Peach State Politics (April 16, 2021)
Warnock builds coffers as GOP opponents emerge, McBath & Bourdeaux post Q1 hauls ahead of redistricting, Vernon Jones to primary Kemp, Jen Jordan to run for AG, This Week in Washington, and more
Happy Friday, everyone! We have reached the end of another busy week in Georgia politics, so it’s time to go over some of the week’s biggest headlines. Sen. Raphael Warnock (D) has not slowed down his fundraising efforts ahead of his re-election campaign. Reps. Lucy McBath (D-Marietta) and Carolyn Bourdeaux (D-Suwannee) have also posted strong fundraising hauls ahead of redistricting. Plus, two recognizable names are running statewide in 2022, and we will also take a look at this week’s news out of our nation’s capital. Let’s get started!
Warnock builds coffers as GOP opponents emerge
Over three months have passed since Rev. Raphael Warnock (D) defeated appointed Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R) in a bitter and expensive U.S. Senate runoff. But the Ebenezer Baptist Church pastor has not taken a break from fundraising since his historic victory.
This week, Warnock’s campaign announced that the Senator raised over $4.5 million since the runoff and ended the first quarter of 2021 with $5.6 million in his bank account.
The fundraising news comes as the Republican field to challenge Warnock in 2022 begins to take shape. Warnock, Georgia’s first Black U.S. Senator, has to campaign for the seat again next year because he won a special election to serve the remainder of an unexpired term.
Businessman Kelvin King, who owns a construction company with his wife in metro Atlanta, announced this week that he will run for the seat. And former Navy SEAL Latham Saddler, who served on former President Donald Trump’s National Security Council, also threw his hat into the ring. More Republicans are sure to follow.
McBath & Bourdeaux post Q1 hauls ahead of redistricting
In other fundraising news, Reps. Lucy McBath (D-Marietta) and Carolyn Bourdeaux (D-Suwannee) have posted their Q1 fundraising reports as Democrats gear up to defend their fragile House majority in 2022.
McBath, who represents Georgia’s 6th District, announced this week that she raised more than $800,000 in the first quarter of 2021 and has $750,000 on hand. A two-term incumbent, the gun control activist pulled off an upset in 2018 when she narrowly defeated Republican Rep. Karen Handel, who had won a hotly-contested special election in the suburban district just a year earlier. She defeated Handel again in a rematch in 2020.
Bourdeaux, who represents the neighboring 7th District, brought in more than $670,000 in the first three months of 2021 and has $680,000 in her bank account. A college professor, Bourdeaux came within 500 votes of flipping the Gwinnett-based district in 2018. The close race led GOP Rep. Rob Woodall to retire and Bourdeaux flipped the open seat in 2020. She was the only Democrat to flip a competitive district from red to blue in last year’s election.
The two suburban Democrats, who are top GOP targets, are reporting their quarterly fundraising figures ahead of redistricting, the once-in-a-decade process when state lawmakers convene to reconfigure congressional, legislative and other political boundaries. The process, which would normally be underway right about now, is delayed until the fall due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on census data.
Vernon Jones set to launch primary challenge to Kemp
Former State Rep. Vernon Jones, a Democrat-turned-Republican who has emerged as one of former President Donald Trump’s fiercest allies, is set to announce on Friday that he will run against Gov. Brian Kemp in next year’s Republican primary.
In the months following the presidential election, Kemp went from being a Trump ally to a Trump scapegoat after he certified Joe Biden’s narrow victory in the state despite the former President’s baseless claims of voter fraud.
However, the Governor has seen his numbers with Republican voters improve in the weeks following the signing of S.B 202, a controversial bill that dramatically changes the way Georgians cast their ballots.
In Jones, Kemp — a lifelong Republican, will face a recent party-switcher who has a Democratic voting record from his time in the Georgia House. In 2019, Jones sided with Democrats in opposition to a bill that would have outlawed most abortions in the state after six weeks of pregnancy.
It remains to be seen if the Republican base will have appetite for a recent party-switcher, but Trump has strongly encouraged someone to primary Kemp since the election. And his endorsement tends to be pretty powerful in Republican primaries, as Kemp himself can attest to.
Jen Jordan to run for AG
We learned this week that State Sen. Jen Jordan (D-Atlanta) is launching a bid to oust incumbent Attorney General Chris Carr (R). Jordan, a lawyer, has served in the Georgia Senate since 2017 and has been a leading voice against some of the most controversial bills passed by the Republican-controlled legislature.
But Jordan is not the only candidate in the race. Democrat Charlie Bailey, the 2018 nominee, is making another run after falling short in what was a razor-thin contest that year. And he’s got some pretty prominent endorsements: U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, former Gov. Roy Barnes, Fulton DA Fani Willis and Cobb DA Flynn Broady.
Jordan also has some noteworthy endorsements. DeKalb DA Sherry Boston, who is seen as a frontrunner to be the next Atlanta U.S. Attorney, is serving as chair of Jordan’s campaign committee. State Sen. Michelle Au (D-Johns Creek), Georgia’s first Chinese-American state senator, called Jordan an incredible mentor and a friend. “I’m honored to stand with her now,” she said.
If you missed my overview of the race, you can read it here.
This Week in Washington
It’s time to take a look at some of this week’s headlines out of our nation’s capital. Nearing the end of his first 100 days in office, President Biden is set address a joint session of Congress at the end of the month. And a Georgia lawmaker has introduced a bill to expand the size of the Supreme Court.
Biden honors a fallen Capitol Police Officer at memorial service
Speaker Pelosi invites Biden to address a joint session of Congress on April 28, just before his 100th day in office
Biden announces withdrawal from Afghanistan and sanctions on Russia
U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Lithonia) has signed onto an effort to expand the number of Justices on the U.S. Supreme Court
White House health officials scramble to ease fears over Johnson & Johnson vaccine pause
Fauci spars with conservative lightning rod Jim Jordan at congressional hearing
“Sen. Ossoff discusses deal to secure thousands of jobs in Ga.”
Julia Letlow, widow of Louisiana Republican who died of COVID-19, sworn into Congress after winning his seat in a special election
“CNBC survey shows support for infrastructure spending much less than previous stimulus”
Slow down, Atlanta: City to install 1,000 25 mph speed limit signs
Atlanta leaders are moving forward with a plan aiming to cut back on the number of traffic accidents.
Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms’ office announced this week that 1,000 new 25 miles per hour (mph) speed limit signs will be installed throughout the city.
“Nearly 75% of the city’s streets will be reduced to lower speeds when the sign installations are finished, according to the mayor’s office. Electronic message boards are being installed to alert drivers to the new speed limits.”
The sign replacement is part of a larger initiative to lower the number of fatal car accidents in a city that is consistently ranked one of the worst in the country when it comes to traffic. Mayor Bottoms said her office will continue to use every resource at their disposal to crack down on speeding throughout city streets.
Nonpartisan analysis: GA06 sees biggest shift to the left
An analysis from one of the top political forecasters in the country underscores the rapid transformation of Atlanta’s suburbs.
Georgia’s 6th District saw the biggest swing to the left of any congressional district in the entire country, according to the Cook Political Report’s Partisan Voting Index (PVI). The 6th went from R+8 to D+1 in Cook’s calculations. The 7th District isn’t that far behind, going from R+9 to R+2.
Both the 6th and the 7th have seen considerable shifts to the Democratic column in recent elections. Both districts were carried by Joe Biden after voting for Mitt Romney by over 20 points apiece eight years ago. The shifts can be attributed to Donald Trump’s unpopularity in suburban communities, as well as the rapid diversification of metro areas.
Local mayor accused of misusing CARES Act funds
A local mayor is facing investigations and calls to resign amid accusations that he misused funds appropriated to his city as part of the CARES Act in late 2020.
Jason Lary, the Mayor of a DeKalb County city called Stonecrest, is pushing back against accusations that he siphoned off some of the $6.2 million given to the city, insisting that the funds were used to help small businesses stay afloat during the pandemic.
State Sen. Emanuel Jones, who represents Stonecrest, is calling on the FBI and the Department of Justice to investigate the matter. He has also asked Gov. Brian Kemp to suspend Lary from office by executive order.
Lary, who is 59, is currently on medical leave as he undergoes cancer treatment but has made it clear that he has no plans to resign. “The voters put me in this seat and if they see fit for me not to be in this seat, they know what to do,” Lary said.
Georgia sets new vaccine goal
State health officials said this week that they would like to see 80% of all Georgians vaccinated by July 4.
While Georgia remains among the worst states in the country in terms of vaccination rates, Dr. Kathleen Toomey — the head of the Georgia Department of Public Health — insists that the state is making progress. She also says that her department is working to combat vaccine hesitancy.
“What we’re seeing is some hesitancy among communities of color, although we have been very successful in being able to reach those communities.”
- Dr. Kathleen Toomey
The announcement of the new goal comes after the pause of the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Nearly 7 million doses of the vaccine have been administered, but federal health leaders recommended a pause while they investigate cases of severe reactions to the vaccine. The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, both of which require two doses, are still in circulation.
Get well soon, Jovita
I want to close this week’s newsletter by sending well wishes to WSB-TV evening news anchor Jovita Moore.
On Thursday’s 4 p.m. newscast, WSB announced that Moore, a 20-year veteran at the station, has been diagnosed with 2 small brain tumors. The 52-year-old was last seen at the anchor desk on Monday, when she told her co-anchor Justin Farmer that she was not feeling well. She said things got worse that night when she almost passed out while walking into a grocery store. She is set to undergo surgery to remove the tumors on Friday morning.
State leaders from all across the political landscape took to social media on Thursday to wish Jovita well, including Gov. Brian Kemp, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and former gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams.
On a personal note, I had the pleasure of meeting Jovita a few years ago at a Democratic National Committee gala. She embodies all of the best qualities of an anchor and a journalist, and her smile truly does light up a room. I actually lost my father to brain tumors, so it’s been difficult for me to process the fact that one of my favorite journalists is now suffering from them.
I wish Jovita nothing but a successful surgery and a speedy recovery, and my heart is with her medical team and her colleagues at WSB. Jovita is a trailblazer and I know that she will be back on the air in no time.
If you would like to send Jovita your well wishes, please click here.