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    Political Insider Blog

    Matt Lieberman, an entrepreneur and son of former U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman, on Thursday, Oct. 3, 2019, became the first Democrat to enter the race for retiring Republican Johnny Isakson s seat. (CONTRIBUTED)
    Political Insider Blog
    Lieberman urged to quit Georgia Senate bid over book’s ‘racist and...
    06/26/2020 - Atlanta, Georgia - Gov. Brian Kemp greets Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, right, before speaking to members of the Georgia Senate in the Senate Chambers on Sine Die, day 40, of the legislative session in Atlanta, Friday, June 26, 2020. (ALYSSA POINTER / ALYSSA.POINTER@AJC.COM)
    Political Insider Blog
    The Jolt: Geoff Duncan parts ways with the governor over special ...
    08/05/2020 - Marietta, Georgia - Henry Watson participates in virtual learning on a laptop at the Emily Lembeck Learning Center in Marietta, Wednesday, August 5, 2020. The learning center is part of the Marietta City Schools district. The Marietta City School System is offering childcare for staff while the district is operating on a virtual-only option. Each class will be staffed by MCS staff members, and no more than five children will be in each class to allow for social distancing. (ALYSSA POINTER / ALYSSA.POINTER@AJC.COM)
    Political Insider Blog
    Opinion: Donald Trump pushed women into politics. COVID-19 could be a...
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    Georgia state Sen. Nikema Williams holds her son Carter Small after Williams at the state convention. STEVE SCHAEFER / SPECIAL TO THE AJC
    Political Insider Blog
    Nikema Williams launches bid for Congress with key endorsement
    020708-Woodstock-U.S. Senator Kelly Loeffler greets supporters during a campaign event at the Tuscany Italian restaurant in Woodstock on Wednesday afternoon July 8, 2020. Ben Gray for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
    Political Insider Blog
    ‘GUV’ group pumps another $5M into Loeffler’s Senate bid
    ajc.com
    Political Insider Blog
    Georgia Senate: Stacey Abrams at center of latest Loeffler TV attack...
    Joe Biden speaks to the NABJ/NAHJ panel about cognitive testing.
    Political Insider Blog
    Joe Biden shares vision for presidency, dismantling Trump agenda in...
    Vice President Joe Biden, second from left, talks with Sen. Sam Nunn, left, developer Tom Cousins and executive director of the East Lake Foundation, Carol Naughton at the East Lake Early Leaning Academy Tuesday March 4, 2014.
    Political Insider Blog
    The Jolt: That day when Sam Nunn didn’t meet Joe Biden
    Georgia Governor Brian Kemp greets President Donald Trump as he visits Georgia to talk about an infrastructure overhaul at the UPS Hapeville hub at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on Wednesday July 15, 2020 in Atlanta. Curtis Compton ccompton@ajc.com
    Political Insider Blog
    Analysis: Why Kemp’s open-ended special session could rev up state’s ...
    Gov. Brian Kemp signed a bill into law meant to create new protections for police on Wednesday, the last day for him to either approve or veto bills passed during the 2020 legislative session. Ben Gray for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
    Political Insider Blog
    Kemp signs Georgia ‘police protections’ measure into law
    Sen. Kelly Loeffler gives a thumbs up as she is recognized by President Donald Trump during his visit in July to Atlanta. Loeffler and U.S. Rep. Doug Collins, who is running against her in a special election for her seat, have both worked hard in trying to win Trump's favor. Curtis Compton ccompton@ajc.com
    Political Insider Blog
    Wary of ‘moderate’ brand, Loeffler aims for the hard right in Georgia...
    Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden's campaign has designated $220 million for television ads, plus an additional $60 million for digital ads, that will run in Georgia and 14 other competitive states. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)
    Political Insider Blog
    Biden’s campaign launches first presidential ads in battleground Georgia
    Mail-in paper ballots wait to be scanned by Fulton County employees at the Georgia World Congress Center during the Georgia primary on June 9. (ALYSSA POINTER / ALYSSA.POINTER@AJC.COM)
    Political Insider Blog
    The Jolt: Cobb County to pass on mailing out ballot applications for...
