Happy New Year, friends. We’re six days away from the start of the state legislative session and just over two months from Georgia’s March 12 presidential primary. But before we turn to what’s ahead, let’s look at some of the biggest stories you might have missed as 2023 wound down.
U.S. District Judge Steve Jones upheld the congressional and legislative maps approved by the Republican-led Legislature, rejecting arguments from left-leaning plaintiffs that the overhaul illegally diluted Black voting power.
That triggered a round of congressional shuffling. Drawn out of her district for the second time in two years, Democratic U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath of Marietta announced she will run in the newly created 6th District, a majority-Black territory spanning four counties on Atlanta’s westside.
Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
U.S. Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Suwanee, will run in the 7th District, once a Gwinnett-based seat held by McBath. Now that it’s been redrawn as a solid GOP stronghold spanning north Atlanta’s suburbs and exurbs, the Republican quickly filed federal paperwork to stake his claim on the post.
Long-serving Democratic U.S. Rep. David Scott of Atlanta plans to remain in the 13th District, which previously stretched across the western and southern edges of Atlanta. Now it moves eastward. Democratic Reps. Hank Johnson of Lithonia and Nikema Williams of Atlanta also intend to remain in their current districts.
There’s a lot more in our recent analysis of the new map. One takeaway: McBath will have represented about one-fifth of the state’s population — and most of Atlanta, the state’s most important Democratic bastion — if she wins in 2024. Not a bad set up for a potential statewide candidate.
A Congressional district in Georgia covers about 7% of the state's population. Thanks to two rounds of reapportionment, however, Rep. Lucia K. McBath could end up having represented about 20% of the state at various points. pic.twitter.com/z3TmH7gytR
— Varun Vishwanath (@GTCarfree) December 29, 2023
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SWATTING INCIDENTS. Here’s a pre-holiday development we hope to leave in the past: A spate of hoax “swatting” calls that targeted elected officials in Georgia and beyond.
U.S. Sen Raphael Warnock, D-Atlanta; U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Rome; and Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, R-Jackson, each were the victims of swatting attempts during the holiday break. So were several Georgia state senators.
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Jones and other Georgia officials vowed to take action this legislative session to deter the hoax emergency calls, which can turn dangerous when armed law enforcement officers arrive to respond to a phony emergency.
Among the possibilities we’ve heard: increased penalties for those convicted of making a sham 911 call and a new registry for prominent officials that would be cross-checked by law enforcement dispatchers.
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Credit: Casey Sykes for the AJC
Credit: Casey Sykes for the AJC
MARK YOUR CALENDARS. Speaking of the upcoming session, look for the General Assembly to gavel back in on Monday. That’s when lawmakers will pick up where they left off when the state House and Senate headed out Sine Die last March.
Since this begins the second half of the two-year process, any bills that didn’t make it across the finish line in 2023 could get a second chance for consideration. And multiple new items have already been prefiled, too.
Of course kicking off the week Sunday night will be the annual Wild Hog Supper at the Georgia Freight Depot sponsored by Feeding Georgia. The two announced speakers for the event are Attorney General Chris Carr and Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper.
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Credit: AJC file photo
Credit: AJC file photo
ELECTION OUSTER. The acting chairman of the State Election Board, who sided with Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on key votes during his tenure, is headed out the door.
The Republican-led state Senate has informed acting Chairman Matt Mashburn he will be replaced as its representative on the panel, our AJC colleague Mark Niesse reported.
Mashburn most recently made headlines when he voted in December against investigating Raffensperger’s handling of the 2020 presidential election.
But we’re told the decision to eject Mashburn predates that vote. Election skeptics and far-right activists have been clamoring for Mashburn’s removal for months, upset with a string of other votes he made that denied claims of widespread voting fraud.
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Credit: Alyssa Pointer/AJC
Credit: Alyssa Pointer/AJC
FLEMING’S OUT. One of the most prominent Republicans in the Georgia Legislature is moving to the judicial bench after leading a failed campaign for the House speaker’s gavel.
Few were surprised to see Republican state Rep. Barry Fleming of Harlem apply for an open superior court judgeship in the Columbia Judicial Circuit last month. Gov. Brian Kemp tapped him to the position last week.
First elected to the General Assembly in 2002 to represent a suburban Augusta district, Fleming has helped shape dozens of measures involving the criminal justice and public defender system over the past two decades, along with a range of election-related measures.
Over the years, Fleming assiduously courted allies who wanted to push the chamber in a more combative direction, and his clout grew to the point that then-House Speaker David Ralston named him chair of the special committee that rewrote Georgia’s voting law in 2021.
After Ralston’s death, Fleming tested his appeal by trying to unite some of the chamber’s most conservative members with rank-and-file GOPers to become the House’s top dog. He was handily defeated by Rep. Jon Burns, the Republican from Newington and Ralston’s hand-picked successor. Now Fleming will wield power with a different sort of gavel.
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Credit: File photos
Credit: File photos
TRUMP CASE. One of the biggest stories we’re expecting to cover this year is the likely trial of former President Donald Trump and his remaining co-defendants in the Fulton County election interference case.
The sprawling racketeering trial could include some of Georgia’s most prominent officials as either witnesses or defendants. Former Georgia GOP Chairman David Shafer and state Sen. Shawn Still, R-Norcross, are facing multiple charges as a part of the case. And Gov. Brian Kemp, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, Attorney General Chris Carr, and dozens of others could be called to testify in a trial.
Another potential witness, former Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, told ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday that she relocated to Atlanta for several months after she initially testified against Trump in front of the House Select Jan. 6 Committee in 2021.
Host Jonathan Karl said Hutchnison “basically had to go into exile” in Georgia because of the threats she faced after coming forward against the former president.
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NEW YEAR! Got more questions about 2024? So do we. Take a look at our list of the top burning Georgia political questions for the new year — and email us at greg.bluestein@ajc.com for any that we missed.
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TODAY IN WASHINGTON:
- President Joe Biden returns from vacation in St. Croix, Virgin Islands.
- The Senate and House are on holiday break until next week.
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Credit: Alex Brandon/AP
Credit: Alex Brandon/AP
BEST DRESSED. Users of X, the site formerly known as Twitter, have likely run into viral tweets on men’s fashion and style written by Derek Guy under his @dieworkwear handle.
In a write up for Politico, he declared U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock as having one of the “political fashion moments that defined 2023.” Guy described the Georgia Democrat as the “king of casual,” giving him props for the outfit he wore to the Celebration Bowl football game last month.
Guy notes that Warnock wore jeans, a red and blue checked shirt, burgundy quilted vest and a Ralph Lauren sweater depicting the “Polo Bear” wearing a Morehouse College sweater. Lauren in 2022 released a collection in partnership with Morehouse and Spelman, two Atlanta historically black colleges, giving Warnock something cool to wear to the big game while also representing his alma mater.
“The best thing about the knits is that you’re guaranteed to have at least one stylish outfit on — the bear’s, that is,” Guy wrote. “But in the senator’s case, he had two.”
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Credit: Courtesy photo
Credit: Courtesy photo
DOG OF THE DAY. Did you get a puppy for Christmas? We didn’t (maybe next year?), but Politically Georgia readers were generous enough to send us loads of puppy pics instead.
Among them was 13-year-old Ellie Mae Boggs, looking pretty as a present under her family’s Christmas tree. Ellie Mae calls PG subscriber Nell Boggs her person. They both live in Douglasville, where Ellie Mae focuses on couch inspections and barking at delivery people. After a hectic holiday season, we’re told she plans to focus on her real passion, napping.
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, 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.
