The Jolt: As Biden notches wins, Georgia Democrats hope for a boost

The Federal Reserve chair offered a somewhat optimistic take on the economy, saying he didn’t think the U.S. was mired in a recession yet. The Senate just passed a $280 billion bill to boost semiconductor production and scientific research, with a House vote expected later today. That means Biden could have legislation to sign into law as soon as Friday.

And U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin has given his blessing to a climate change plan that would be the most ambitious ever approved by Congress. The package also includes provisions to lower healthcare costs and close tax loopholes. Manchin’s support appears to give Democrats the votes they need to pass what amounts to a cornerstone of Biden’s “Build Back Better” agenda.

These victories could all be blunted by the steady drumbeat of rising prices, thanks to inflation rates that haven’t soared this high in four decades. Gas prices also remain far higher than typical, but they’re beginning to slide downward nationally and in Georgia.

Still, the spate of positive developments could give state Democrats a Biden-shaped lifeboat to grasp in hopes of changing the economic and political narrative over the coming months.

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CHIPS AND SCIENCE. The U.S. Senate’s passage of legislation to increase the production of computer chips provided members of Georgia’s delegation reasons to celebrate.

U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock boasted that the final product included everything he advocated for, even if it was scaled down considerably from the packages approved earlier this year in both chambers.

U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff and U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson pointed out that the legislation also included language they championed regarding cybersecurity job training programs at HBCUs.

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LISTEN UP. If you haven’t had time for a deep dive into the crosstabs of the AJC poll, worry not. The midweek edition of the Politically Georgia podcast did the work for you.

Just grab your coffee and press play.

And be sure to subscribe and rate the podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or Stitcher.

Do you have a question for the Politically Georgia team? Just call our new 24-hour Politically Georgia hotline at 770-810-5297 and we’ll try to answer it during our weekly “Listener Mail Bag” segment.

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MOB WATCH. Most Georgians are paying attention to the U.S. House committee’s investigation of the riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6. The panel has already held eight public hearings, including two in primetime.

Some 53% of voters say they’re following the investigation “very” or “somewhat” closely while one-third say they’re ignoring the hearings, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll.

A broad majority — 59% — say Trump is at least partly responsible for inciting the mob that day. That includes nearly one-quarter of Republicans and two-thirds of independents.

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WHAT THEY’RE SAYING. The candidates trailing in the AJC poll each had a similar message: They’re within striking distance and there’s plenty of time to make up lost ground.

“They spent $25 million, and we are still this close,” Republican U.S. Senate hopeful Herschel Walker, who trailed incumbent Raphael Warnock by about 4 points, said in Gainesville.

“I’m the underdog,” he said. “I’m the newcomer. I’m the outsider. Everyone knows I’m not a politician. But it seems like the people in Washington aren’t politicians either, if you look at what they’ve done to this country.”

Stacey Abrams’ campaign focused on how Gov. Brian Kemp hovered at less than 50 points, indicating the possibility of a runoff. The Republican led Abrams 48-43 in the poll. Abrams spokesman Alex Floyd said Kemp was in a “dangerous position” for an incumbent.

“His lack of support from a majority of voters shows that Georgians don’t want extreme bans on abortion and reckless gun policies that make it easier for criminals to carry loaded, hidden guns in public,” Floyd said.

“We’ve always known this race would be close,” he continued, “and our campaign is strong, gaining momentum and building a historic multiracial coalition in Georgia.”

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FOR THE FANS? There’s only so many times your Insiders can write about the will-he-or-won’t-he U.S. Senate debate saga.

Republican Herschel Walker still hasn’t committed to a debate against Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock, who has accepted a trio of invitations. And many GOP insiders don’t expect Walker to agree to a showdown.

That aside, Walker’s comments in Gainesville about the possibility caught our attention. He spoke of doing it “for the fans” as if he were still on the football field — and not a contender for one of the state’s top offices.

“I’ve told him many times, I’m ready to debate him any time, any day,” Walker said. “I just want to make it for the fans, not about a political party or about some media. All they’re doing is talking.”

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DANIEL’S DEFENSE. The owner of a Georgia-based gun manufacturer resisted Democrats’ calls to ban semiautomatic firearms and said that perpetrators of violence, not the makers of their weapons of choice, are solely responsible for the deaths they cause.

