#gapol

The @AJC's politics account is now at @GAPoliticsNews.

[Greg Bluestein @bluestein]

Gov. Kemp on whether MARTA is ready for the World Cup: "From the whole city perspective, we are communicating with them daily, and have been for almost two years now, on the security plan. If anybody needs additional resources, all they've got to do is call and ask us. We've also got National Guard assets, all our state assets, everything that the city is doing. We'll do anything anybody wants us to do." #gapol

[Greg Bluestein @bluestein]

Democrats in one of Georgia's most diverse districts say the one-two punch is galvanizing their supporters.
“This area has been gerrymandered so many times that enough is enough.” https://t.co/SoVXBUQrmK

[Greg Bluestein @bluestein]

Republican Senate candidate Derek Dooley in Sandy Springs on his case for electability against Sen. Ossoff:

“His goal is to keep Mike on defense, so the spotlight never goes back on him. And he knows he can’t do that to me. We're going on offense on him and his record.” #gapol

[Greg Bluestein @bluestein]

Georgia legislative leaders are turning up the pressure on MARTA after several violent attacks on the transit system, demanding answers just days before Atlanta begins hosting matches for the FIFA World Cup. #gapol

https://t.co/yVlUxStuBc

[Greg Bluestein @bluestein]

Lt. Gov. Burt Jones is also embracing Kemp even as he trumpets Trump’s endorsement.
“You always know where he is on things,” he told me. “That’s probably the best thing about his leadership. There’s no guessing, because once he makes a decision, he sticks with it. I’m very similar in that regard.”

[Greg Bluestein @bluestein]

Also in the updated special session order: a potential vehicle for Republicans to goose turnout this November thru a property tax measure …. #gapol

[Greg Bluestein @bluestein]

The Trump administration will investigate MARTA after two stabbing attacks on the system, including the killing of a 66-year-old woman on Saturday.

https://t.co/BVAdbFtyUX

[Greg Bluestein @bluestein]

Gov. Kemp has amended his special session order to address to ratify his earlier decision to suspend the gas tax. #gapol

[David Wickert @dwickert]

Top Georgia politicians rake in cash as lawsuits that could stop them drag on.
Critics say a Georgia law allowing some candidates to skirt contribution limits gives them an unfair advantage.
https://t.co/GTLv0dYuj2

[Greg Bluestein @bluestein]

If successful, the lawsuit will invalidate the new law and restore partisan elections to all five affected counties, each of which is represented by a Black Democratic woman serving as district attorney.

https://t.co/VE0TieE0fD

[Atlanta Journal-Constitution @ajc]

U.S. House District 12: Democrats in runoff vie to challenge Rick Allen https://t.co/aKVbfy0qPo

[Greg Bluestein @bluestein]

A group of metro Atlanta district attorneys just launched a challenge to a new Georgia law that could reshape politics across metro Atlanta by making it harder for Democrats to hold onto power in the state’s most populous region. #gapol

https://t.co/zCKEoEGEob

[Greg Bluestein @bluestein]

One of the last Kemp Republicans left standing in these statewide midterms …

https://t.co/VLmIms6ZGx

[Atlanta Journal-Constitution @ajc]

Georgia Senate GOP runoff to test whether Gov. Kemp’s formula still works https://t.co/STDc1e0oUI

[Greg Bluestein @bluestein]

Democratic nominee Keisha Lance Bottoms is trying to turn Gov. Kemp’s decision to let the state’s gas tax suspension expire into a November issue, urging GOP rivals to support another extension and tying higher fuel costs to the war with Iran. #gapol https://t.co/9pQvZ6Ddiq

[Greg Bluestein @bluestein]

Elsewhere, a rare Democratic split: Warnock is backing Penny Brown Reynolds in the secretary of state runoff while Abrams is supporting Dana Barrett. It’s one of the rare times the two have landed on opposite sides of a competitive statewide race. #gapol

[Greg Bluestein @bluestein]

It’s a familiar playbook.

In 2022, Stacey Abrams pressured Kemp to extend a gas tax holiday and even plastered more than 5,500 gas pumps with ads. And Raphael Warnock backed a federal gas tax holiday as both parties fought to channel voter frustration over fuel prices. #gapol

[Greg Bluestein @bluestein]

Collins argues GOP voters don’t want another electability lecture. They want a pro-Trump fighter who reflects the party’s mood and can get things done.

The runoff is a test of where Republicans are headed: Kemp-style leadership or a MAGA-driven path. https://t.co/VLmIms6ZGx

[Greg Bluestein @bluestein]

Derek Dooley entered Georgia’s U.S. Senate race as a political novice. Now he may be one of the last statewide and most prominent standard-bearers for the GOP’s mainstream wing. 1/ #gapol

[Greg Bluestein @bluestein]

Dooley’s argument: Republicans need more than base turnout to beat Jon Ossoff. They need a nominee who can win crossover voters who have shaped every election since 2018.

“The question is, who’s the kind of candidate who can unite the most people under his tent?” he told me.