Today’s newsletter highlights include:
- A Gwinnett County Republican jumps into a state House race.
- A new poll shows many swing-state voters have already made up their minds.
- President Joe Biden cancels overseas trip due to Hurricane Milton.
Credit: Elijah Nouvelage for the AJC
Credit: Elijah Nouvelage for the AJC
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis might be the best known local prosecutor in the country. Her race for a second term might also be one of the most expensive of its kind.
Willis, the architect of the still-pending election interference case against former President Donald Trump and numerous others, has raised more than $2.1 million this election cycle. She enters the final stretch of the race with more than $800,000 on hand, according to newly released financial records.
For context, that’s far more than winning statewide GOP candidates for agriculture commissioner, labor commissioner and school superintendent raised through the 2022 cycle.
And it far surpasses the hauls of some long-time U.S. House incumbents in the Georgia delegation, including Democrat Sanford Bishop, D-Albany, and Republican Barry Loudermilk, R-Cassville.
Willis is heavily favored to coast to another term in deep-blue Fulton County. But her GOP opponent, Courtney Kramer, also has built a respectable war chest.
She’s amassed more than $270,000 since entering the race earlier this year, and has about $80,000 in the bank. Among her biggest donors: former Georgia U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler and the state GOP.
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GOOD MORNING! We’re 27 days away from the presidential election. Here are three things to know for today:
- Lt. Gov. Burt Jones appeared on stage with his pal Jason Aldean over the weekend to present a check for more than $6 million for hurricane relief efforts. Jones was acting as a surrogate for former President Donald Trump’s campaign. The money, raised through the GoFundMe platform, will go to Samaritan’s Purse.
- Oscar winner Julia Roberts will campaign for Vice President Kamala Harris in Georgia this week. The Smyrna native is scheduled to attend events with Harris’ husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff.
- Former Fulton County special prosecutor Nathan Wade will testify next week before a Republican-led U.S. House committee about his romantic relationship with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
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Credit: TNS
Credit: TNS
HURRICANE OF LIES. A report released this week by a nonprofit research group found that antisemitic attacks and online threats directed at officials responding to the ravages of Hurricane Helene in North Carolina amassed millions of views.
The Institute for Strategic Dialogue report said the attacks were mainly aimed at Mayor Esther Manheimer of Asheville, North Carolina; Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and FEMA official Jaclyn Rothenberg, a Sandy Springs native.
There’s another Georgia connection, too.
The New York Times noted that Manheimer told the Asheville Watchdog she was surprised at how she was being targeted. She said that U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Rome, “has made this inference that Jews control the weather, and I’m a Jewish mayor and somehow there’s a correlation.”
Greene posted on X last week that “Yes they can control the weather.” She did not specify who “they” were.
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Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
LAST MINUTE. Picture this: the election is a few weeks away. You’re on the ballot. You haven’t done any campaigning.
It sounds like something out of a stress dream. But it’s what happened to Kathy Statham last month when the longtime Gwinnett County Republican activist found herself running for state House District 102.
Statham is replacing J. Scott Vandiver, the Republican candidate who died suddenly on September 26. His death came as a shock to the Gwinnett County Republican Party Executive Board, which had about 24 hours to decide whether to replace him on the ballot.
“Kathy was a very good friend of Scott’s, and she’s been involved in the party for a long, long time,” Gwinnett County Republican Party Executive Board chair Sammy Baker said. “We just felt like it was the right thing to do for her to take his position and try to finish out as best we can.”
Gwinnett County elections officials had to scramble to print new ballots with Statham’s name on them. It was too late to change overseas ballots, as those had already been sent.
Baker said the party is paying for campaign signs and a website to help get Statham’s name out there before the election. He said Statham was at first reluctant to run but decided to do it “out of love for Scott.”
Statham is challenging incumbent state Rep. Gabe Okoye, D-Lawrenceville.
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POLL WATCH. The presidential candidates are furiously campaigning as the clock ticks down to Election Day. But a new poll out this morning shows the number of available votes is shrinking.
Just 4% of voters across seven swing states, including Georgia, say they are completely undecided, according to a new poll by the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, a nonprofit that focuses on fiscal issues.
The foundation tapped the Democratic firm Global Strategy Group and the Republican firm North Star Opinion Research to conduct the poll. Across those seven states — Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — Harris and Trump were tied at 47%.
In Georgia, Trump led by 1 percentage point if you include people who said they were leaning toward him. But that was well within the margin of error of 4.9 percentage points.
Those findings are in line with The New York Times’ polling averages of swing states.
The poll also found strong support for preventing automatic cuts to Social Security and opposition to tax cuts that add to debt.
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Credit: Courtesy photo/AJC
Credit: Courtesy photo/AJC
DEBATABLE. About a dozen high school students are running a debate tonight for one of the most competitive state legislative seats this cycle.
Republican Scott Hilton and Democrat Laura Murvartian will debate at 6 p.m. today at Chattahoochee High School. The debate is run by Student Leadership Johns Creek, whose students have been preparing since July.
Hilton was elected to the state Legislature in 2016, lost in 2018, and then elected again in 2022. But this year, his district is more competitive after lawmakers redrew the boundaries. Two years ago, Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican Gov. Brian Kemp both won the district, the AJC’s Michelle Baruchman reported.
The event will also feature a debate between Democratic state Rep. Michelle Au and Republican challenger Narender Reddy.
The students wrote all of the questions themselves, according to Irene Sanders, the executive director of Student Leadership Johns Creek.
“They’ve been doing a lot of research,” she said. “If nothing else, they learn a lot.”
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Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
LISTEN UP. Today on “Politically Georgia‚” former Republican Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan discusses his latest AJC column on the politicization of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Also, you’ll hear interviews with former Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens and outgoing DeKalb County CEO Mike Thurmond.
You can listen live at 10 a.m. on WABE 90.1 or follow “Politically Georgia” 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. Have a question for the show? Give us a call at 770-810-5297.
Tuesday’s show included interviews with Republican Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and Edward Ahmed Mitchell, national deputy director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
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KNOW YOUR STUFF. Here at the AJC, we’re usually the ones asking the questions. But for this election cycle, readers have told us what they wanted to know. The result is a new series called “Know Your Stuff.”
For example, here’s a question from reader Jan Rose:
- “What happens to the people who enter legally or illegally? We hear about sanctuary cities, flying immigrants to another state, etc., but it’s hard to know what is really going on. Where do all these people go, what happens to them? In what time frame?”
And here’s part of the answer from the AJC’s Lautaro Grinspan:
- “I can share a bit about my conversations in the last couple of years with immigrants in the Atlanta area who are new to the U.S. after having crossed the border illegally. Most of these folks have told me they turned themselves in to immigration agents, who processed and detained them, sometimes for several months, sometimes for just a couple of days. They signaled their wish to apply for asylum, and were released with a court date.”
There’s a lot more over at AJC.com. And you can send us your questions at tellus@ajc.com.
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MILTON’S COMING. Hurricane Milton lost a bit of steam but then intensified back to a Category 5 storm on Tuesday. It is expected to make landfall on the west coast of Florida near Tampa late tonight.
President Joe Biden said he was postponing a scheduled trip to Germany and Angola to better monitor hurricane response efforts.
“I just don’t think I can be out of the country at this time,” he said Tuesday.
Biden had intended to become the first U.S. president to visit sub-Saharan Africa since 2015, and it is uncertain if he will still be able to pull off the trip before his term ends in January.
Although Georgia isn’t in Milton’s direct path, parts of South Georgia could receive heavy rains and tropical storm-force wind gusts from its outer bands. And the influx of evacuees is snarling traffic in some areas and filling up hotels.
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Credit: TNS
Credit: TNS
ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL. Here is what is happening today:
- U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-South Carolina, will campaign for Vice President Kamala Harris in Augusta. He’ll meet with faith and community leaders, attend a water distribution event and a community cookout.
- Second gentleman Doug Emhoff, Harris’ husband, will speak at a campaign fundraiser in Atlanta.
- The Harris-Walz campaign and Democratic Party of Georgia will celebrate the opening of a field office in Savannah.
- Oscar winner Julia Roberts and Stacey Abrams, the former Democratic candidate for Georgia governor, are stumping for the Harris-Walz ticket at a reproductive freedom rally in Cherokee County and the opening of a field office in south Cobb County.
- Former President Donald Trump will speak at rallies in Scranton and Reading, Pennsylvania.
- U.S. Sen. JD Vance will campaign in Tucson, Arizona.
- Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will participate in a veterans and military families event and another with tribal leaders in Phoenix and a campaign rally in Tucson, Arizona.
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RIP. Kenny Johnson, a supervisor of the Rockdale Soil and Water Conservation District, died Tuesday.
Johnson was at the Paul D. Coverdell Legislative Office Building where he testified during a hearing about the impacts of the BioLab chemical fire. He later collapsed in the hallway outside of the committee room.
State Rep. Viola Davis, who is a nurse, helped perform CPR until other medical help arrived. Johnson was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital, where he died.
“Kenny dedicated years as the Soil and Water Conservation District representative and as an environmental justice advocate,” said Davis, D-Stone Mountain. “His efforts to improve our quality of life have left a lasting impact on our community, and we must honor his legacy by ensuring that we follow through with the requests he so fervently championed.”
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Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
SHOUTOUTS. Today’s birthdays:
- State Sen. Blake Tillery, R-Vidalia.
- Tia Mitchell, the AJC’s Washington correspondent and all-around great person.
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.
