The Russian invasion of Ukraine has quickly become a mainstay of the political back-and-forth in Georgia. But not in the way you might expect.
While some Republicans are highlighting fears of higher inflation and turbo-charged fuel prices, GOP officials and activists have seemed just as likely to invoke the war as reason to roll back firearms restrictions.
At the state Capitol this week, several Republican lawmakers talked ominously of Russia’s menace as a prime reason to adopt a proposal that allows Georgians to carry a concealed handgun without first getting a state license.
“I would be willing to bet you today that 99% of the people of Ukraine would give anything that they have to have a Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms,” said state Sen. Lindsey Tippins, a Marietta Republican.
And former U.S. Sen. David Perdue’s campaign brought up Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s attack when pressed on why he plans to attend U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s pro-gun rally despite her cooperation with white nationalists.
“This event is about highlighting the need to protect the Second Amendment and expand our God-given right to bear arms,” said Perdue spokeswoman Jenni Sweat.
“Given the invasion in Ukraine, we see the need to protect it now more than ever.”
Georgia Democrats have also linked Ukraine’s plight to their most pressing priorities.
Stacey Abrams faced a torrent of criticism from Gov. Brian Kemp and other conservatives for her comments on The Daily Show this week. Republicans accused her of attempting to tie her support for expanded voting rights to the widening conflict.
‘My focus should never be on who you cast your ballot for. Voting itself, the process is nonpartisan. We are a stronger nation when we allow people to participate,” she said.
“And if we ever doubted that -- the war that Putin is waging against Ukraine, President Zelensky said that -- I’m going to paraphrase him probably poorly -- he said this isn’t a war on Ukraine, this is a war on democracy in Ukraine.
“When we allow democracy to be overtaken by those who want to choose who can be heard, and those choices are not based on anything other than animus or inconvenience, then that is wrong.’”
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UNDER THE GOLD DOME:
- 8:00 a.m.: Committee hearings begin;
- 9:30 a.m.: The House meets;
- 10:00 a.m.: The Senate convenes.
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In the Capitol Thursday:
- The state Senate unanimously passed the roughly $30 billion midyear “baby budget,” complete with raises and bonuses for about 300,000 state, university and k-12 employees;
- The state House passed HB 1175 to allow the sale of unpasteurized milk for human consumption, after a few warnings from veterinarian and Democratic state Rep. Rebecca Mitchell. Drink responsibly.
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We’re keeping an eye on:
* The state House floor Friday for a vote on House Bill 1084, legislation that would control what teachers say about “divisive topics” like race, in public school classrooms;
* The Coosa Valley Fairgrounds Saturday, where Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene will hold her “Shall Not Be Infringed” gun rights rally. Herschel Walker has said he will not attend, but former Sen. David Perdue is still on the program.
And get out your beard grooming tools, because Donald Trump. Jr. will be in Atlanta Monday to campaign for the former senator, too.
Since Trump Jr. tends to track very closely to Trump Sr. with his messaging, expect plenty of Brian Kemp bashing at the four Georgia stops he’s announced with Perdue.
While we’re on the subject of that endlessly fascinating race, be sure to see Greg Bluestein’s latest piece on the split the race is causing in the state’s most powerful political machine.
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The latest caravan of truckers to protest coronavirus restrictions is set to arrive in Georgia today. And Republican Mike Collins, the frontrunner for Georgia’s 10th District, is set to join the convoy with his big rig.
Collins, who owns Collins Trucking Co. and other businesses, plans to meet up with the Overhaul DC Trucker Convoy in Dacula on Friday before it stops for the night in Braselton.
It’s one of several caravans modeled after the Canadian protests that aimed for Washington to end government mandates on masks and vaccinations.
“Truth is, Washington D.C. needs a few more blue collar truckers who know what it’s like to fight for their business, freedoms and way of life,” Collins said.
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A Fox 5/Insider Advantage poll released Thursday reinforced some key dynamics in Georgia’s top races.
The poll showed Gov. Brian Kemp leading David Perdue 44-35 among likely Republican primary voters, with 15% undecided. That mirrors other surveys that showed Kemp leading, but Perdue within striking distance.
Senate GOP frontrunner Herschel Walker, meanwhile, continues to run away from the competition. Walker was at 62% in the GOP primary, while the other candidates were in single digits. About 19% were undecided.
