The Jolt: Good news and bad for Kemp’s allies in the Legislature
Some of Georgia’s most vulnerable state lawmakers are already gearing up for tough reelection battles in 2024. Others have hardly started raising cash for next year’s races.
The latest state financial disclosures, which reflect fundraising from February through June, offered a glimpse into how some legislators are already starting to restock their campaign accounts. For others, the numbers could amount to a wakeup call.
We’ve zeroed in on the 11 lawmakers that Gov. Brian Kemp’s political organization identified as most endangered. He’s funneling cash to target five Democrats in swing districts and bolster six GOP incumbents. The most competitive seats are mostly in the Fulton and Gwinnett suburbs, with a handful of rural seats on Kemp’s radar, too.
Just for kicks, we also looked at the figures for Democrat-turned-Republican Mesha Mainor, who will have an uphill climb in her overwhelmingly blue Atlanta district, which gave Joe Biden about 90% of the vote.
Starting with Republicans, state Rep. Scott Hilton of Peachtree Corners raised $15,000 the latest period and has about $1,500 in the bank.
State Rep. Deborah Silcox of Sandy Springs raised $32,000 and has $102,000 in the bank. State Rep. Matt Reeves of Duluth raised $81,000 during that period — the most of any of the group — and has $102,000 in the bank.
State Rep. Mike Cheokas of Americus raised $1,100 over the span and has $24,000 in his account. And state Republican Rep. Gerald Greene of Cuthbert didn’t report raising a dime during the last four months but has nearly $80,000 in the bank.
(Another vulnerable GOP lawmaker, Rep. Lauren Daniel of Locust Grove, has not yet filed.)
On the Democratic side, Rep. Michelle Au of Johns Creek is in the strongest financial position after raising $32,000 this period with $88,000 left in the bank.
State Rep. Jasmine Clark of Lilburn raised $13,000 over the five-month span and has $17,000 on hand. State Sen. Nabilah Islam of Lawrenceville raised $39,000 and has $32,000 in the bank, and state Sen. Josh McLaurin of Sandy Springs collected $2,000 and has $8,000 on hand.
State Rep. Farooq Mughal of Dacula is in the toughest financial spot of any in the group. The Democrat raised $5,200 during the period but reported ending the period with about $4,000 in debt.
As for Mainor, who switched parties this week, her financial standing is solid. She raised $18,000 during the period and has about $69,000 in her coffers.
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LOEFFLER GOES LOCAL. Kelly Loeffler’s Greater Georgia group is working on even earlier elections — namely the state’s 2023 municipal contests this November. On Tuesday the group launched a formal recruiting program to find, encourage and support like-minded candidates to run for mayor and city councils around the state.
While local elections are officially nonpartisan — and mayors tell us they like it that way — Loeffler’s message Tuesday hammered “the Left” and its “dangerous progressive agenda” for trying to take control of Georgia cities.
“This year, Greater Georgia is going on offense with a program designed to recruit top-tier candidates and empower them with the tools to run and win,” she said in a statement. “By building a strong bench, we’ll be better prepared to take back our communities — and deliver strong conservative leadership where it matters most.”
The Greater Georgia effort includes a link for potential candidates to reach out and a commitment to “equip candidates with the resources and training to run winning campaigns.”
The recruiting program is just the latest move by the former senator that focuses on putting hyper-local races where resources, polling and messaging is almost always in short supply.
Qualifying for municipal elections this year starts August 21.
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FREE MTG. U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene told your Washington Insider on Wednesday that she isn’t going to worry too much about being kicked out of the House Freedom Caucus. In fact, she said she hasn’t even bothered to talk to her colleagues about their decision to oust her.
“I think I enjoy being a free agent a lot better,” the Rome Republican said.
But she continues to jab at her former Freedom Caucus colleagues, questioning whether they are becoming more concerned with challenging House Speaker Kevin McCarthy than pushing a conservative agenda.
“I’m interested in getting accomplishments done, not doing things just to disrupt and fight leadership,” Greene said. “And that’s a major difference. You can fight for your conservative principles and try to push conservative goals without having to be anti-leadership.”
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FED NOMINATIONS. Lisa Cook’s nomination to become the first Black woman to serve on the Federal Reserve Board was a controversial one in 2022. She was confirmed to a partial term without the support of any Republicans.
