Midterm election battle for control of the House of Representatives begins in earnest
In urging Texas to redraw its district maps, President Donald Trump has started an arms race that Republicans may come to regret.
After months of attack ads and sharp comments, the 15 candidates seeking to become Georgia’s next governor finally took the debate stage on Monday.
Early voting will begin on the same day and continue through May 15, leading up to Election Day on May 19. A potential runoff election is scheduled for June.
The current Republican governor, Brian Kemp, has served two terms but is not running for re-election, creating a crowded field of candidates to replace him, with Republicans chasing Republicans and Democrats seeking to win the state seat.
Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, former Republican lieutenant governor turned Democrat Jeff Duncan, and longtime Georgia state representative Mike Thurmond are leading Democratic polls in the gubernatorial race. In addition to them, Ol Brown, Amanda Duffy and Derrick Jackson are also on the ballot, as well as Jason Estevez, who is speeding up in time for the primary.
The Republican Party is led by Georgia’s current lieutenant governor, Bert Jones, who is supported by President Trump, and healthcare CEO Rick Jackson, who entered the race late due to his vast wealth. Others hoping to finish high on the ballot include Attorney General Chris Carr, Clark Dean, Greg Kirkpatrick, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, Tom Williams and Ken Yasger.
Both parties held a debate Monday through the Atlanta Press Club that covered many of the same topics impacting Georgians today, including affordability, access to health care and American interventionism, but the outcome of the event was very different.
Democrats almost agree on major issues
Overall, Democratic candidates were largely in agreement on some of the key issues that outlined the party.
They support expanding Medicaid, reinvesting in rural hospitals and local doctors, repealing six-week abortion bans and heart-stopping laws, prioritizing education, securing elections, and winning over Republicans.
Candidates also emphasized a desire to change the tax code and minimum wage to combat the affordability crisis.
The first apparent conflict occurred in a section of the debate where candidates were asked to ask questions of each other. After Mr. Estevez’s outspoken opposition to Mr. Duncan and his past record as a senior conservative in Georgia, Mr. Duncan asked Mr. Estevez if he would support any Democratic candidate in the party’s November election.
“I think we all need to agree that Democrats have to win this election,” Duncan said. “If the Republicans win, it will be a big deal.”
“Look, I support whoever the candidate is. I believe the people of this great state will nominate me,” Estevez responded. “The reality is, when I look at the changes in myself, I’m grateful that you joined the Democratic Party, but the problem isn’t change. The problem is your record.”
Estevez went on to point out that Duncan has previously supported anti-abortion laws and bans on carry-on-campus guns, which he called “some of the worst legislation we’ve seen in the last 10 years.” Mr. Duncan later addressed the bills in a debate, saying he was wrong and ready to work to correct his earlier voting mistakes.
“You don’t join a church and say you want to be the lead pastor the next month,” Estevez said.
Estevez stabs Lance Bottoms
In perhaps the only sharp attack between the candidates, Mr. Estevez asked Mr. Bottoms to question him about the death of an 8-year-old girl while Mr. Bottoms was mayor of Atlanta.
“Secoriea Turner, who attended Atlanta Public Schools when I was chairman, was shot and killed after you had gang members take over a city block in Atlanta and told police not to intervene,” Estevez instructed Bottoms. “What do you think your actions as mayor will change?”
Estevez was referring to the July 4, 2020 incident in which Julian Conley fired an AR-15-style rifle at a Jeep attempting to bypass a barricade set up by suspected gang members, killing Turner. Turner and his mother were in the car, and Turner died.
The barricade was erected by members of the Bloods street gang and their associates in the wake of the police shooting of Rayshard Brooks. The officer in the case was fired and charged with felony murder, but was ultimately reinstated by the city’s Civil Service Commission. Bottoms told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution at the time that she wanted to remove the barricades, but agreed to allow council members to negotiate with the group in hopes of finding a peaceful resolution. If no one could be reached, the area was cleared and the protesters removed by Atlanta police.
“The death of any child is especially heartbreaking. As a mother of four, I felt the death of Secoriea Turner deeply,” Bottoms said during the debate. “However, it is unfortunate that you lied when you claim to be a leader in education. Mr. Estevez, you lied.”