Other polls have shown Walker between 60% and 80% of the vote. Walker’s rivals can only take solace that he wasn’t pushing 80% in this one.
“We’ve got him right where we want him,” said one GOP operative, putting his best spin on a disastrous showing for his candidate.
In the race for lieutenant governor, the poll pegged state Sen. Burt Jones with 32% of the vote and Butch Miller at 14%. More than half of respondents – 51% – had not yet decided or had no opinion.
Jones released a new ad Thursday with a not-entirely new idea-- eliminating the state income tax.
Former Sen. David Perdue has also tried to make that a top issue in his challenge to Gov. Brian Kemp.
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Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan may not be running for reelection in 2022, but he’s still spending money on the next election through Advance Georgia, Inc., the independent committee he set up last cycle to support state Senate candidates.
The group raised and spent more than $2 million in 2020-- -- and is already active in 2022 primary races for GOP state Sens. Kay Kirkpatrick, Chuck Payne and Brian Strickland. This week, they added state Sen. Chuck Hufstetler to the list.
The spending so far includes text, digital and glossy mailers and is heavy on conservative-friendly messages on public safety and law enforcement.
Duncan isn’t the only high-profile Republican spending in 2022, even when he won’t be up for election.
Former U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler announced this week she’s partnering with GOP state senators on a leadership committee that will “immediately begin to build a seven-figure, statewide field operation to support conservative candidates with full-time staff and resources ahead of November.”
Separately, Loeffler is continuing to plow resources into “Greater Georgia,” a conservative voter mobilization group to register and turnout voters ahead of the 2022 elections. The group went up Thursday with a statewide digital and SMS media buy to recruit volunteers for the year-round operation.
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The political organization founded by Stacey Abrams is warning of new legislative efforts to restrict voting rights, control how educators teach about race and scale back criminal justice reforms.
“We have to stay engaged and keep voting so we can keep moving forward for our people,” says the narrator in the Fair Fight Action ad, which features four young Black men discussing the issues.
It ends by pushing viewers to visit PeachVote.com to create a plan to cast their ballot, echoing the message that Joe Biden and other Democrats pressed in 2020 to “make a plan.”
The digital campaign is financed by a six-figure ad buy and will run through March 15 – the key Crossover Day legislative deadline.
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In endorsement news:
- Former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin backed Charlie Bailey’s bid for lieutenant governor. She said she backed the Democrat because “he has worked to make our communities safer, and I know he will fight to reform our criminal justice system, expand access to health care, and stand up for every single Georgian.”
- Rich McCormick, a Republican candidate in the 6th Congressional District, will once again have the backing of the big spending Club for Growth, a conservative political committee. McCormick also has the backing of Florida U.S. Rep. Michael Waltz, a former Green Beret.
- Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has endorsed Herschel Walker in the GOP primary for Georgia’s U.S. Senate race.
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Mark Gonsalves, who finished a distant third in the Republican primary for Georgia’s 7th Congressional District in 2020, said he will run for the seat again this year.
The new district lines make it nearly impossible for a Republican to win the general election, but Gonsalves is among several GOP members who say they want to compete anyway. The real estate investor will hold a campaign kickoff event next week.
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Our sympathies to U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, whose great-aunt, Autherine Lucy Foster has died.
Foster, who was 92, was the first Black student to attend the University of Alabama. According to an obituary in the New York Times, Foster’s tenure at the school initially lasted just three days in 1956 but long enough for her to be attacked, suspended and expelled. The school of education’s building on campus was recently named in Foster’s honor.
“I’m grateful to have spent time last week with my aunt, witnessing her receive this fitting recognition,” Williams said in a news release. “I will continue to carry on her legacy to fulfill the promise of America, for everyone.”
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Since it’s Friday, we’ve got your weekend reading list:
- Wednesday’s Political Insider column, “Witnesses at the Legislature? Yes. Experts? Maybe not”;
- Jamie DuPree’s Thursday column from Washington, “GOP hits Biden on energy after Ukraine invasion”;
- And a look at Sunday’s Political Insider column, “A lawmaker, a family, a crisis.”
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And even if you missed this week’s annual House vs. Senate kickball game, you should not miss the video of future USG chancellor Sonny Perdue walloping a kick up the middle. Perdue, 75 and still kickin’, will assume his new duties April 1st.
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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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