Joe Biden, you have a problem. So do you, Donald Trump.
President Biden easily captured Michigan in Tuesday’s Democratic primary, but the more than 100,000 people who cast a protest vote for “uncommitted” underlined the deep rifts within his party.
Exit polls showed much of the dissatisfaction is driven by opposition to Biden’s support for Israel in its war with Hamas. The pushback was fueled by a large Arab-American population in Michigan, along with younger voters, liberals and others.
Credit: TNS
Credit: TNS
In Michigan’s previous three presidential primaries, roughly 20,000 Democrats voted “uncommitted.” On Tuesday night, party figures said the soaring numbers this year should serve as a wake-up call.
“Michigan is the canary in the coal mine and the most explicit indicator yet that there are many in our coalition who are deeply and rightfully in anguish over what’s happening to Palestinians in Gaza,” said state Rep. Ruwa Romman, the first Palestinian-American legislator in Georgia history.
The Duluth Democrat, who called Biden one of the nation’s most accomplished presidents, added that she’s begging him to “immediately change course” and back a ceasefire in the region.
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Across the aisle, Trump coasted to his fifth consecutive victory this nominating cycle, capturing about two-thirds of the vote.
But his lone remaining primary rival, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, said the roughly 300,000 who backed her campaign, despite the fact she hardly campaigned in Michigan, should be a “flashing warning sign” for the GOP.
“What has happened in Michigan will continue to play out across the country,” she said. “So long as Donald Trump is at the top of the ticket, Republicans will keep losing to the socialist left. Our children deserve better.”
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Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
‘SANCTUARY CITIES.’ U.S. Rep. Mike Collins has penned a letter to Athens-Clarke County Mayor Kelly Girtz and Sheriff John Williams asking them to abandon policies that could be interpreted as creating a safe space for illegal immigrants. The missive comes after the arrest of an Athens man who entered the U.S. illegally in 2022 for the slaying of a nursing student on the University of Georgia campus
Athens-Clarke County never officially designated itself a “sanctuary” for undocumented immigrants, but it might as well have, the Jackson Republican wrote in his letter.
Collins has recruited co-signers, including all nine GOP members of Georgia’s congressional delegation, members of the General Assembly, Republicans elected statewide and even three members of the Public Service Commission.
Credit: Nell Carroll for the AJC
Credit: Nell Carroll for the AJC
The letter cites a 2019 resolution by the county government that expresses a goal of fostering a community “where individuals and families of all statuses feel safe, are able to prosper and can breathe free.” The letter also mentions Williams’ predecessor, Sheriff Ira Edwards, who in 2018 announced that he would no longer honor 48-hour detainer requests from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement unless those asks were accompanied by a warrant or court order.
The letter concludes with a request that Girtz and Williams “immediately and publicly reverse course and do what is right to ensure the safety and security of those who entrusted you to lead.”
Georgia law prohibits cities and counties from adopting a sanctuary policy and requires local governments to certify they’re complying with federal immigration policies. But Athens-Clarke County is among the localities that have limited their cooperation with ICE.
Girtz has pushed back against Collins and his public finger-pointing in recent days, telling The New York Times over the weekend the congressman harbors “a kind of cartoon narrative around how the universe operates.”
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Credit: Clarke County Sheriff's Office
Credit: Clarke County Sheriff's Office
HOUSE PROBE. Republican leaders of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee have asked Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to provide information about Jose Antonio Ibarra, the man accused of killing nursing student Laken Riley on the University of Georgia campus.
The letter to Mayorkas comes from Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio and U.S. Rep. Tom McClintock of California, who chairs the subcommittee that deals with immigration enforcement. They write that reports indicate Ibarra entered the U.S. illegally from Venezuela in 2022 and was arrested in September in New York City on charges that he acted in a manner to injure a child less than 17 years of age.
The letter asks for information about when and where Ibarra was intercepted at the border, his immigration status, details about his case and whether there were any efforts to hold him using an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer.
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Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
MORE ATHENS REACTION. The state House Public Safety Committee passed a measure late Tuesday to impose penalties on sheriffs and jailers who do not cooperate with federal immigration agents when they encounter a person who is not a U.S. citizen, the AJC’s Michelle Baruchman reports.
House Bill 1105, sponsored by Republican state Rep. Jesse Petrea of Savannah, would also change the mission of the General Assembly from “encouraging” to “requiring” law enforcement to work with federal authorities regarding immigration issues. Finally, the legislation would permit law enforcement to arrest any person suspected of being in the country illegally, with probable cause.
The measure is one of several with new focus from lawmakers after the death last week of nursing student Laken Riley in Athens. An undocumented immigrant who had been detained previously by law enforcement has been arrested for Riley’s slaying.
Stephen Lawson, a spokesman for Speaker Jon Burns, R-Newington, called the bill one of several “positive, fact-driven solutions” from House members on immigration and predicted it will “make its way through the process in coming days.”
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Credit: Casey Sykes for the AJC
Credit: Casey Sykes for the AJC
UNDER THE GOLD DOME:
- The House and Senate are out of session for committee work ahead of tomorrow’s Crossover Day deadline. Both chambers resume at 10 a.m. Thursday.
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Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
ANTE UP. The Georgia Senate again backed a measure asking voters to legalize sports betting, our AJC colleague Maya T. Prabhu reports.
Senate Resolution 579 must still pass the House, where it faces an uncertain future. Still, boosters sounded an optimistic note.
