Politically Georgia

The hosts start with news that broke just before they began the podcast: Republican U.S. Rep. Drew Ferguson announced he won’t run for reelection after four terms in the U.S. House. Then, Hallerman joins the podcast to discuss the revealing interview she and AJC reporter Bill Rankin conducted with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. Will she run for higher office? Will she be in the courtroom as a prosecutor in Fulton's election conspiracy case against former President Donald Trump? How does she respond to GOP critics who attack her on a number of fronts?  Plus, after a deep dive into the petitions collected by opponents of the Atlanta police training center, the AJC, WABE and other media partners find it’s unlikely there are enough valid signatures to put the future of the center up for a public referendum. Bunch joins the podcast to lay out the findings.   Have a question for the show? Call the 24-hour Politically Georgia Podcast Hotline at 404-526-AJCP. That's 404-526-2527. We’ll play back your question and answer it during the Listener Mailbag segment on next Friday’s episode.    Links  Subscribe to the AJC: If you aren’t a subscriber to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, click here to get unlimited digital access to the AJC.    Listen and subscribe to our podcast for free at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also tell your smart speaker to “play Politically Georgia podcast.”  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's episode of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Politcially Georgia podcast, hosts Bill Nigut, Greg Bluestein and Tia Mitchell discuss a wide-ranging interview Patricia Murphy and Greg Bluestein conducted with Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.  Then, State Rep. Mesha Mainor talks about her support for another effort by GOP legislators to pass a school voucher bill during the 2024 session of the General Assembly. Mainor’s frustration with Democrats’ refusal to support the measure last session led her to change parties and become a Republican.   Plus, Atlanta Journal-Constitution Savannah Bureau Chief Adam Van Brimmer discusses the multibillion-dollar plan to expand the Port of Savannah.   Have a question for the show? Call the 24-hour Politically Georgia Podcast Hotline at 404-526-AJCP. That's 404-526-2527. We’ll play back your question and answer it during the Listener Mailbag segment on next Friday’s episode.    Links Raffensperger looks to protect election workers Public funding of school vouchers is back on the 2024 agenda Georgia ports to study deepening Savannah River again Officials say Savannah Bridge needs replacing  Subscribe to the AJC: If you aren’t a subscriber to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, click here to get unlimited digital access to the AJC.    Listen and subscribe to our podcast for free at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also tell your smart speaker to “play Politically Georgia podcast.”   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today on The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Politically Georgia podcast, The AJC Greg Bluestein, Patricia Murphy and Bill Nigut talk with former Governor Chris Christie as he continues his campaign for the GOP nomination for president. In comments related to Georgia, Christie says the road to the White House passes through our state.   Then, AJC health policy reporter Ariel Hart explains what appears to be a significant effort among GOP legislative leaders to consider a full expansion of Medicaid in Georgia, which Republicans have rejected for at least a decade.  Could legislators pass a full expansion of Medicaid?   Have a question for the show? Call the 24-hour Politically Georgia Podcast Hotline at 404-526-AJCP. That's 404-526-2527. We’ll play back your question and answer it during the Listener Mailbag segment on next Friday’s episode.      Could legislators pass a full expansion of Medicaid?  Subscribe to the AJC: If you aren’t a subscriber to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, click here to get unlimited digital access to the AJC.    Listen and subscribe to our podcast for free at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also tell your smart speaker to “play Politically Georgia podcast.”   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s episode of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Politically Georgia podcast, hosts Bill Nigut and Tia Mitchell dive into a new poll from CNN, published overnight, that gives Donald Trump a five-point lead over President Biden in Georgia. Meanwhile, a new Wall Street Journal poll shows Donald Trump ahead of President Biden for the first time in the national race. What do these snapshots tell us as we’re less than a year ahead from the election? WABE’s Tharon Johnson and Sam Gringlas help break it all down.  Then, Congress is headed for the holiday recess later this week without yet reaching an agreement on new funding for Israel or Ukraine. President Biden is pushing hard for a deal that will include GOP demands for new border finding.   Plus, the new state legislative and U.S. House maps have been signed by Governor Kemp and are on their way to federal judge Steve Jones.   Have a question for the show? Call the 24-hour Politically Georgia Podcast Hotline at 404-526-AJCP. That's 404-526-2527. We’ll play back your question and answer it during the Listener Mailbag segment on next Friday’s episode.      Links to today's topics:  CNN Polls: Trump leads Biden in Michigan and Georgia as broad majorities hold negative views of the current president Trump Takes 2024 Lead as Biden Approval Hits New Low, WSJ Poll Finds Kemp signs Georgia’s Republican redistricting into law   Subscribe to the AJC: If you aren’t a subscriber to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, click here to get unlimited digital access to the AJC.    Listen and subscribe to our podcast for free at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also tell your smart speaker to “play Politically Georgia podcast.”   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