    06/26/2020 - Atlanta, Georgia - Gov. Brian Kemp prepares to make remarks before signing HB 426, Georgia's hate crime law, in the North Wing of the Georgia State Capitol building on Sine Die, day 40, of the legislative session in Atlanta, Friday, June 26, 2020. (ALYSSA POINTER / ALYSSA.POINTER@AJC.COM)
    Political Insider Blog
    Veto day: Kemp faces decision over ‘police protection’ bill
    FILE - In this Jan. 31, 2020, file photo, Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., leaves Capitol Hill in Washington. Perdue has taken down a digital campaign ad featuring a manipulated picture of his Demoncratic opponent, Jon Ossoff, who is Jewish, with an enlarged nose. A spokeswoman for Perdue said in a statement Monday, July 27, 2020, that the image has been removed from Facebook, calling it an “unintentional error” by an outside vendor, without naming the vendor. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)
    Political Insider Blog
    Georgia Senate: Perdue’s latest ad focuses on coronavirus response
    ajc.com
    Political Insider Blog
    WNBA players wear ‘Vote Warnock’ shirts opposing Dream co-owner Loeffler
    July 20, 2020 Atlanta: Early voting for Georgia’s runoff elections began Monday, including at a giant polling place on the Atlanta Hawks’ home court, State Farm Arena (shown here). The runoffs will decide races left unsettled after last month’s primaries, including for the U.S. House of Representatives, Fulton County district attorney, the Georgia General Assembly and superior courts. Three weeks of in-person early voting is available across Georgia, but the biggest voting site in state history is inside State Farm Arena in downtown Atlanta. The arena, equipped with 100 voting stations, is designed to ease long lines and provide a central location available to any of Fulton’s 814,000 registered voters. Eighteen other early voting sites are also available in Fulton. The arena transformed into a voting site after some voters waited for hours to cast their ballots in June because of social distancing requirements, precinct closures, poll worker shortages and difficulties operating Georgia’s new voting equipment. Election officials say they’re making changes to avoid similar problems again. They’re improving poll worker training, identifying overcrowded precincts and adding tech support staff at voting locations. After record turnout in the June 9 primary, with nearly 2.4 million voters, fewer people are expected to participate in the runoff. JOHN SPINK/JSPINK@AJC.COM
    Political Insider Blog
    Opinion: Two GOP runoffs and a glimpse of a Republican party after...
    Marjorie Greene, of Milton, and candidate for congress in the sixth district, participates in a "Stop Impeachment Now" rally outside the office of Rep. Lucy McBath on Wednesday, October 9, 2019, in Sandy Springs. (Elijah Nouvelage for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
    Political Insider Blog
    The Jolt: A Holocaust smear enters the 14th District race for Congress
    When U.S. Rep. Doug Collins chose to run for the U.S. Senate seat held by fellow Republican Kelly Loeffler, a large field of candidates entered the GOP primary to fill his House seat in Georgia’s 9th Congressional District. BenGray.com / Special
    Political Insider Blog
    Georgia Democrats file ethics complaint against Doug Collins
    071520 Atlanta: Seated in the middle of the room Senator Kelly Loeffler gives the thumbs up as she is recognized by President Donald Trump during his visit to Georgia to talk about an infrastructure overhaul at the UPS Hapeville hub at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on Wednesday July 15, 2020 in Atlanta. Curtis Compton ccompton@ajc.com
    Political Insider Blog
    A pro-Loeffler ‘GUV’ group reinforces her US Senate campaign
    11/14/2018 -- Atlanta, Georgia -- Georgia State Senator Nikema Williams speaks during a press conference at the Capitol Building in Atlanta, Wednesday, November 14, 2018. Sen. Williams said she spent more than 4 hours in the Fulton County Jail after being arrested during a protest in the Capitol rotunda Wednesday afternoon. (ALYSSA POINTER/ALYSSA.POINTER@AJC.COM)
    Political Insider Blog
    Confusing Georgia law at heart of debate over Lewis’ successor
    FILE - In this June 20, 2020, file photo President Donald Trump arrives on stage to speak at a campaign rally at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. Trump is privately reassuring Republicans anxious about his deficits to Democrat Joe Biden, noting there are three months until Election Day and reminding them of the late-breaking events that propelled his 2016 comeback. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
    Political Insider Blog
    The Jolt: Another poll shows Trump’s base in Georgia is eroding
    071520 Atlanta: Seated in the middle of the room Senator Kelly Loeffler gives the thumbs up as she is recognized by President Donald Trump during his visit to Georgia to talk about an infrastructure overhaul at the UPS Hapeville hub at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on Wednesday July 15, 2020 in Atlanta. Curtis Compton ccompton@ajc.com
    Political Insider Blog
    Kelly Loeffler takes BLM criticism to host with white supremacist ties
    07/16/2020 - Marietta, Georgia - Wearing face masks, Gov. Brian Kemp and First Lady Marty Kemp are greeted as they arrived to the ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Wellstar Kennestone Hospital Emergency Department building in Marietta, Thursday, July 16, 2020. (ALYSSA POINTER / ALYSSA.POINTER@AJC.COM)
    Political Insider Blog
    Kemp renews ban on mask mandates, extends Georgia coronavirus...
