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This Week in Georgia
Normally, this space is where we catch you up on the broader political moment—gas taxes, World Cup bids, the things happening around the edges of Georgia politics.
This is not one of those weeks.
Next Tuesday, Georgians vote in the first primary election since the federal Voting Rights Act was gutted. Governor Kemp just signed a tax cut for the wealthy and cut services for veterans, survivors, and children to pay for it — on back-to-back days. He signed a bill targeting Democratic prosecutors in Georgia's five largest counties. And he has called a special session to redraw the maps that will determine who holds power in this state through 2040 — opening the day after any potential runoff election, two days before Juneteenth.
Everything in the newsletter this week is connected. The articles below are not separate stories. They are one story. Read all of it. But most of all, know this:
The response to Republican power grabs is replacing Republicans.
We are canvassing with Beth Fuller in HD-53 this Saturday, and Michelle Kang in HD-99 on Sunday. If you are in or near those districts, please join us.
Now on with the newsletter.
The Undecided and Youth Voters.
Georgia’s gubernatorial stage has not been set, and possibly won’t be until June. A large portion of Georgia’s voters are undecided, on both sides, in their choice for the primaries. As a reminder, if no candidate reaches the 50% voter threshold, there will be an election runoff in June.
According to the AJC, Keisha Lance Bottoms is leading the polls, and it is still possible that she will cross the 50% threshold. On average, she has between 32-43% of the vote. As we’ve discussed in the past, there isn’t a clear picture regarding the other candidates due to the “social media bubble.” It’s extremely difficult to gather and infer what the gubernatorial landscape is for Democrats.
Surprisingly, Republicans are facing the same dilemma. Rick Jackson is currently leading in the polls, but not without Burt Jones’ momentum. In most polls, the two candidates are closely competing with each other. However, those numbers are still low. They only have between 16-37% of the vote.
You can speculate for days on end as to why there is no clear candidate. It can be that Georgia voters are preoccupied with the current living, economic, and political situation. Yes, that is why voters should head to the polls and vote. But oftentimes, when life gets extremely difficult to survive, those things get put on the back burner. It’s a never-ending cycle.
It could be the lack of clarity from candidates. Georgia’s democratic candidates faced scrutiny for their lack of clarity in policy, economic, and community issues, and in dealing with Trump. It feels like the candidates are very distant from voters and, in turn, breeds distrust and uncertainty. Especially within youth voting turnout, despite Gen Z being a particularly active demographic, Georgia Democrats have failed to truly capture their interest.
Here lies the question: Will Georgia voters have a clear understanding and gubernatorial preference by May 19, or will we participate in a June runoff election?
Devil's in the house of the rising maps
Mix greed and fear into a bowl, sprinkle in a little desperation, and you get yourself a Georgia peach cobbler—anti-democratic and straight from the Gold Dome.
As expected, Governor Kemp has called for an emergency legislative session ahead of the midterms to begin redistricting Georgia’s maps. He postponed this decision only to avoid delaying the May 19th election. Georgia has 14 US House seats; Democrats hold 5, but as we have discussed just last week, with the gutting of the VRA, Republican states are moving quickly to force the makeup of Congress in their favor despite their obvious incompetence at lawmaking.
They are fearful, and they have every right to be. The economy is on the decline; the administration is asking for more money for a ballroom than for tending to its citizens' needs; and AI data centers are wasting perfectly fine drinking water for an economic bubble. The only wind in the Republican sail is delusional loyalty and corruption.
Systems are fraying at the edges, and one is not so sure that our elected officials are as vigilant as they should be. And still, we will fight.
The Georgia Supreme Court can strike down congressional maps that are deemed unconstitutional, which places this Tuesday’s election front and center once again. All nine current justices were appointed by Republican governors. That is not a court inclined to check Republican legislative power. Electing Miracle Rankin and Jen Jordan will not flip the Court overnight, but every seat matters. The abuse of redistricting power will continue unabated until the bench looks different.
This Tuesday is where that work begins.
The Real Kemp Legacy
For years, Brian Kemp cultivated a reputation as a moderate—a pragmatic conservative who could work across the aisle and govern responsibly. His actions this week tell a different story.
On May 11th, Kemp signed a tax cut worth $1.3 billion annually, with 74% of the benefits flowing to the top 20% of earners. On May 12th, he cut over $54 million in services—for homeless veterans, domestic violence shelters, sexual assault centers, children in foster care, Georgians with disabilities, and kids who need a bus to school—to pay for it. Some moderate.
He also vetoed SB 478, one of the rare moments this session when Georgia moved to protect its environment and natural resources for future generations. Kemp threw it out the moment it became politically inconvenient. We see who he’s governing for. It is not the future of Georgians.
He then signed HB 369, making DA elections nonpartisan, but only in Fulton, DeKalb, Gwinnett, Clayton, and Cobb. The five largest, most diverse metro Atlanta counties. The five counties where Democratic prosecutors have shown a willingness to hold power accountable.
You are probably ahead of us in connecting the dots: the Supreme Court guts the VRA, Republican legislatures across the South sprint to redraw maps, and Georgia targets its Democratic prosecutors.
This is a coordinated movement, executed step by step.
Which brings us to June 17th.
Kemp has called a special session to redraw Georgia's maps. Not just congressional maps, but state legislative maps, too. The party that controls the legislature in 2031 draws the maps that shape Georgia politics through 2040. The session opens the day after any runoff elections—including potentially the governor's race on both sides—and two days before Juneteenth.
The timing is worth noting.
Also on the agenda for the special session: the QR code ballot crisis Republicans created and failed to solve. Georgia law requires QR codes to be removed from ballots by July 1, months before the November election. Democrats pushed for a fix during the regular session. Republicans blocked it and went home. Now they have to come back.
Proving once again, they do not know how to govern responsibly.
The chaos is real. The stakes are real. But our north star remains the same:
We have elections to win.
As we said up top, the response to Republican power grabs is replacing Republicans.
Because Georgia—and the entire South – is worth fighting for.
Socialist Alternative
Until next time,
Fund year-round organizing. Flip the GA State Legislature.
The Free Tech Newsletter That Readers NEVER Skip
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Are You Ready to Actually Retire?
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