to unify in support of Biden despite any concerns about his poor debate performance.
State Sen. Jason Anavitarte, R-Dallas, spoke about former President Donald Trump’s campaign and next week’s Republican National Convention.
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Credit: TNS
Credit: TNS
CHA-CHING. Former U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler continued her GOP donation streak on Monday with a $100,000 donation to the Log Cabin Republicans, the conservative LGBTQ organization.
She attended the group’s “Road to Victory” get-out-the-vote program for former President Donald Trump. Also in attendance was Trump’s wife Melania in one of her only campaign events this cycle.
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Credit: Nathan Posner for The AJC
Credit: Nathan Posner for The AJC
PHARMACY BENEFIT MANAGERS. U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, R-St. Simons Island, has long railed against and tried to impose federal regulations on pharmacy benefit managers, saying these middlemen between insured patients, drug makers and pharmacies drive up costs for consumers.
On Tuesday, he brought attention to preliminary results from a Federal Trade Commission investigation that found that the biggest pharmacy benefit managers control 95% of all prescriptions filled in the United States.
“We are losing more than one pharmacy per day in this country, causing pharmacy deserts and taking the most accessible health care professionals in America out of people’s communities,” Carter, a former pharmacist and pharmacy owner, said in a statement. “I am calling on the FTC to promptly complete its investigation and begin enforcement actions if — and when — it uncovers illegal and anti-competitive PBM practices.”
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TODAY IN WASHINGTON:
- President Joe Biden will meet with union leaders at the AFL-CIO headquarters in Washington before joining work sessions at the NATO Summit. In the evening he will meet with new United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the White House and host a dinner with NATO officials and spouses.
- The House votes on spending legislation.
- The Senate has more confirmations lined up and will take a procedural vote on legislation protecting access to abortion.
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Credit: Patricia Murphy/AJC
Credit: Patricia Murphy/AJC
SENATOR REVEREND. U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock delivered the opening prayer in the Senate chambers on Tuesday, standing in for Chaplain Barry Black.
“Strengthen us now in the work that you have allowed us to do, that our country might know your grace, your justice and your mercy,” Warnock said. “Center the concerns of the marginalized and may the words of the prophet live in our lives: ‘Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness as a mighty stream.’”
That quote, Amos chapter 5 verse 24, is known as a favorite of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and one he quoted in his “I Have a Dream” speech at the March on Washington.
Black has been serving as the Senate’s chaplain for over 20 years and usually delivers the opening prayer every day the Senate is in session. But even the most devout and dedicated chaplain deserves days off.
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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.
