Editor’s note: New name, same jolt of Georgia political news, scoops and exclusives. Welcome to Politically Georgia, formerly known as The Jolt. Adam Van Brimmer, Greg Bluestein, Patricia Murphy and Tia Mitchell will continue to be your eyes and ears on everything you need, from Atlanta to Washington and beyond.
Over the weekend, dozens of Gov. Brian Kemp’s top donors and allies gathered at the Barnsley Resort outside of Cartersville to hear from Republican Party bigwigs, political strategists and former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
For those looking for a road map to the state’s near-term political future, a 38-page polling presentation may offer the biggest clues.
The polls are internal, commissioned by Kemp’s political fundraising organization, Georgians First, so the surveys should be taken with the requisite grain of salt.
But the findings are noteworthy because they will help color Kemp’s decisions in the run-up to the 2024 session of the Georgia General Assembly and next year’s presidential election.
Among the results:
- Some 60% of Georgians statewide say they back construction of the controversial Atlanta police and fire training center, which Kemp and other Republicans have loudly supported. That includes a majority of voters in deep-blue DeKalb County (54%) and U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams’ 5th Congressional District (54%). Williams is an Atlanta Democrat.
- Two-thirds of Georgians say they should be given the opportunity to use state funds to attend a public or private school if their school is underperforming. Expect Kemp to revive a school voucher plan that collapsed earlier this year amid a GOP revolt.
- Criticism of Republican state Sen. Bo Hatchett, a close Kemp ally and one of the governor’s floor leaders in the Senate, is falling flat. Most voters aren’t aware of the attacks leveled against him over the summer by state Sen. Colton Moore, a Republican from Trenton who berated Hatchett and his GOP colleagues for rejecting his doomed effort to impeach Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
- Notably, Hatchett also positive reviews among most voters in his conservative Clarkesville-based district — particularly the Donald Trump backers.
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Credit: Katelyn Myrick/AJC
Credit: Katelyn Myrick/AJC
GEORGIA OWNED. Speaking of the Georgia Legislature’s 2024 session, state Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper penned a commentary for James Magazine calling for Georgia to pass a law “restricting or banning foreign adversaries from purchasing American farmland.”
So far this year, 15 states have adopted legislation that restricts or regulates foreign ownership of agricultural or other sensitive property, according to the Congressional Research Service.
Harper argued in his column that “Chinese ownership of U.S. agricultural land is increasing at an alarming rate, and this increase poses a significant threat not only to the livelihoods of American farmers and producers but to America’s national security.”
Mark this as an issue with unexpected bipartisan interest. Stacey Abrams raised concerns about Chinese ownership of Georgia farmland in the final days of her 2022 run for Georgia governor.
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Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
SCHEDULE CONFLICT. Lt. Gov. Burt Jones caught attention Monday with a new ad hammering fellow Republican Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger for being “missing” from his Capitol job. In a social media post, Jones said Raffensberger had been to the Capitol 42 days this year.
The spot got attention both for its timing — a full three years away from a potential 2026 election for governor when both Jones and Raffensperger are considered possible candidates — as well as for the source of the information.
The “42 day” number originated from an open records request by former U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler’s Greater Georgia conservative voting organization, which asked for information on Raffensperger’s security-badge swipes at the state Capitol. Greater Georgia included the detail in an October press release that was referenced in a Washington Examiner report the same day.
Along with Jones and Raffensperger, Loeffler is another name mentioned often for that 2026 governor’s race.
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ISRAEL RALLY. Tens of thousands of people are expected to attend a rally today in Washington, D.C., to show solidarity with Israel and combat a rise in antisemitism.
Hundreds of Georgians plan to be there, including state Rep. Esther Panitch, a Sandy Springs Democrat and the only Jewish member of the state Legislature.
Among the lengthy list of speakers for the event is Deborah Lipstadt, an Emory University professor who is among the foremost scholars on the Holocaust and now serves as the U.S. special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism.
Meanwhile, Mack Parnell of the Georgia Faith & Freedom Coalition sent word that he arrived in Israel, where he’s helping to lead a delegation of evangelical leaders to “send an unmistakable message” that the U.S. stands with Israel and the Jewish people.
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Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
PARTY POOPERS. The Georgia GOP was one of several state Republican parties included in a report Monday by the Washington Post for its recent history of infighting, dysfunction, and lately, a focus on fundraising for legal defense funds.
Former party chair John Watson told the Post, “There has been an emphasis on ideological cleansing instead of electioneering. If those new entrants to the (GOP) want to argue Earth is flat and the election is stolen, those are counterproductive to winning elections.”
