Hispanic voters in Georgia are evenly divided between supporting Gov. Brian Kemp and Democrat Stacey Abrams, according to a new poll released Wednesday. Republican hopeful Herschel Walker has an edge over U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock.
The poll released Wednesday by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution/Georgia News Collaborative poll pegged Abrams at 49% and Kemp at 48% among Hispanic voters. That’s well within the poll’s margin of error of 5.6 percentage points.
Walker, meanwhile, had a 47-41 advantage over Warnock. Another 11% of Hispanic voters indicate they’ll back Libertarian Chase Oliver.
Both parties are increasingly appealing to the state’s Hispanic community as Republicans and Democrats devote more resources to a small but growing bloc of voters that’s seen as up for grabs.
The poll of 309 likely voters — all of whom self-identified as Hispanic or Latino — was conducted Oct.11-12 by UGA’s School of Public and International Affairs. It was conducted in English and commissioned by the Georgia News Collaborative, a consortium that includes The Atlanta Journal-Constitution as a member.
You can find the crosstabs here.
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LISTEN UP. Georgia voters smashed midterm records Monday, the first day of early voting. We breakdown the early vote totals on today’s edition of the Politically Georgia podcast.
Listen and subscribe at Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
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Credit: Georgia Public Broadcasting
Credit: Georgia Public Broadcasting
The statewide and congressional debates sponsored by the Atlanta Press Club are now in the books.
Along with the debates for governor and U.S. Senate, you can watch the face-offs between candidates for lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, agriculture commissioner, insurance commissioner, labor commissioner, state school superintendent, and a host of congressional races.
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DEBATE PREP. Mock debates are a major part of preparing any candidate to face off against an opponent.
So 14th District Democrat Marcus Flowers knew he needed a skilled hand to play his opponent, U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, during his debate prep.
Former lieutenant governor nominee Sarah Riggs Amico fit the bill, having run for office before and having played Kelly Loeffler in debate prep for the U.S. Senate contest in 2020.
To become Greene, Amico told the Jolt that she reviewed extensive past clips and interviews of the congresswoman and worked to deliver quotes verbatim. “It’s all about getting in the head of the opponent,” she said.
She described Greene as “shamelessly untruthful and proudly inflammatory,” and a force in American politics to watch in years ahead.
“The thing that’s scary about extremists like MTG is that they don’t hide their radical politics. All you have to do is watch and read their own words. It’s all right there, right in the open, for anyone willing to look for it.”
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MTG’S RISE. An article in the New York Times Magazine adapted from author Robert Draper’s new book focuses on the rise of U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and what it can tell us about the future of the GOP.
A few things we learned from Draper’s extensive interviews with Greene:
- She and former President Donald Trump have discussed the possibility of her becoming his running mate in 2024.
- Greene not only expects that she will be assigned to committees if Republicans retake control of the House, but she has asked for two of the most high-profile slots: Oversight and Judiciary.
- House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy, likely to become speaker under a GOP majority, has brought Greene into the fold by involving her in discussions on legislation such as the National Defense Authorization Act. He also offered to create a leadership position especially for her.
And here is what Draper concluded about whether Greene’s far-right persona is just an act to raise her profile. In a nutshell: no.
“Her commitment to the MAGA agenda equals if not surpasses Trump’s. More significant, she has every intention of enacting what her Republican colleagues failed to ratify of Trump’s agenda,” he wrote.
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PRESIDENT KEMP? Gov. Brian Kemp is increasingly becoming a darling of the conservative media. The latest proof came Tuesday when a Fox News host asked if he would be a “front-runner” for president in 2024 if he defeats Stacey Abrams.
His response: Anyone “who is not focused solely on Nov. 8 and winning the midterms is taking the wrong approach,” said Kemp, who added: “I would encourage you all to focus on that as well.”
It isn’t the first time Kemp has been asked about the White House on a conservative-leaning outlet. Nor has he ruled the idea out — unlike Abrams, who has repeatedly said she won’t run for president in two years should she be elected.
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MARTY MOMENT. Gov. Brian Kemp released a new ad this morning that highlights Georgia first lady Marty Kemp’s efforts to crackdown on human trafficking. She chokes up during the opening of the 30-second spot, which ends with this slogan: “Brian Kemp keeps Georgia safe.”
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RACIAL SLUR. At Herschel Walker’s rally Tuesday in Buckhead, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina told the crowd that Black Republicans get more pushback than any other conservative bloc. Then he cited an episode that allegedly happened earlier that day.
He was referring to a Fox News report that a protester used a racial slur at an earlier Walker event to refer to the former football. It is a derogatory term that is used to describe a Black person perceived as catering to white people to the detriment of fellow Blacks.
Also at the afternoon rally, Graham made a direct pitch that a vote for Walker is a vote for a GOP-controlled Senate.
“If we had one more senator in Washington in the Republican column, I would be the budget chairman, not Bernie Sanders,” he said. “That is a good trade Herschel. Trust me.”
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Credit: Screenshot
Credit: Screenshot
GEORGIA AT THE WHITE HOUSE. Local leaders from Georgia will be at the White House today for a half-day forum called “Communities in Action: Building a Better Georgia.”
The event is the fifth in a series bringing various states’ leaders to the White House to highlight the local impacts of legislation passed under Biden, including the American Rescue Plan, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the CHIPS and Science Act
Senior officials, such as Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan and former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who is director of the Office of Public Engagement, will meet with the Georgia guests.
That list includes Augusta Mayor Hardie Davis, Jr., Savannah Mayor Van Johnson, College Park Mayor Bianca Motley Broom, Cobb County Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid, Gwinnett County Commission Chairwoman Nicole Hendrickson, DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond, Georgia House Minority Leader James Beverly and former state Rep. Calvin Smyre.
Local officials across metro Atlanta have found different ways to implement COVID-19 relief funding, and federal officials will be briefed at Wednesday’s forum on the impact the funds have had on local communities.
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BISHOP LEADS. New polling released by the Trafalgar Group shows incumbent U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop in the lead against his Republican challenger, but the difference is just within the margin of error.
The poll of 515 likely voters in Georgia’s 2nd Congressional District showed Bishop with the support of 50% of voters compared to Chris West’s 46%. The poll has a margin of error of 4.2 percentage points. About 3% of voters are undecided.
The poll was conducted Oct. 14-16.
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Credit: Alyssa Pointer/AJC
Credit: Alyssa Pointer/AJC
OPRAH’S ON. Oprah Winfrey will campaign for gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams on Thursday, becoming the latest high-profile surrogate working to boost the Democrat’s campaign.
The event, titled “Oprah Winfrey and Stacey Abrams Present: A Thriving Life,” will be virtual and touch on topics including education, health care, housing and living wages.
Abrams is relying on elements of the same playbook as her 2018 campaign, when Winfrey and former President Barack Obama revved up supporters in the final weeks of the race. Obama has announced an in-person event with Abrams and other Democrats on Oct. 28.
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Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC/TNS
Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC/TNS
ON THE TRAIL:
- U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock’s campaign announced that Lin-Manuel Miranda, the famed playwright and performer, will speak at a Wednesday evening event geared at Latino voters.
- Herschel Walker’s Unite Georgia Bus Tour makes a stop at Brown Arrow Outfitters in Perry this morning. Joining him are U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas and conservative leader Matt Schlapp.
- Stacey Abrams’ “Let’s Get It Done” Bus Tour makes stops in Lilburn, Athens and Conyers today.
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OUT OF OFFICE. Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor Charlie Bailey has made his career as a prosecutor a central aspect of his campaign.
But during yesterday’s debate, Republican nominee Burt Jones asked Bailey to explain why he was suspended while serving as an assistant district attorney in Fulton County, our AJC colleague Maya T. Prabhu tells us.
Personnel records show that Bailey was suspended without pay for four days in 2017 for “conduct unbecoming of an Assistant District Attorney.”
Jones, who works for his family fuel company and has an insurance business, accused Bailey of being suspended because he took a leave of absence from a gang-related murder trial to go on a golf trip. Bailey’s campaign declined to say why the Democrat was suspended.
Bailey brushed off the accusation during the debate and again with reporters afterward saying he was proud of his record as a prosecutor. He said he gave the closing arguments in the murder trial Jones referenced, which ended in guilty verdicts.
“I won’t let someone who has never held a full-time job outside of working for his father and currently under FBI investigation attack me for putting murderers in jail,” he said.
Jones was on the phony slate of GOP presidential electors designed to help Donald Trump’s failed effort to overturn Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election. Earlier this year, the Justice Department said it was intensifying its investigation into Georgia’s electors.
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Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
OUTSIDE ATTACK. The Washington-based Republican State Leadership Committee is making its first play in a secretary of state’s race this cycle with a new ad today against Democratic state Rep. Bee Nguyen.
The ad focuses on Nguyen’s 2020 vote against House Bill 838, a measure that made attacks on police a hate crime. It was vocally opposed by Democrats, as well as Fair Fight Action, which warned the law would endanger lawful protestors.
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SPOTLIGHT. Georgia politics are continuing to draw national attention — and national reporters.
Credit: Bob Andres/AJC
Credit: Bob Andres/AJC
Today’s special guest: NBC News’ Chuck Todd, who will broadcast “Meet the Press NOW” from Georgia this afternoon. Look for Sec. of State Brad Raffensperger, Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, and a panel of Georgia voters to join Todd on air today to give him a peek into the most dynamic political scene anywhere.
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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.
