New GOP officer Salleigh Grubbs says women can’t win Georgia’s top jobs

Former Cobb County GOP chair Salleigh Grubbs instantly became one of the highest-ranking female Republicans in the state when she was elected as the party’s first vice-chair at last weekend’s convention in Dalton.

So she turned heads on Wednesday when she told conservative talk show host John Fredericks that she doesn’t think a woman can win the highest offices in Georgia.

“As a woman, I don’t think a woman is able to do it. If you’re Kelly Loeffler, and of course 2020 was a situation that was very different at the time, but I don’t see a female governor and I don’t see a female senator from Georgia,” she said.

Loeffler, of course, was Gov. Brian Kemp’s appointee to an open U.S. Senate seat in 2020. The financial executive lost that race to Democrat Raphael Warnock, but was recently tapped by President Donald Trump to a Cabinet-level post as head of the Small Business Administration.

Georgia has a history of prominent women aiming for higher office but falling short. Republican Karen Handel ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate and governor. Democrat Stacey Abrams ran twice for Georgia’s top job. (Stacey Evans lost to Abrams in the 2018 primary.)

Not surprisingly, Grubbs’ comment fell flat with GOP leaders. Courtney Kramer, who was also part of the segment with Fredericks, said Grubbs’ remark was tone-deaf.

“If anything, the GOP needs to be embracing more female statewide candidates in the midterm,” said Kramer, who unsuccessfully challenged Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis last year. “To do the opposite or suggest women can’t win in Georgia statewide is shortsighted and will not bolster confidence in the GOP from the average voter.”

We asked Grubbs if she wanted to elaborate, and she doubled down.

“This is about winning elections and historical trends,” Grubbs said. “History shows in Georgia that a woman Republican candidate even with stellar credentials and abilities has never won a statewide race — for example, Kelly Loeffler and Karen Handel.”

She added that the state has “great women candidates and campaigners” who could help beat Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff. So far, the top contenders in the GOP field are all men.

“I look forward to supporting all of our candidates through the primaries and admire those willing to get into the race,” she said.

Things to know

Good morning! We’re five days away from the primary election for the Public Service Commission.

Here are three things to know for today:

Paternity leave

Credit: Jason Getz/AJC

Credit: Jason Getz/AJC

Democratic voters are restless these days, demanding their party’s elected officials be more vocal and visible in resisting the Trump administration. So it’s not a good time for politicians to miss work — especially ones up for reelection next year.

But U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff has a good excuse. His daughter, Lila Rose, was born less than two weeks ago and the first term senator has been spending time at home to be with his growing family.

Parental leave, including for new fathers, is still a rather new phenomenon. Most federal workers didn’t have this benefit until 2020. Still, there is no official family leave for elected officials in Congress.

Lawmakers can take a break and still get paid. But they do so at their own political risk. Members of Congress must be in-person to vote. Missing too many votes can make them vulnerable to criticism.

In the House, Democrats allowed proxy voting during the pandemic when they were in charge. But Republicans got rid of it when they won control of the chamber. The issue popped up again earlier this year, briefly halting work in the House. A compromise let absent members of Congress pair their votes with someone from the opposing side who also would sit it out.

We don’t know how long Ossoff will be out. His aides had no updates on his return, but noted that while he’s not traveling he remains engaged on the issues in the Senate. That presumably includes President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful” reconciliation bill.

Making plans

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

Spotted at the Georgia GOP convention last weekend: party-switching former Democrat Vernon Jones with a photographer asking delegates if they’d support him if he ran for higher office next year.

Jones, who was briefly a candidate for governor and U.S. House in 2022, recently posted on social media to “stay tuned” about his next plan. We can assure you he’s not in the running for the joint U.S. Senate endorsement from Gov. Brian Kemp and President Donald Trump. There are rumors that he is considering a long-shot bid for lieutenant governor.

The former CEO of deep-blue DeKalb County, Jones switched parties in 2021 and quickly labeled Kemp a phony Republican despite his own track record of backing liberal issues and opposing GOP priorities, such as the 2019 anti-abortion law.

Turning the tables

Credit: Hyosub Shin / AJC

Credit: Hyosub Shin / AJC

The Georgia Legislature is usually the one bossing around local governments. But on Wednesday, the Atlanta City Council got a small measure of revenge.

The state Legislature is building new offices for lawmakers across the street from the Capitol. The plans call for a pedestrian bridge to span Martin Luther King Boulevard, meaning lawmakers and staff could zip over to the Capitol without going outside.