The Trump era has ripped the local infrastructures of some state parties apart. But a possible note of unity came from new Georgia GOP chair Josh McKoon.
Yes, some grass-roots activists are put out with this Republican or that Republican. What I say to those folks when I talk to them is, you've got a decision to make. Do you dislike a Georgia Republican more than you want to win the White House? We've got to get away from this idea it's some kind of us-them mentality.
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MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT STALLED. U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene had hoped her resolution to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas would be approved on the House floor Monday.
Instead, eight Republicans joined with Democrats to refer the bill to committee. Greene, R-Rome, was quick to express her displeasure on social media.
“We had eight Republicans vote with the Democrats to send my articles of impeachment back to committee where articles of impeachment go to die,” she said in a video posted on social media. “These eight Republicans just voted with the Democrats to protect Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas from impeachment, which is absolutely unbelievable.”
Georgia’s delegation split along party lines, with all Democrats in favor of sending the resolution to committee and all Republicans opposed.
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Credit: TNS
Credit: TNS
SCOTUS ETHICS CODE. All nine U.S. Supreme Court justices signed on to the court’s first ever code of ethics, the Associated Press reported on Monday. However, there is no mechanism to enforce it and compliance will be up to each individual judge.
The decision to establish a code of ethics comes as the justices, especially Georgia native Clarence Thomas, face questions over how they make their money beyond the courtroom and perks financed by wealthy people with keen interest in cases before the court.
U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson, who has pushed for measures to address recent criticisms of the Supreme Court, issued a statement praising the ethics code as a first step while pledging to continue fighting for more.
“The Supreme Court has begrudgingly, but to its credit, finally taken action to hold itself accountable to a code of conduct,” the Lithonia Democrat wrote. “I applaud their effort while noting that their code does not go far enough by not specifically dealing with private jet travel, it does nothing to reform amicus brief abuse, and leaves the door open wide for Federalist Society junkets for select justices.”
— Rep. Hank Johnson (@RepHankJohnson) November 14, 2023
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COUNTDOWN TO SHUTDOWN. House Speaker Mike Johnson is bringing his two-pronged approach to stopgap federal funding directly to the House floor today through the procedural maneuver known as “suspension of the rules.”
The move allows his government funding legislation to avoid going through committee or lengthy floor debate. But it also requires a two-thirds majority to pass the legislation, meaning plenty of Democrats will need to join Republicans to pass the bill, which won’t be popular with GOP hardliners.
Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop of Albany, who serves as the top Democrat on the appropriations subcommittee over agriculture programs, released a statement Monday indicating he will vote “no” because the bill does not include money for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan or border protection.
“It also creates the possibility of rolling fiscal cliffs which could leave Americans at risk of a government shutdown from month to month,” Bishop wrote. “In the coming days, we must find a bipartisan path forward that allows Congress to address all these needs forthwith while we work to finish a full-year federal funding bill.”
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Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
TODAY IN WASHINGTON:
- President Joe Biden heads to San Francisco for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit.
- The U.S. House considers a continuing resolution on government funding ahead of a Friday deadline.
- The U.S. Senate Rules Committee decides whether to advance legislation that could confirm 350 military appointments en bloc, an effort to break Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s months-long blockade of military nominees.
- U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., releases a report making the case for more federal regulations to lower the cost of insulin.
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Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
WASHINGTON IN GEORGIA. Georgia’s two U.S. senators — both Democrats — are holding constituent services events around the state today.
Staff for U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff will be at Perry City Hall to field constituent services requests and questions, while U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock’s team will be in Fitzgerald for their Community Resource Connection Day for South Georgia residents. Both sessions are designed to connect Georgians with federal resources available to them.
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Credit: Courtesy photo
Credit: Courtesy photo
DOG OF THE DAY. Selling newspapers in a digital world is no easy feat. But neither is reading, if you’re a cat.
So behold Bonsky Glucksman Markus, the AJC-reading feline who calls Joy Glucksman and Dave Markus his people. The three newshounds live in DeKalb County, where they share the AJC print edition.
Bonsky, if you keep doing what you’re doing, we’ll keep doing what we’re doing. And, of course, you’re the AJC’s Dog of the Day.
Send us your dogs of any political persuasion and location, and cats on a cat-by-cat basis, to patricia.murphy@ajc.com, or DM us at @MurphyAJC.
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AS ALWAYS, Jolt readers are some of our favorite tipsters. Send your best scoop, gossip and insider info to adam.vanbrimmer@ajc.com, patricia.murphy@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com and greg.bluestein@ajc.com.