Bottoms went on to say that he is not “allowing” gangs to “take over the block,” but that 2020 was one of the “toughest times” in recent history, as the city worked together to weather the COVID-19 pandemic and the early protests that erupted from the death of George Floyd in Minnesota.
“I made all the decisions that I thought were the best decisions at the time. But when you’re faced with the death of any child, you can’t help but wonder if things could have been different.”
In response, Estevez urged voters to “look at the facts for themselves,” noting that Bottoms is named as a defendant in the wrongful death lawsuit.
Republicans quickly turn on each other
The Republican gubernatorial debate, held just an hour later, quickly devolved into a barrage of personal attacks and jabs between all the candidates and the two leaders in the polls.
Both Rick Jackson and Bert Jones spend much of their political capital on advertising and social media posts, and their fight easily spilled over into the debate stage.
Tom Williams, who had never held public office before running for governor, said he wants to outlaw leadership PACs, a way to raise campaign funds without clear fundraising limits. Multiple Republican candidates, including Bert Jones, have benefited from these groups.
Williams doubled down on his beliefs in response to questions, citing multiple lawsuits filed against Jones for using his position as lieutenant governor to funnel money to his campaign.
“I don’t think you should have the ability to raise money during a session when you’re trying to pass a bill. And when you’re the only insider who can do that… it just shows that the internal nature of some of the rules is for some people and not for others,” Jackson continued, referring to Jones.
Jones responded that the lawsuit stems from a strategy by former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, but said, “Someone who spends $20 million through C4 to hide his identity and then spends $100 million trying to buy a governor’s seat is just ridiculous, and I feel like that’s an unfair advantage.”
Mr. Jackson has repeatedly said he is not beholden to outside interests as he invests his own wealth in his own campaign, and has denied that Mr. Jackson sponsored a series of attack ads against Jones that were run before he publicly entered the race.
Mr. Jones also went after Mr. Jackson over immigration, when, hours before the debate, the New York Post accused Mr. Jackson of using undocumented immigrant labor at his Cumming, Georgia, mansion. He is accused of not checking workers’ work permits before hiring them, the newspaper said.
“You know, Mr. Jackson, you claim to be the president’s choice, but you donate to Liz Cheney. You claim to be pro-life, but you profit by sending doctors and nurses to organizations like Planned Parenthood. Last but not least, on illegal aliens, you claim to be ‘tough on illegal deportations,’ but there are illegal aliens working in your backyard as we speak right now,” Jones said in a section where candidates could ask questions of each other. “So, my question to you is, who is the real Rick Jackson?”
Jackson responded by saying he has never accepted money from Planned Parenthood or for doctors to perform transgender surgeries on minors, and said if elected he would make Georgia the “number one” state for deporting “illegal criminals.”
When Jones asked Jackson again if illegal immigrants were working. In the end, Jackson answered, “I don’t know.”
“Here’s why. You’re talking about someone’s hired domestic workers. I hire thousands a year, Bart,” Jackson said.
Who will come out on top in Jackson vs. Jones?
The apparent conflict between Mr. Jones and Mr. Jackson continued throughout the debate, to the point where even other Republican candidates urged voters to choose someone who could be a “good person.”
Other candidates, including Carr and Raffensperger, joined the fray at various points, but Jones and Jackson continued to point their answers toward each other when asked about other topics.
When Mr. Carr was given the opportunity to ask questions, he chose to ask Mr. Jackson to explain Mr. Jones’ campaign finance issues, rather than asking Mr. Jones directly or any of the other candidates.
So who will benefit from the division of the MAGA base by Jackson and Jones? Probably the Democratic Party.
After a special election in Georgia’s 14th Congressional District, the party is gaining momentum heading into the primary, with Gov. Kemp warning other Republicans not to get distracted.
With multiple races possible, polls show Bottoms is likely to be the Democratic nominee, defeating Jackson, Jones and Raffensperger.
With Jones calling Jackson a fake Republican in a message and Jackson calling Jones corrupt in a message, the real winner could be who he faces in November.
Eileen Wright is an Atlanta Connect reporter for USA Today’s Deep South Connect team, covering midterm races in Georgia. X Find her at @IreneEWright or email her at ismith@usatodayco.com.