First up on "Politically Georgia": We’ll dive deeper into Nikki Haley’s presidential campaign with South Carolina-based Associated Press reporter Meg Kinnard. Plus, Republican lawmakers made U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath’s reelection to the House more difficult. But what if they've actually made her a stronger candidate down the road? Then, a federal jury will soon consider how much Rudy Giuliani should pay for spreading pernicious lies about the 2020 presidential election. And it’s Friday, so we’ll dip into the listener mailbag to answer your questions and share who we think is up and down this week. Have a question for the show? Call the 24-hour Politically Georgia Podcast Hotline at 404-526-AJCP. That's 404-526-2527. We’ll play back your question and answer it during the Listener Mailbag segment on next Friday’s episode.   Links to today's topics:Nikki Haley wins backing from powerful Koch network as she aims to take on TrumpRuby vs. Rudy: Giuliani faces Fulton defamation trial next weekOPINION: What if Republicans just helped McBath by targeting her again?   Subscribe to the AJC: If you aren’t a subscriber to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, click here to get unlimited digital access to the AJC.  Listen and subscribe to our podcast for free at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also tell your smart speaker to “play Politically Georgia podcast.”  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

First up: A look at an Atlanta Journal-Constitution exclusive: Tamar Hallerman joins the podcast to discuss the list of potential witnesses Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis may call in the election conspiracy case against Donald Trump. Former members of the Trump administration on the list obtained by the AJC include Vice President Mike Pence and Attorney General Bill Barr, plus state GOP leaders including Gov. Brian Kemp, Attorney General Chris Carr and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. Then: Cobb County Commissioner Jerica Richardson joins the podcast to discuss her plan to run for the U.S. House. Richardson declared her intentions to run for the 6th District seat long before the Legislature drew the new congressional map, which, if approved by the court, may make it difficult for a Democrat to win the district. She answers a key question about whether she’d shift her focus and run in a district already held by a Democratic incumbent. Plus: Greg, Patricia and Bill share their observations about the GOP presidential debate in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Links to today's topics:Former Top Trump aides, AJC exclusive: Georgia GOP leaders on Willis' witness listJerica Richardson announces run for CongressGreg Bluestein on GOP Alabama debate Have a question for the show? Call the 24-hour Politically Georgia Podcast Hotline at 404-526-AJCP. That's 404-526-2527. We’ll play back your question and answer it during the Listener Mailbag segment on next Friday’s episode.   Subscribe to the AJC: If you aren’t a subscriber to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, click here to get unlimited digital access to the AJC.  Listen and subscribe to our podcast for free at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also tell your smart speaker to “play Politically Georgia podcast.”  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

First up: A brief look at a breaking story: Dissension controls to roil GOP members of the U.S. House continues as Marjorie Taylor Greene accuses her Georgia colleague Rich McCormick of a “physically aggressive” confrontation with her. Greene has reported the incident to the Speaker of the House, who will investigate. McCormick says he touched Greene on the shoulders as a friendly gesture but apologized in any case.  Then: An overview of the issues continuing to embroil Georgia’s redistricting session in controversy. How can the creation of two new majority Black senate districts actually decrease Black voting power? Are the maps drawn by the GOP-controlled legislature likely to create a legal path that could end up in the U.S. Supreme Court? And could one of the only remaining planks in the Voting Rights Act be at stake? UGA Professor Charles Bullock and Bobby Kahn, who was chief of staff to Governor Roy Barnes in 2001, for the last redistricting to be under the control of a Democratic majority in the house, senate and governor’s office address questions about the new maps.  Plus: A preview of tonight’s GOP presidential debate in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Four candidates – Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis, Chris Christie and Vivek Ramaswamy will be on the stage. AJC Politically Georgia co-host Greg Bluestein is in Tuscaloosa and will join the podcast tomorrow with a report.  Links to today's topics: Will tonight's GOP debate change the 2024 race? Physical contact continues to enflame tensions between Rick McCormick and Marjorie Taylor Greene  Have a question for the show? Call the 24-hour Politically Georgia Podcast Hotline at 404-526-AJCP. That's 404-526-2527. We’ll play back your question and answer it during the Listener Mailbag segment on next Friday’s episode.    Subscribe to the AJC: If you aren’t a subscriber to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, click here to get unlimited digital access to the AJC.   Listen and subscribe to our podcast for free at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also tell your smart speaker to “play Politically Georgia podcast.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