But things are different now that President Joe Biden has nominated the Georgia native to a full 14-year term.
The Senate Banking Committee voted Wednesday to advance Cook’s nomination by a vote of 13-10, with Republican Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota joining the Democrats. Other Republicans are expected to support Cook when her nomination comes to the floor.
Prior to the vote, Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, said that Cook’s renomination, along with those of Vice Chairman Nathan Jefferson and fellow board member Adriana Kugler, will add crucial diversity to the Fed since all three are people of color.
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‘2000 MULES’ LAWSUIT. The Georgia State Election Board is suing True the Vote over the organization’s failure to provide evidence backing up allegations of the ballot fraud scheme alleged in the movie “2000 Mules,” the AJC’s Mark Niesse reports.
The film became a cult favorite among far-right Donald Trump supporters during the 2022 election cycle, and was screened by Trump-aligned GOP candidates to boost energy and fundraising.
The lawsuit filed in Fulton County Superior Court on Tuesday asked a judge to compel True the Vote, a Texas-based conservative election organization, to comply with subpoenas and turn over information about alleged ballot-trafficking during the 2020 presidential election. It was one of several unproven conspiracy theories floated after Trump was defeated in the 2020 presidential election.
True the Vote has refused to provide details and documents supporting its allegations that several unnamed organizations paid unnamed individuals $10 per absentee ballot delivered to drop boxes across metro Atlanta.
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TODAY IN WASHINGTON:
- The U.S. House will continue debate on the National Defense Authorization Act while the Rules Committee considers the most controversial amendments to the package.
- The House Administration Committee will vote on the federal elections measure that was announced in Atlanta last week.
- The Senate is focused on confirmations.
- President Joe Biden is in Finland where he will meet with President Sauli Niinisto and then participate in a celebration of the country’s admission to NATO.
- U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, D-Atlanta, who is serving as a co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional Black-Jewish Caucus, will attend its relaunching ceremony this evening.
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COMPETING CAUSES. Congresswoman Lucy McBath does not play in the annual charity women’s softball game, which pits female members of Congress against women reporters to support breast cancer research.
But McBath, herself a breast cancer survivor, is a mainstay on the sidelines helping to support the congressional team and keep the crowd engaged. Wednesday’s 15th annual game was no different, with the Marietta Democrat leading cheers and trying to get bystanders to participate in “the wave.”
A group of anti-fossil fuel protesters walked onto the field at one point and delayed the game for about 20 minutes. After a chat with Capitol Police, the group left the park completely as McBath and other members of Congress danced to the “Cupid Shuffle.”
After a one-run defeat last year, the journalists’ Bad News Babes team secured a 15-9 victory.
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PERSONNEL MOVES. Republican Party of Georgia Chairman Josh McKoon announced Wednesday that he had hired Travis Bowden to serve as the state party’s new executive director.
Bowden replaces Ryan Caudelle, a former Donald Trump staffer, who is moving on to an unspecified new opportunity.
A resident of Snellville, Bowden ran unsuccessfully for the state Senate in 2012, losing to incumbent Don Balfour in the primary. He remained active in party politics, both at the local and state level.
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DOG OF THE DAY. We consider all Dogs of the Day to be Very Important Pooches. But today’s VIP is also a Very Presidential Pup.
Meet Canyon Shipman, the in-town goldendoodle who calls Atlanta City Council president and AJC subscriber Doug Shipman his person. Like all municipal officials, Canyon is technically nonpartisan, but consider this his yes vote for the Beltline. Canyon, we concur.
Send us your dogs of any political persuasion and cats on a cat-by-cat basis to patricia.murphy@ajc.com, or DM us on Twitter @MurphyAJC.
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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.
About the Authors
Patricia Murphy is the AJC's senior political columnist. She was previously a nationally syndicated columnist for CQ Roll Call, national political reporter for the Daily Beast and Politics Daily, and wrote for The Washington Post and Garden & Gun. She graduated from Vanderbilt and holds a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University.
Greg Bluestein is the Atlanta Journal Constitution's chief political reporter. He is also an author, TV analyst and co-host of the Politically Georgia podcast.
Tia Mitchell is the AJC’s Washington Bureau Chief and a co-host of the "Politically Georgia" podcast. She writes about Georgia’s congressional delegation, campaigns, elections and the impact that decisions made in D.C. have on residents of the Peach State.