    U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-Atlanta), colleagues and activists march to the headquarters of U.S. Customs and Border Protection during a protest on June 13, 2018 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
    Political Insider Blog
    Several prominent Democrats line up to succeed John Lewis in Congress
    <p> FILE - In this Jan. 23, 2019 file photo, Gov. Brian Kemp addresses the 2019 Season Joint Budget hearings in Atlanta. In letters dated Wednesday, March 6, 2019, a U.S. House committee is seeking a trove of information from Georgia’s governor and secretary of state as it investigates reports of voter registration problems and other issues reported during the state’s 2018 elections. (Bob Andres/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP) </p> <p> FILE - In this pool image from video, Stacey Abrams delivers the Democratic party's response to President Donald Trump's State of the Union address, Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019 from Atlanta. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp served as the state’s chief election officer while he ran for governor in 2018. Abrams has alleged he mismanaged the election which she narrowly lost, an allegation which Kemp denies. (Pool video image via AP) </p> <p> FILE - In this Feb. 26, 2019 file photo, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger answers questions after the Georgia House passed a bill to buy a new election system that includes a paper ballot. But opponents to the bill, including many Democrats, say it would still leave Georgia's elections vulnerable to hacking and tampering. In letters dated Wednesday, March 6, 2019, a U.S. House committee is seeking a trove of information from Georgia’s governor and secretary of state as it investigates reports of voter registration problems and other issues reported during the state’s 2018 elections. (Bob Andres/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP) </p> <p> FILE - In this Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019 file photo, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, D- Md., the chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, presides over the last hour of testimony by Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019. In letters dated Wednesday, March 6, 2019 and signed by Reps. Cummings and Jamie Raskin, both from Maryland, a U.S. House committee is seeking a trove of information from Georgia’s governor and secretary of state as it investigates reports of voter registration problems and other issues reported during the state’s 2018 elections (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) </p>
    Political Insider Blog
    The Jolt: Georgia’s unquiet secretary of state
    An image of a 200-bed temporary hospital for coronavirus patients that opened in April inside the Georgia World Congress Center.
    Political Insider Blog
    Georgia to reopen makeshift hospital at World Congress Center
    US Senate candidate Jon Ossoff speaks as protesters gather at the Georgia State Capitol Building in downtown Atlanta for March on Georgia, a protest hosted by the Georgia chapter for the NAACP, on Monday, June 15, 2020. (REBECCA WRIGHT FOR THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION)
    Political Insider Blog
    A pandemic first: Ossoff airs TV ad from self-isolation in Senate race
    7/30/20 - Atlanta, GA - Former President Barack Obama, addresses the service. On the sixth day of the “Celebration of Life” for Rep. John Lewis, his funeral is held at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, with burial to follow. Alyssa Pointer / alyssa.pointer@ajc.com
    Political Insider Blog
    Opinion: John Lewis set the theme for his own funeral. Donald Trump it...
    A statue of Alexander Hamilton Stephens, the Confederate vice president throughout the Civil War, has been on display in the Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol since 1927, A number of top politicians in Georgia have joined in a bipartisan effort to replace it with a likeness of the late U.S. Rep. John Lewis. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
    Political Insider Blog
    Georgia politicians want John Lewis statue to replace Confederate in ...
