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Shaping Georgia’s Future: Candidates, Midterms, and the Cost of Shutdowns

Key Issues Take Center Stage at Oconee County Democratic Party Meeting

On September 18, 2025, the Oconee County Democratic party hosted a town hall with guest speakers Alicia Johnson, Public Service Commission, and Charlie Bailey, chair of the Georgia Democratic Party. During the meeting, the public service commission election, Georgia midterms, and Georgia centered issues were discussed. 

Alicia Johnson, Public Service Commission Candidate

Alicia Johnson emphasized her commitment to strengthening Georgia’s communities and workforce, highlighting how these efforts directly benefit residents and families. She explained that a key motivation behind her campaign is to hold the Public Service Commission accountable and ensure that every rate increase imposed on Georgians is fully justified. Johnson also underscored the financial burden passed on to consumers from Hurricane Helene, noting that corporations were given a “free ride” instead of bearing their share of responsibility. After presenting her platform, she opened the floor for audience questions. Below are the questions asked and Johnson’s responses:

• Q: Does the PSC oversee internet service providers?

• A: No, it doesn’t directly regulate broadband. However, they have a big influence on their expansion. 

• Q: What can the PSC do about the rapidly developing situation of AI data centers?

• A: It sets policies for the generation, transmission, and reliability. Controls how much of the costs are passed onto rate payers versus the shareholders. Demand DATA centers are paying for their own electricity and water. There are community agreements that require them to invest back into the communities. 

• Q: Is it true that states surrounding Georgia don't plan on having data centers because they don’t have the resources?

• A: States like Northern Virginia and Ohio are the largest data center market. Data centers are attracted to Georgia because they have a huge tax break. She’s asking for a demand/ask that they reinvest back into the community, impact assessments and audits done on them, they cover their chips.

  • Georgia has more planned data center projects than Virginia. 

• Q: Do you have the ability to call Georgia Power out on that?

• A: Yes, in ways that they have not done to date. 

  • All five republicans in PSC receive donations from Georgia Power. 

• Q: What has been effective messaging for you?

• A: “Folks bills are way too high.” She’s talked to seniors who do not to run their air because they have to choose between their electricity and other costs. 

Charlie Bailey, Chair of Georgia Democratic Party

Following Johnson’s remarks, the Oconee County Democratic Party welcomed Charlie Bailey, chair of the Georgia Democratic Party. Bailey immediately highlighted the importance of the upcoming 2026 Georgia midterms, noting that Republicans have maintained 22 years of uninterrupted control. He pointed out that, under Republican leadership, $540 million has been cut from rural hospital funding while billionaires receive $1 million annually in tax benefits.

Bailey’s solution to the disenfranchisement of rural communities is to elect as many Democrats across the entire state as possible. That means fighting for votes everywhere. He shared four main areas of focus to achieve this goal:

1. Implementing a “more is more” communication strategy. Messaging is more dispersed in 2025, and the party plans to catch up. The Georgia Democratic Party has already conducted 54-55 interviews and press conferences across the state in the last three months, to include local newspapers, radio, podcasts, and more.

2. Building opposition research department. Georgia Democrats have only had one research department for the last 20 years. Bailey plans to increase the amount and quality of research. 

3. Raising millions of dollars to spend directly in flipping seats. The party aims to provide direct financial support for competitive State House races, where there is a path to winning the majority by the end of the decade. There are currently 100 Republicans and 80 Democrats in the State House, meaning we need to flip 11 seats.

4. Building Organizing Infrastructure. Bailey intends to use the Public Service Commission race as a “dry run” to strengthen the party’s organizing capacity. The lessons learned will feed into long-term infrastructure building, positioning Democrats to compete more effectively statewide and contribute to a more balanced political landscape in Georgia.

As constituents, Bailey and Johnson encourage us to do these two things:

1.  Sign up to do organizing on the PSC. Below is an opportunity to sign up to phone bank next Thursday evening: https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/842700/

2. Canvasing. All you need is tennis shoes and a smile.

The Cost of a Shutdown: Democrats’ Dilemma and Republican Tactics

Republicans want to throw 15 million Americans off their health care, raise premiums for 20 million Americans, and refuse bipartisan negotiations to keep the government open.

A 60-40 vote is needed in the Senate to keep the government open. Republicans hold 53 seats, Democrats hold 47. 

Republicans are holding Democrats—and the government—hostage, forcing policies that cost the American people more while protecting their own financial interests. They are also framing this as an effort to “cut costs,” using it as justification to lay off federal workers during an already challenging economic period.

“Let’s be honest, if this thing drags on, we are going to have to lay people off,” says JD Vance after he leaves a White House meeting. 

It is a ploy for power by holding the government and the American people hostage.

When asked what the Democrat’s strategy should look like, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says in her most recent interview with MSNBC,

“We’re here to help people. We are here in the midst of this destruction of the federal government, the federal safety net, $1 trillion dollars eviscerated from people’s health care, their medicare, their medicaid in this country with prices that are still skyrocketing and life becoming completely untenable for the American people. We are here to try to be a backstop…which is what the American people have elected us to do.”

Now Democrats have a difficult decision to make: Reopen the government and watch as their voters lose health care access or resist for as long as they can. Our best hope is that public pressure on Republicans to change course outweighs demands for Democrats to give in.

The High Cost of a Shutdown for Georgia

As the government shutdown continues, Georgian families will bear a large toll. Over 100k federal workers are at risk of being furloughed, including most of the CDC. National Parks, like Kennesaw Mountain, will have reduced staffing and will be at risk of closure. Universities like Emory and Georgia Tech have warned of disruptions to research funding, student aid, and healthcare. These risks only rise as the shutdown continues. Trump’s illegal actions to cut federal spending will magnify the impacts of a shutdown, as many of our Georgian institutions were already struggling to make ends meet. 

Below are helpful government shutdown resources from State House Rep. Stacey Evans in her newsletter.

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