Marty Daniel, the CEO of Daniel Defense, was questioned throughout a daylong U.S. House Oversight Committee hearing. He told lawmakers that recent mass shootings were tragic and heartbreaking but that companies like his should not be the focus.

“I believe that these murders are local problems that have to be solved locally,” he said.

Republicans on the committee, including Georgia Reps. Jody Hice and Andrew Clyde, defended the gun companies and said Democrats were infringing on the constitutional right of citizens to bear arms while ignoring the true causes of crime.

“To go after the manufacturers of guns while at the same time remaining soft on crime, defunding the police, supporting those policies and keeping our southern border open for all sorts of criminals is absolutely disgusting to me and unthinkable (and) the height of irresponsibility and lack of accountability,” Hice said.

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TODAY IN WASHINGTON:

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SECURITY THREAT. No word on whether climate change activists will stand down on their plan to protest at the Congressional Baseball Game tonight now that U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin has agreed to a sweeping climate change, health care and tax proposal.

Signs posted around Washington encouraged protesters to “shut down” the annual charity game. “If they don’t deliver on climate, we won’t let them play,” it said.

The chief of the U.S. Capitol Police isn’t taking any chances. In a statement posted on social media and the department’s website, he said officers are aware of the planned protest and implementing safety precautions.

“Our mission is to protect the Members of Congress during this family event, so we have a robust security plan in place,” Chief Tom Manger wrote. “We urge anyone who is thinking about causing trouble at the charity game to stay home. We will not tolerate violence or any unlawful behavior during this family event.”

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HONORING ISAKSON. The U.S. Senate has agreed to rename the Department of Veterans Affairs’ administrative offices in Decatur after former Sen. Johnny Isakson, who died in December.

Georgia U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff spoke about his proposal on the Senate floor prior to making the unanimous consent motion. U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, who was presiding at the time, quickly granted it.

Ossoff’s cosponsor on the renaming legislation is U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, a Missouri Republican. It now goes to the U.S. House for approval.

A separate effort led by U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams and Georgia U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock would name the Veterans Affairs hospital on the same campus after former U.S. Sen. Max Cleland.

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DROPPED BOXES: An analysis by NPR, WABE and Georgia Public Broadcasting revealed that the state’s new voting law restricted access to drop boxes in counties that relied on them the most.

It found that nearly 1.9 million people have seen their travel distance to a drop box increase from the 2020 election and that most voters who saw the increase live in cities or suburbs – areas where residents are more likely to vote Democratic. Check it out here.

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REPUBLICAN FIREPOWER. A new organization that plans to boost Republican legislative candidates and promote bipartisan initiatives, such as mental health measures, launched in Georgia this week.

The group, Georgia First, was founded by former Habersham County Commissioner Natalie Crawford.

Crawford, who lost her re-election bid in 2020, appeared in a 2019 Super Bowl ad with Stacey Abrams to talk up the election reform mission of her “Fair Fight” organizations.

Crawford said she plans to work closely with legislative leaders and local officials to decide which candidates to support with her new organization.

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WELCOME MAT. A team of Democratic officials are set to visit Atlanta today as a part of a four-way competition among cities vying to host the 2024 Democratic National Convention.

Democrats visited New York last week and Chicago earlier this week.

The Chicago Sun-Times was on hand for DNC Chairman Jaime Harrison’s visit to the Windy City, where he talked about what he’s looking for in a host city, including “a city that represents the Democratic Party’s values: diversity, inclusion, opportunity,” along with a “turnkey operation.” More:

“I don’t want people going out into the hinterlands trying to find their hotel,” Harrison said. “We need them to all be there. We don’t need to have big traffic confusion and all that. I need it all to work. I want the attention to be 100% on Joe Biden, Kamala Harris and the Democratic Party.”

The DNC chair downplayed whether it is more politically advantageous for Democrats to hold the 2024 convention in a state that is not traditionally blue, such as Texas or Georgia.

“I don’t buy — I know many of the pundits often talk about the impact politically that it has on things. We held the convention in Charlotte, and we didn’t win North Carolina that year,” Harrison said.

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AS ALWAYS, Jolt readers are some of our favorite tipsters. Send your best scoop, gossip and insider info to patricia.murphy@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com and greg.bluestein@ajc.com.

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