    Democratic candidate Joyce Griggs participated in a virtual debate on July 19. Her opponent, Lisa Ring, was unable to attend.
    Political Insider Blog
    Election 2020: Guide to the Democratic runoff in the 1st Congressional...
    U.S. Rep. Jody Hice, R- Monroe. File photo.
    Political Insider Blog
    U.S. Rep. Jody Hice quarantining after possible coronavirus exposure
    July 29, 2020 Atlanta - Phi Beta Sigma fraternity members view the flag-draped casket of Congressman John Lewis during Omega Chapter Ceremony at the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta on Wednesday, July 29, 2020. Behind them is a portrait of Alexander Stephens, a Georgia congressman and governor who was also the vice president of the Confederacy. (Hyosub Shin / Hyosub.Shin@ajc.com)
    Political Insider Blog
    The Jolt: Brian Kemp endorses replacing statue of Confederate leader...
    200717-Atlanta-Gov. Brian Kemp listens to Dr. Kathleen Toomey, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Public Health, during a coronavirus briefing Friday morning July 17, 2020 at the State Capitol. Ben Gray for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
    Political Insider Blog
    Kemp faces new challenge over coronavirus restrictions
    FILE - In this combination of file photos, former Vice President Joe Biden speaks in Wilmington, Del., on March 12, 2020, left, and President Donald Trump speaks at the White House in Washington on April 5, 2020. The University of Notre Dame has become the second university to withdraw as the host of one of this fall's three scheduled presidential debates amid the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo, File)
    Political Insider Blog
    Monmouth poll: Biden, Trump deadlocked in Georgia; tight US Senate races
    Former Gov. Zell Miller and former first lady Shirley Miller are introduced in the balcony during the second inauguration of Gov. Nathan Deal in 2015. Curtis Compton, ccompton@ajc.com
    Political Insider Blog
    The Jolt: A needs-based supplement to the HOPE scholarship, in the of...
    In this June 7, 2020 photo provided by the Executive Office of District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser, John Lewis looks over a section of 16th Street that's been renamed Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington. The Washington Monument and the White House are visible in the distance. Lewis, a lion of the civil rights movement whose bloody beating by Alabama state troopers in 1965 helped galvanize opposition to racial segregation, and who went on to a long and celebrated career in Congress, died. He was 80. (Khalid Naji-Allah/Executive Office of the Mayor via AP)
    Political Insider Blog
    Opinion: The real life, comic book hero that was John Lewis
    Ralph Reed, from right, Dr. Alveda King, Journey keyboardist Jonathan Cain, and personal pastor to the president, Paula White Cain, and others pray on stage during a Donald Trump campaign event courting devout conservatives by combining praise, prayer and patriotism, Thursday, July 23, 2020, in Alpharetta, Ga. (AP Photo/John Amis)
    Political Insider Blog
    The Jolt: Re-electing Donald Trump will keep Christians at ‘the top of...
    FILE - In this Oct. 30, 2018, file photo, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, former Democratic Vice President Joe Biden greets supporters during a rally with Wisconsin Democrats in Madison Wis. While Democrats are still planning to meet in person in Milwaukee in August, Wisconsin's state convention was scaled back from a two-day event to a two-hour virtual meeting. But the goal of focusing on beating Trump remains the same. (Steve Apps/Wisconsin State Journal via AP, File)
    Political Insider Blog
    Joe Biden unveils senior leadership team in Georgia
    In his bid for re-election, Republican U.S. Sen. David Perdue, left, faces Democrat Jon Ossoff.
    Political Insider Blog
    Democrats assail Perdue over ‘hateful’ ad that made Ossoff’s nose look...
    Rows of school buses are parked at their terminal, Friday, July 10, 2020, in Zelienople, Pa. Pennsylvania schools are working on how they will safely transport students this fall, but one idea that won't be part of the plan is to install plastic barriers around school bus drivers. The state Transportation Department rejected that idea recently, saying there wasn't evidence it'll make anyone safer. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)
    Political Insider Blog
    The Jolt: The state Board of Education gets thrown under the school bus
    ajc.com
    Political Insider Blog
    Loeffler’s campaign ups attacks on Collins’ legal record despite...