But the city owns the right-of-way on the ground and in the air, so the state needs permission to build it. So far, a City Council committee refused to give it, our AJC colleague Riley Bunch reports.

Council member Jason Dozier said the walkway, in addition to the fence that now surrounds the Capitol, is another example of state lawmakers and their staff “not willing to be seen or heard or be connected to the larger community that surrounds the building.”

Dozier referred to these elevated walkways as “hamster tubes” because they separate foot traffic from the street, meaning they don’t have a chance to interact with local businesses.

The council made an exception recently for a bridge at the Emory Cancer Center because it would be used to transport patients across the street. But barring circumstances like that, these bridges are “bad public policy,” Council member Amir Farokhi said.

This probably isn’t the last word on this issue. But for a day at least, Atlanta got to flex its muscles.

Facing the music

Credit: AJC file photos

Credit: AJC file photos

We should find out today what the punishments are for three of the four state senators accused of breaking campaign finance laws.

Consent orders for Derek Mallow, D-Savannah; Colton Moore, R-Trenton, and Freddie Powell Sims, D-Dawson, are all on the agenda for the State Ethics Commission. The orders indicate the senators have admitted to campaign finance violations. But we won’t know the penalties until the meeting later today.

A fourth senator, Kenya Wicks, D-Fayette, faces the same accusations. But she’s not on today’s agenda, indicating that investigation is still pending. We called Wicks to ask about it, but we didn’t hear back.

All of the senators have been accused of failing to file various disclosure reports for their campaign and personal finances. State law requires political candidates to file these reports to give voters a sense of the business and political interests behind them.

The penalty is usually a fine of up to $1,000 for a first offense, $10,000 for a second offense and $25,000 for a third offense.

The AJC’s David Wickert will have all the details in a story later today.

Listen up

Credit: Olivia Bowdoin for the AJC

Credit: Olivia Bowdoin for the AJC

Today on “Politically Georgia,” state Rep. Jasmine Clark of Lilburn talks about her race against U.S. Rep. David Scott of Atlanta in the Democratic primary for Georgia’s 13th District. Then, Jacob Thomas of Common Defense discusses the upcoming “No Kings Day” protests and what the anti-Trump movement says about the state of American democracy.

Have a question or comment for the show? Email us at politicallygeorgia@ajc.com or give us a call at 770-810-5297 and you could be featured on a future episode.

You can listen and subscribe to the show for free at Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

Georgia 2026

Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC

Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC

Yes, we’ve heard the buzz about a potential independent or even Democratic bid for higher office by former Republican Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, whose criticism of President Donald Trump has angered the GOP.

But Duncan, an AJC contributor who was formally “exiled” from the GOP after backing the Democratic presidential ticket last year, has ruled out a bid.

“Despite what either political extremes might tell you, Georgians appreciate honest umpires with the courage to do the right thing,” he said. “I’m hopeful one day to have an opportunity to run for office again, but that day is not today.”

Today in Washington

GOP blowout

Credit: Tia Mitchell/AJC

Credit: Tia Mitchell/AJC

Republicans enjoyed another victory over Democrats on Wednesday, but it was on the baseball diamond instead of the ballot box. Team GOP won the annual Congressional Baseball Game 13-2 over the Democrats, marking its fifth victory in a row.

Georgia Reps. Andrew Clyde of Athens and Rich McCormick of Suwanee both suited up for the Republican team. McCormick, as a pinch runner, rounded the bases and scored a run during the second inning.

Before the game, Clyde said he enjoyed the opportunity every year to bond with lawmakers from both parties for causes bigger than themselves.

“This is a way of working together, and I think it’s really important,” he said. “And it’s for charity.”

The game raised $2.8 million this year, a record for a congressional tradition that dates back to 1909.

Shoutouts

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Today’s birthdays:

Want a birthday shoutout in the Politically Georgia newsletter? There’s a form for that. Click here to submit the shoutouts. It’s not just birthdays. We’re also interested in new jobs, engagements, birth announcements, etc.

Before you go

Credit: TNS

Credit: TNS

U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock and will don a seersucker suit at the U.S. Capitol today. The Atlanta Democrat is co-chair of National Seersucker Day, along with U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Louisiana, which has become a popular Capitol Hill tradition with senators and staff alike.

That’ll do it for us today. As always, you can send your best scoops, gossip and insider info to greg.bluestein@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com, patricia.murphy@ajc.com and adam.beam@ajc.com.