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The Bill Comes Due
Sine Die, Election Chaos, and Iran
This Week in Georgia
On Tuesday, Republican Clayton Fuller defeated Democrat Shawn Harris 56-44 in the special election runoff for Georgia’s 14th Congressional Seat, a district previously held by Marjorie Taylor Greene. Although Harris lost, Trump carried this seat 68-31 in 2024, which represents a massive 25-point overperformance for Harris. The surprisingly good performance of Harris both demonstrates the toxicity of the Trump regime and congressional Republicans and how engaging in an enthusiastic campaign where Democrats normally don’t seriously contest can be a path to unexpectedly positive results.
Session Is Out and The Election Crisis No One Solved
Georgia law requires QR codes to be removed from ballots by July 1, months before the November midterms. Republicans spent the final week of session debating a fix, failed to pass one, and went home.
The price tag for overhauling Georgia's 40,000+ voting machines runs anywhere from $25 million to $300 million. The 2024 law that created this deadline doesn't specify what a legal replacement even looks like, leaving county election directors in legal limbo. Cherokee County's election director, an 18-year veteran, said she is "worried about the midterms like never before." Poll workers could face prosecution for using machines that may technically be illegal, while no alternatives exist.
The consequences in November are real: voter confusion at the polls, inconsistent systems across counties, potential ballot invalidation, and a State Election Board empowered to prosecute officials for noncompliance with a standard that doesn't yet exist. Republicans created this deadline, failed to fund a solution, and are now leaving Georgia's election infrastructure in chaos heading into the most consequential midterm in a decade.
We call upon Governor Kemp to call a special legislative session to solve the problem that Republicans created. Georgia voters are watching.
The Way Forward: Ten Seats Away
If Democrats plan on flipping at least 10 Republican-held House seats, they need to prioritize authenticity and building momentum, rather than capitulating to the current political environment.
Republicans have gerrymandered the State to strengthen their incumbents’ which makes it difficult to flip seats. However, the backlash to their disastrous rule creates an avenue for Democrats to win a House majority. The people want to be energized to vote for a candidate with tangible, workable policy agendas.
Social media is an incredible tool, but insincerity and a lack of charisma are easily sniffed out through social media. If we learned anything from the Mamdami campaign, it is that you cannot fake authenticity. The people want to hear from their politicians—they want to speak with them about their problems and hear their politician’s solutions. Campaigning on affordability concerns works; campaigning on how you will deal with ICE works; door-to-door conversations work!
Politicians have forgotten young voters as well. Georgia was ranked second by The Civic Center in 18-year-old voter registration, with only 43% of 18 year olds in 2024 registered to vote and almost 85,000 young adults unaccounted for. Young adults are faced with issues about student loans, the cost of living, community safety and how they will survive in their future. The goal should not solely be to re-engage older voters or convert Republicans, but energizing and activating an extremely politically aware, yet forgotten population. If politicians are not able to validate and advocate for young voter concerns, they are neglecting tens of thousands of potential voters.
What comes next for Democrats in all Georgia legislative districts, is how to both capture anger against the current administration, while offering a strong policy alternative to make the lives of Georgians better. Georgians are ready for change.
We are too.
With 231 candidates on the ballot, five endorsed candidates in races we can win, and a movement that showed up in the streets and at the polls.
Sine Die is not the end of the story. It is the beginning of the argument we make between now and November 3rd, district by district, door by door, vote by vote.
The majority is coming. The work starts now.
NBC
U.S. War With Iran: The Trade-Off
Forty days into Operation Epic Fury, the United States has spent $44 billion waging Trump’s unauthorized war in Iran that was launched without congressional approval without a clear endgame. Fifteen American lives have already been lost, and the human cost in Iran is staggering. As Congress weighs an $80–100 billion supplemental request, Georgians are left asking: what could that money have done at home? The infographic below breaks down the trade-off.
Until next time,
Fund year-round organizing. Flip the GA State Legislature.
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