    ATLANTA, GA APRIL 18: Democratic candidate Jon Ossoff walks with his girlfriend Alisha Kramer after speaking to his supporters as votes continue to be counted in a race that was too close to call for Georgia s 6th Congressional District in a special election to replace Tom Price, who is now the secretary of Health and Human Services on April 18, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. The winner of the race would fill a congressional seat that has been held by a Republican since the 1970s. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
    Political Insider Blog
    Georgia Senate: Ossoff in self-isolation after his wife contracts...
    07/16/2020 - Marietta, Georgia - Gov. Brian Kemp gives a thumbs-up as he avoids answering questions about his new decision to spell out that cities and counties canÕt mandate the use of masks following the ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Wellstar Kennestone Hospital Emergency Department building in Marietta, Thursday, July 16, 2020. (ALYSSA POINTER / ALYSSA.POINTER@AJC.COM)
    Political Insider Blog
    Kemp v. Bottoms settlement discussions hit a snag over mask mandates
    FILE - In this Oct. 16, 2015, file photo a bridge marks the entrance to the U.S. Army's Fort Benning as the sun rises in Columbus, Ga. The Senate on Thursday, July 23, 2020, joined the House in defying a veto threat from President Donald Trump to approve defense legislation that would remove the names of Confederate officers from American military bases such as Fort Bragg and Fort Benning. (AP Photo/Branden Camp, File)
    Political Insider Blog
    The Jolt: Confederate history enters a Georgia U.S. Senate race
    In this July 14, 2020, file photo, amid concerns of the spread of COVID-19, Aiden Trabucco, right, wears a mask as he raises his hand to answer a question behind Anthony Gonzales during a summer STEM camp at Wylie High School in Wylie, Texas. School districts that plan to reopen classrooms in the fall are wrestling with whether to require teachers and students to wear face masks — an issue that has divided urban and rural schools and yielded widely varying guidance. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)
    Political Insider Blog
    Opinion: The re-opening of schools provokes sober thinking among...
    May 30, 2020 - Atlanta - Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced a 9pm curfew as protests continued for a second day. Protests over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody spread around the United States on Saturday, as his case renewed anger about others involving African Americans, police and race relations. Ben Gray for the Atlanta Journal Constitution
    Political Insider Blog
    The Jolt: Keisha Lance Bottoms makes the first move to settle pandemic...
    President Donald Trump speaks about an infrastructure overhaul during a visit to Georgia earlier this month. (Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)
    Political Insider Blog
    Inside Trump’s Georgia ground game operation
    Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms speaks Thursday during an online update of the city.
    Political Insider Blog
    Judge orders mediation in Georgia’s mask mandate lawsuit
    U.S. Rep. Doug Collins, R-Gainesville, stops by the office of the late U.S. Rep. John Lewis, which has been adorned with a mourning drape, in the Cannon Building on Monday. Lewis died Friday at age 80. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP Images)
    Political Insider Blog
    Questions surround whether John Lewis will lie in state in Washington,...
    In his bid for re-election, Republican U.S. Sen. David Perdue, left, faces Democrat Jon Ossoff.
    Political Insider Blog
    Georgia Senate: Signs point to a tightening Ossoff-Perdue race
    07/16/2020 - Marietta, Georgia - Gov. Brian Kemp gives a thumbs-up as he avoids answering questions about his new decision to spell out that cities and counties canÕt mandate the use of masks following the ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Wellstar Kennestone Hospital Emergency Department building in Marietta, Thursday, July 16, 2020. (ALYSSA POINTER / ALYSSA.POINTER@AJC.COM)
    Political Insider Blog
    The Jolt: Governor Kemp’s lawsuit would overturn mask requirements in...
    Located in Augusta, Fort Gordon is named after John Gordon, who commanded half of Robert E. Lee's army for a time. AJC file photo. HYOSUB SHIN/HSHIN@AJC.COM
    Political Insider Blog
    7 Georgia U.S. reps oppose military bill, base renaming among the...
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