- 2030 Project
- Posts
- Trump's Influence in Georgia is Declining, While Democrats are Preparing For the Fight Ahead
Trump's Influence in Georgia is Declining, While Democrats are Preparing For the Fight Ahead
In partnership with
The best HR advice comes from people who’ve been in the trenches.
That’s what this newsletter delivers.
I Hate it Here is your insider’s guide to surviving and thriving in HR, from someone who’s been there. It’s not about theory or buzzwords — it’s about practical, real-world advice for navigating everything from tricky managers to messy policies.
Every newsletter is written by Hebba Youssef — a Chief People Officer who’s seen it all and is here to share what actually works (and what doesn’t). We’re talking real talk, real strategies, and real support — all with a side of humor to keep you sane.
Because HR shouldn’t feel like a thankless job. And you shouldn’t feel alone in it.
✅This Week in GA
Georgia Democrats place affordability at the center of their campaigns as November elections get closer
House Democrats Rep. Eric Gisler (D-Watkinsville), Rep. Spencer Frye (D-Athens), and House Minority Whip David Wilkerson (D-Powder Springs) moderated a town hall located at the Bogart Library on August 11th. The focus of many conversations revolved around taxes, housing cuts, and local government as a whole. This specific town hall was a stop in Wilkerson’s tour across the state to create more effective policies for Georgians at the Capitol. These conversations and town halls give Democrats the opportunity to develop an economic message that fights for all Georgians ahead of the November elections.
A Georgia school district is facing a major leadership shake up after Governor Kemp removed the entire school board.
As a result of Dublin City Schools facing significant financial problems, Governor Kemp suspended all seven of the school board’s members via an executive order. This dismissal comes soon after a unanimous recommendation from the Georgia Board of Education issued last week. This unusual intervention by Governor Kemp raises questions about the balance of state oversight of local school systems and where the limit lies of local control over education.
New poll shows Georgia’s gubernatorial race is tightening
A new poll shows Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms and Republican Rick Jackson essentially tied among likely voters. This open seat will determine the direction of state politics for years to come. This poll only emphasizes the importance of mobilization for Georgia Democrats before November’s election. The outcome of this election will depend on the ability of Georgia Democrats to stay engaged, organize within communities, and turn support into direct action.
Moving Georgia Forward: Investing in Public Transportation
“A society - any society - is defined as a set of mutual benefits and duties embodied most visibly in public institutions: public schools, public libraries, public transportation, public hospitals, public parks, public museums, public recreation, public universities, and so on.” - Robert Reich, former United States Secretary of Labor.
It is our duty to create a functioning society for ourselves but also for future generations. With no functioning public systems, is there a functioning society? The answer to that isn’t black or white, it’s grey. So far, the state of Georgia has functioned and profited with a broken public transportation system. In 2026, Georgia’s GDP has already reached $717.4B, which is only a 2.2% increase from the last five years. So, Georgia has done a pretty good job in exceeding economic expectations.
However, the residents of Georgia bear the brunt of our society’s shortcomings. Georgia residents are struggling with public transportation. Most of Georgia’s essential resources lie in the heart of the state: Atlanta. With the new closures in rural hospitals and healthcare facilities, rural families have to commute at least one hour to receive the proper care and treatment. However, it doesn’t stop there.
The increase in traffic in metro Atlanta makes everyday commute a stressful experience. Traffic times exceed at least 45 minutes to a destination that should only be 20 minutes away. Residents are hoping for an expansion in public transportation services. In fact, the city of Atlanta and MARTA were hoping to expand to the metro Atlanta counties of Fulton, DeKalb, Gwinnett, Clayton, and Cobb. However, voters in Cobb and Gwinnett County voted against the proposal. The proposal included a 1% sales tax increase to cover the funding of MARTA expansion but voters were not pleased with the proposal.
The issue isn’t multifaceted, it’s pretty simple. Georgia residents desire public transportation as a means to alleviate travel concerns. However, their needs may be overlooked in the grand scheme of things. Instead of leaving the issue of public transportation to the counties and individual cities, the state government should step in. Allocate more funding to public transportation services and create more opportunities for people. If the state is going to deprive rural residents of essential resources, provide for them with alternative, efficient ways to receive what they deserve. Public transportation is the health of our society. It’s the veins that run through the body of Georgia.
We have a great economy, but we can be even better if our society functions at the benefit of our residents.
Georgia's 2026 Election Is Becoming a Test of Trump's Influence
Georgia's 2026 elections are shaping up to be a test not only of President Donald Trump's influence over the Republican Party, but of how far Georgia voters are willing to embrace the MAGA movement at the ballot box.
Trump's influence was evident in the Republican Senate runoff, where his preferred candidate, Rep. Mike Collins, defeated former football coach Derek Dooley. Collins has embraced Trump's political agenda and repeated his false claims about the 2020 election, calling it "legitimately rigged."
Trump himself attacked Dooley for acknowledging that Joe Biden won Georgia in 2020. Collins' victory suggests that loyalty to Trump remains a powerful force within Georgia's Republican primary electorate.
Yet, there are signs that Trump's endorsement is not enough to guarantee victory.
In Michigan's 8th Congressional District, Trump-backed candidate Amir Hassan received only 33.2% of the vote, losing to Thomas J. Smith, a candidate who had already suspended his campaign. Smith received 50.4%, delivering a surprising rebuke to Trump and MAGA Republicans.
Georgia's Senate race may provide an even greater challenge. Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff has secured endorsements from former Republican Sen. Jeff Flake and Republican mayors Scott James Matheson of Valdosta and Julie Smith of Tifton.
Flake cited Ossoff's character, constituent service and respect for democratic institutions, while Matheson said he could not "turn his back" on his relationship with Ossoff.
For Democrats, these endorsements offer an opportunity to build a coalition beyond the traditional Democratic base. Ossoff's appeal to moderates and independents could be particularly important in a state like Georgia where close elections have become the norm.
In November, Georgia's election will reveal whether Trump's brand of politics can win over the broader electorate, or whether voters are ready to reject the extremism and election denialism that have increasingly defined the Republican Party.
The Fight Over Flock Cameras Is Happening in Our Own Backyard
You may have recently seen footage online of cameras being shattered, shot, or otherwise vandalized. That's the public backlash against Flock Safety cameras, and Georgia is at the center of it.
Flock Safety is headquartered in Atlanta. The company that makes these automated license plate readers, now deployed by thousands of law enforcement agencies nationwide, is a Georgia company, and Georgia communities are where much of this fight is playing out up close.
What is a Flock camera? They're automated license plate readers (ALPRs) that capture a vehicle's plate, make, model, and color, logging them in a searchable database. That database is primarily used by law enforcement, but private companies can access it too, putting some of that data completely outside government oversight.
This has raised serious privacy concerns. Decatur's City Commission held a work session specifically on the issue, with one council member saying, "we don't want to enhance operational efficiency at the expense of people's rights". In Atlanta, Mayor Andre Dickens has ordered a 30-day review of the police department's use of the system after advocacy groups planned a week of action against the company.
The concerns aren't hypothetical. This summer, five Albany police officers were fired for allegedly misusing Flock, and eight Metro Atlanta officers were suspended over similar policy violations. Meanwhile, a Lumpkin County sheriff is offering a $1,000 reward after a camera in his county was vandalized, a sign of just how heated this debate has become on the ground.
Facing this pressure, Flock announced it's shortening its data retention window from 30 days to 7, according to Atlanta News First. Whether that's a genuine step toward accountability or an attempt to get ahead of lawmakers is a fair question.
And to be clear, the benefits are real. Flock cameras have helped recover stolen vehicles, locate missing children, and crack kidnapping cases. There is an upside, and it streamlines the job for law enforcement.
This new technology’s profound power in our criminal justice system is exactly why regulation is needed. This level of responsibility should not be contingent on a for-profit company's internal policy, especially one based here in Georgia. It needs a warrant standard, audit logs, retention limits, and real consequences for misuse. That has to be written into law, not left to a vendor's discretion.
The New York Times,
For most Americans, the Iran War has become another line item in the affordability crisis, a costly, open-ended conflict many hadn't expected to still be paying for. But to Navy sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, it is a pervasive, all-consuming reality that has dictated every aspect of their lives for more than 260 days.
Fourteen days into the war, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said Iran's military had been "destroyed" and rendered "combat ineffective." Weeks later, he went further, declaring that "Operation Epic Fury was a historic and overwhelming victory" and that the U.S. had "achieved every single objective." Sen. Jon Ossoff pressed Hegseth on those exact claims in a recent Senate hearing.
Those declarations of complete victory haven't matched what's unfolding aboard the ship carrying out that mission. According to The Guardian, the USS Abraham Lincoln has now set the modern record for the longest time at sea without a port call. The nuclear aircraft carrier can run for months without refueling, but port calls are still essential for maintenance and resupply. In recent weeks, the ship has faced supply shortages and plumbing problems as a result.
More seriously, Navy Times and Stars and Stripes have both reported multiple sailors attempting to go overboard during the deployment. Families of the sailors have expressed outrage over the conditions. President Trump's response was to call the reporting "fake news reporting from CNN." That response is worth sitting with. The administration sent service members into a war that bypassed congressional approval, kept them at sea past every modern record, and is now facing reports that some of those sailors are in crisis. Rather than address the conditions families are describing, the President dismissed the coverage outright.
Service members and their families deserve a direct accounting of what's happening aboard that ship, not a press conference talking point.
U.S.S Abraham Lincoln, Wikipedia
The 2030 Project Team Appreciation Dinner in Atlanta!
A huge thank you to former State Senator Jason Esteves for joining us for our (partial!) team dinner in Atlanta!
This Monday, students from Emory, Georgia Tech, Georgia State, and UGA gathered at Gio's Italian. We dove into a delicious Italian dinner, and ok – talked some campaign strategy too. Guilty as charged!
When we aren't carbo-loading, The 2030 Project is working tirelessly behind the scenes to flip our five Battleground State House seats. We are knocking doors, building websites, organizing events, and leading peer-to-peer outreach across our districts.
We were so grateful to gather and celebrate our team. Stay tuned for photos from next week's Athens/Oconee team dinner! Let's keep working hard to flip Georgia blue!
What’s Inspiring Us This Week:
A new weekly feature, written by one of our interns. Because we all need a pick-me-up.
Soccer in Sanford
Tonight, for the first time in months, students at the University of Georgia will flock to Sanford Stadium to watch the Bulldogs compete between the hedges. But it won’t be Kirby Smart, Gunner Stockton, or anyone else on the football team getting cheered on, instead it will be UGA’s women’s soccer team.
Sanford Stadium has hosted legendary college football games, sold out concerts, and was the site of the gold medal soccer games at the 1996 Olympics. Yet, despite the venue’s legacy and prestige, aside from seven Saturdays in the fall, the University of Georgia’s 93,000 seat stadium goes largely unused.
As a student at UGA, I’ve always found it kind of eerie to see a building of that scale sit empty for months on end right smack in the middle of campus. It always felt to me as if UGA should take advantage of having access to a venue of that caliber. Now, for the first time since the 1996 Olympics, a sport other than football will be played between the hedges.
In honor of the 30th anniversary of the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team taking home the gold in the 1996 Olympics, UGA’s women’s team will host James Madison University at Sanford Stadium, the very site of the U.S.W.N.T’s historic 1996 victory.
Tickets are free to all, and UGA students are incredibly excited to catch a game in Sanford, regardless of what sport is being played. Women’s soccer has been growing in popularity in recent years and an event of this scale is sure to add to the hype.
While the game tonight will of course revolve around competition, the event itself represents so much more. Tonight, a community of Georgians will walk into a sacred and cherished venue for the first time in months not just to cheer on the Bulldogs, but also to celebrate the history and growth of women’s soccer.
-Isaac, Intern, The 2030 Project
Until next time,
Fund year-round organizing. Flip the GA State Legislature.
1,000,000 Men Use This. You Probably Know One.
Most men don't think about their skin until eye bags, dark spots, and wrinkles show up at once. Particle Face Cream is a groundbreaking men's formula that fights all three, while also restoring firmness and hydrating deeply. No complicated routine. Trusted by over a million men. 30-day money-back guarantee. 20% off with code BH20.