First up: Jake Orvis, senior advisor to Congresswoman Lucy McBath talks about the complications that could emerge from the new congressional map drawn by GOP legislators under a federal court mandate to create a second Black majority congressional district. Orvis believes that since the new map doesn’t actually create a second majority-minority district, it may be rejected by the federal court. But he also acknowledges that if the map stands it could force Congresswoman McBath to decide to move to a new district to run for re-election. Hand he agrees that in a new district, McBath could have to compete against many other minority candidates seeking a seat in the U.S. House.   Then: AJC Atlanta city hall reporter Riley Bunch shares updates on the controversial Atlanta police and fire training center. Bunch reports that the city has already spent $1.3 million on lawyers representing the city in lawsuits over the center as well as for consultants offering insights about process of dealing with petitions collected in opposition to construction of the center.   Plus: Republican legislators hold Democrats’ feet to the fire in a vote on condemning the “evil” attacks by Hamas on Israelis. Georgia House votes to condemn "evil" Hamas attacks, putting Dems on the spot   And, a preview of tomorrow night’s GOP presidential debate in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.    Links to today's topics: New congressional map maintains GOP power and may defy court order City has spent $1.3 million on litigation and consultants on issues raised by Atlanta police training center Georgia House votes to condemn "evil" Hamas attacks, putting Dems on the spot Have a question for the show? Call the 24-hour Politically Georgia Podcast Hotline at 404-526-AJCP. That's 404-526-2527. We’ll play back your question and answer it during the Listener Mailbag segment on next Friday’s episode.    Subscribe to the AJC: If you aren’t a subscriber to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, click here to get unlimited digital access to the AJC.   Listen and subscribe to our podcast for free at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also tell your smart speaker to “play Politically Georgia podcast.”   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's epsiode of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Politically Georgia podcast, AJC Washington reporter Tia Mitchell describes why Georgia Rep. Nikema Williams became one of only two Democrats in the U.S. House to vote against expelling Rep. George Santos. And discusses the reasons five members of the GOP Georgia delegation voted to keep Santos in office.  We'll also explain how the new Georgia congressional map drawn by Republican legislators seems to defy federal Judge Steve Jones' order that they create an additional Black majority congressional district. The map threatens the tenure of Democrat Lucy McBath and could force other Democratic incumbents to run in different districts than those in which they now serve.  Plus, The lawyer representing Donald Trump in the Fulton County election conspiracy criminal case makes his first appearance in court. Steve Sadow argues that the proposed August start date for trial is “election interference,” since Trump is likely to be running for the White House at that point in time. He also asserts that Trump had a Constitutionally-protected right of free speech to claim the 2020 election was fraudulent.  Links to today's topics:How Georgia Reps voted on George Santos expulsion...and why New congressional map maintains GOP power and may defy court order Trump. lawyer argues Fulton County trial dates would be "election interference"  Have a question for the show? Call the 24-hour Politically Georgia Podcast Hotline at 404-526-AJCP. That's 404-526-2527. We’ll play back your question and answer it during the Listener Mailbag segment on next Friday’s episode.    Subscribe to the AJC: If you aren’t a subscriber to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, click here to get unlimited digital access to the AJC.   Listen and subscribe to our podcast for free at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also tell your smart speaker to “play Politically Georgia podcast.”   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Republicans are moving at a rapid pace to finalize new legislative districts. Democrats say GOP lawmakers are using “smoke and mirrors” to create a false impression they are complying with a federal judge’s order. Meanwhile, we’re waiting to see how Republicans have drawn a congressional map to meet the judge’s order to create one additional majority-minority U.S. House district. Then, Govs. Gavin Newsom and Ron DeSantis clashed on Fox News in Alpharetta last night in a most unusual debate. Plus, an update from Washington D.C. as Marjorie Taylor Greene returns to her outsider tactics. And embattled Rep. George Santos is expelled from Congress minutes after the show goes off-air.  And, we answer your questions from our listener mailbag, which you can call anytime with your question. The number for the 24-hour Politically Georgia podcast hotline is (404)526-AJCP . The team also shares our picks for ‘who’s up and who’s down’ this week. Links to today’s topics: Capitol Recap: Georgia redistricting may not give Dems the gains some expected DeSantis and Newsom clash in messy ‘red vs. blue’ Georgia debate Marjorie Taylor Greene returns to outsider roots House expels New York Rep. George Santos. It's just the sixth expulsion in the chamber's history  Subscribe to the AJC: If you aren’t a subscriber to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, click here to get unlimited digital access to the AJC.  Listen and subscribe to our podcast for free at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also tell your smart speaker to “play Politically Georgia podcast.”  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices