The Jolt: Tim Scott gets timely Georgia support for GOP presidential bid

“We believe that every voter should seek out candidates that best match their own beliefs, and then work hard to help that person succeed,” Mattingly said in a statement with his wife Leslie. “Senator Tim Scott is that leader for us.”

Mattingly scored a historic upset in 1980 to defeat Democratic incumbent Herman Talmadge and become the first Republican U.S. senator from Georgia since Reconstruction. He lost to Democrat Wyche Fowler in 1986 and later retired to St. Simons Island.

Most Georgia Republicans remain on the 2024 election sidelines, wary of selecting a favorite this early in the presidential campaign. Gov. Brian Kemp and many other statewide and congressional leaders have yet to endorse any candidate.

There are a few notable exceptions: U.S. Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Rome; Mike Collins, R-Jackson; and Andrew Clyde, R-Athens, have endorsed former President Donald Trump’s comeback. U.S. Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Suwanee, is supporting Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

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Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC

Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC

LEGISLATIVE OVERTIME. We’re picking up rumblings about state lawmakers readying for a possible special legislative session to redraw political boundaries after a surprising U.S. Supreme Court decision.

Three senior officials tell us there have been preliminary discussions about summoning legislators back to the Capitol in October or November if a federal judge rules against the state’s current maps.

The high court’s 5-4 ruling in June found Alabama’s GOP-controlled Legislature likely violated the Voting Rights Act when it drew a map with one majority-Black seat out of seven congressional districts.

That decision could breathe new life into a legal challenge in Georgia over the new boundaries in Atlanta’s northern suburbs. The redistricting resulted in Republican Rich McCormick winning a House seat in the 2022 election previously held by Democrats.

State leaders won’t make any moves until U.S. District Judge Steve Jones rules on the case, and there’s a Sept. 5 hearing set. Gov. Brian Kemp gets the final say on the timing of a special session, but some lawmakers are nervous about squeezing one in around the holiday season.

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Credit: Adam Van Brimmer/AJC

Credit: Adam Van Brimmer/AJC

PATIENCE WITH THE PROCESS. U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock almost made it through his first news conference in Georgia since the Fulton County indictments without being asked a question about the case and former President Donald Trump.

Warnock was in his hometown of Savannah on Monday promoting legislation meant to increase the number of teachers in Head Start programs, which provide preschool classes to low-income children. Of the six questions he fielded from reporters, only the last one involved Trump.

“Here’s the fundamental thing. We in America operate by certain democratic principles. Nobody’s above the law. And the defendants in this case, including the former president, shouldn’t be treated any better than anybody else and shouldn’t be treated any worse,” Warnock said. “And so we should all sit patiently and allow the process of jurisprudence to take its course.”

Warnock, a Democrat, followed that up with an appearance Monday night on MSNBC with Rachel Maddow, where he framed the Trump case in Georgia as a litmus test on the strength of American democracy.

“While Donald Trump and the other defendants may be at the center of this particular case, my eye is on democracy itself because I believe in democracy,” the senator said. “I believe that it is the political enactment of a spiritual idea, this notion that each of us has within us a spark of the divine, and therefore we ought to have a voice in the direction of the country and our destiny within it. And that’s what’s under assault.”

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Credit: AJC file photos

Credit: AJC file photos

KEEP UP. Former President Donald Trump plans to turn himself in on Thursday, writes the AJC’s Greg Bluestein and Shaddi Abusaid. Trump and 18 others indicted last week in the Fulton County election interference case have until Friday to surrender to authorities.

With all the moving parts, we’ll keep you updated every morning with the latest developments. Our AJC colleagues filed these stories Monday:

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Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

MAINOR PLAYER. Democrat-turned-Republican state Rep. Mesha Mainor was a hot topic at Erick Erickson’s conservative confab, The Gathering, over the weekend. Her party switch earlier this year, primarily over the issue of private school vouchers, was offered as proof multiple times from the stage that Republicans are on the right track.

“We now have a Black female Democrat in the state house who is now a Republican, because of the school choice issue,” Erickson said in a conversation with Gov. Brian Kemp. “The level of acrimony from her own side on that issue when she stood up actually kind of surprised me, more than I expected, because it was white suburban Democrats who were mad at a Black female Democrat from Atlanta for wanting better education.”

Kemp pointed out that opposition by several rural Republicans sank the bill that Mainor supported in the last legislative session, but added: “We’ll be working hard on the issue again next year.”

Mainor appeared as the featured guest at the DeKalb County GOP breakfast Saturday morning and received a loud ovation from a packed room.

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FERGUSON FILE: An investigation into whether U.S. Rep. Drew Ferguson voted illegally in the 2022 elections is still awaiting resolution, the AJC’s Mark Niesse tells us.

The inquiry began last December and remains open. Election investigations typically take months or years.

Credit: AJC

Credit: AJC

Ferguson, a Republican, voted in Troup County last year even though he lives 60 miles away in Pike County. He moved into a new home in 2022, according to a case sheet obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution through Georgia’s Open Records Act.

Ferguson voted in person in West Point in Troup County during last year’s primary, general and runoff elections.

Georgia law prohibits voters from casting ballots in counties where they don’t reside.

Earlier this year, a spokesman for Ferguson blamed the congressman’s votes in Troup County on an “administrative error” but did not provide details.

The State Election Board has the power to refer complaints to the attorney general’s office, levy fines and issue reprimands.

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TODAY IN WASHINGTON:

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Credit: Jenni Girtman for the AJC

Credit: Jenni Girtman for the AJC

ROLLING THROUGH. Protect our Care, a progressive advocacy organization focused on making health care more affordable, is in the midst of a bus tour that will hit 16 states over four weeks. Monday was Georgia’s turn.

U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, D-Marietta, and state Sen. Sheikh Rahman, D-Lawrenceville, joined the group during a stop in Duluth. McBath spoke about the $35 per month cap on insulin costs for people on Medicare that became law as part of last year’s Inflation Reduction Act.

“Life-saving medicine should never be kept out of reach of those who need it most,” McBath said in a post on social media about the event.

Later, the bus traveled south to Macon where state House Minority Leader James Beverly, D-Macon, headlined a second event.

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TRANSGENDER CARE. A federal judge on Sunday temporarily blocked Georgia’s new law that bans certain treatments for transgender children. U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Geraghty ruled the legislation should not go into effect while a lawsuit makes its way through the legal system, the AJC’s Maya T. Prabhu reports.

Geraghty said the law violates the 14th Amendment right of equal protection because it discriminates against transgender minors by stopping them from receiving hormone treatment.

Credit: YouTube

Credit: YouTube

Geraghty’s decision allows transgender minors on hormone therapy to resume treatment, a practice that had been banned as of July 1. However, the repeal might be temporary.

The state, which has defended its law, is likely to appeal to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. On Monday, an 11th Circuit panel of three judges, all appointed by former President Donald Trump, overruled a temporary injunction on a similar law in Alabama and restored a ban on hormone treatments for minors.

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Credit: Courtesy photo

Credit: Courtesy photo

DOG OF THE DAY. Does the news of the day ever make you want to crawl back in bed? If so, this one’s for you.

Laika Smith calls AJC subscriber Terri Smith her person. Laika now lives in Sharpsburg but was originally adopted from Royal Animal Refuge in Tyrone.

A reliable source tells us that Laika and Terri read The Jolt every morning, and at least one of them occasionally goes back to bed to recharge after a spin in Georgia’s racing news cycle.

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