“Just as voters ensured the best and brightest remained in Georgia through Lottery-funded HOPE scholarship,” said Jen Talaber Ryan of the Sports Betting Alliance, “we are confident they will do the same for our youngest learners.”
Meanwhile, a separate proposal to regulate daily fantasy sports advanced in the House with a vote by the Economic Development Committee to pass House Bill 1329. PrizePicks, the largest daily fantasy sports firm in North America, is based in Midtown Atlanta.
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Credit: Alyssa Pointer/AJC
Credit: Alyssa Pointer/AJC
GUN SAFETY. Tuesday marks the day Georgia lawmakers from both parties agreed on a gun safety measure.
The House voted 162-3 to approve House Bill 971. The legislation grants tax credits of up to $300 to Georgia residents who purchase gun safes or gun safety accessories, or who take a firearm safety course.
The bill from GOP state Rep. Mark Newton of Augusta echoes another bill filed this year by Democratic state Rep. Michelle Au. It caught our attention then that Georgia 2A, a gun rights group that typically opposes bills from the Johns Creek doctor, came out in favor of the measure and those like it.
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Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
TRAILBLAZER. State Sen. Gloria Butler, the highest-ranking Democratic woman in the General Assembly, told her colleagues Tuesday this session will be her last.
The great-grandmother from Stone Mountain has led her chamber’s Democrats since being elected to the top spot in 2020. And she’s represented her Stone Mountain district for 26 years.
In a profile of Butler last year, she said leading her chamber in the minority required its own mental toughness.
“You’ve got to work every day as if you’re winning, even when you know you’re not winning,” she said. “You’ve got to still keep working towards that goal. Don’t lose your focus. Don’t lose your hope.”
On Tuesday, she told her colleagues, “I’ve had an extraordinary journey at this Capitol.”
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Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
BACK FOR MORE. Word of Sen. Gloria Butler’s retirement comes just ahead of Monday’s start to the qualifying period for the 2024 election.
One leader we know will be running again is another high-profile woman in the Capitol, GOP Speaker Pro Tem Jan Jones of Milton.
Earlier this week, Speaker Jon Burns, R-Newington, along with Majority Leader Chuck Efstration, R-Auburn, put out a glowing news release praising Jones and noting, “She has the full weight and support of myself and the caucus, and I know she will continue delivering results for her constituents.”
Milton attorney Debra Shigley, a Democrat, has announced she’ll challenge Jones later this year.
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Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
LISTEN UP. On the Tuesday edition of the “Politically Georgia” radio show, State Rep. Michelle Au, D-Johns Creek, provided an update on the legislative session with the approach of Crossover Day on Thursday. That’s the deadline for bills to have passed at least one chamber to remain in play.
Also on Tuesday, Stephen Stetson, the director of Planned Parenthood in Alabama, joined the show to discuss the impact of that state’s Supreme Court ruling that jeopardized access to in vitro fertilization and how it could have an impact in Georgia. Listen at Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
On today’s episode, a panel of university professors — Emory’s Andra Gillespie and Fred Smith as well as Georgia State’s Tammy Greer — join the show. Listen live at 10 a.m. on WABE 90.1 FM, at AJC.com and at WABE.org.
Have a question or comment for the show? Call the 24-hour “Politically Georgia” podcast hotline at 404-526-AJCP. (That’s 404-526-2527.) We’ll play back your question and answer it during the listener mailbag segment on Friday’s episode.
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COUNTDOWN TO SHUTDOWN. When it comes to where U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson stands on providing aid to Ukraine in its war with Russia, Johnson is on an island.
That was a main takeaway from Johnson’s meeting at the White House with President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and other top officials in Congress.
The Louisiana Republican reportedly assured the group that he wants to avoid a government shutdown, drawing their cautious optimism that some kind of agreement can be worked out before a Friday deadline. But his insistence that stemming migration at the U.S.-Mexico border take priority received a cold reception from the others.
Senate Majority Leader Schumer, D-New York, made it clear that Johnson was the outlier during that portion of the conversation.
On the government funding front, another round of stopgap funding that could push shutdown deadlines to later in March could be on the way.
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TODAY IN WASHINGTON:
- President Joe Biden has no public events on his schedule.
- Fresh off recess, the House votes on a series of business-related bills.
- Speaker Mike Johnson swears in U.S. Rep.-elect Tom Suozzi, D-New York.
- The Senate has confirmation votes lined up.
- The Supreme Court hears arguments on whether the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives can regulate gun bump stocks.
- Atlanta-based nonprofit Caring for Others will be recognized by second gentleman Doug Emhoff during a ceremony at the White House. The organization will be applauded for its work to improve food access in underserved communities and awarded a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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Credit: Courtesy photo
Credit: Courtesy photo
DOG OF THE DAY. If you need a little boost to get through to Crossover Day, how about this face?
Blaze Lee comes from Coweta County by way of Mongolia, as one does. She was being adopted off the streets of Ulaanbaatar by an American family that named him after the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers. Blaze then made her way to Marian Lee, a cousin of her American family.
Blaze is a Georgian now, living with Bella and Buddy Lee, two previous dogs of the day, and her people south of Atlanta. A reliable source reports she also loves eating, sleeping and dreaming of faraway places.
Could Blaze be our spirit animal? Perhaps. But she’s definitely our 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, 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.
