Donors highlight divisions in Georgia’s Democratic race for governor

Political fundraising reports offer a snapshot of a candidate’s momentum. But the names behind the checks often speak just as loud.

A closer look at recent disclosures shows how the two leading Democrats for governor — former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and state Sen. Jason Esteves — are tapping into markedly different circles of support, revealing key fault lines in the race.

Esteves is drawing a chunk of his seven-figure haul from some of the state party’s top elected officials and power brokers. His donors include former Gov. Roy Barnes, former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin and Jason Carter, the party’s 2014 nominee for governor and the grandson of former president Jimmy Carter.

A few dozen current and former legislators chipped in. So did some City Hall heavyweights like Atlanta City Council President Doug Shipman and one of his predecessors, Ceasar Mitchell.

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

Bottoms’ contributors, meanwhile, highlight her national reach. The former Biden administration official collected checks from Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer, Delaware U.S. Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester and Mayor Steven Reed of Montgomery, Alabama.

Her report also includes some big names from the entertainment industry, including rapper Clifford “T.I.” Harris, media mogul Tyler Perry and actress Shamea Mwangi.

Other contributors include former Morehouse College president Robert Franklin Jr., Carter USA chief executive Scott Taylor, Atlanta City Council members Andrea Boone and Alex Wan, and former DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis.

There is some crossover. The Gathering Spot CEO Ryan Wilson donated to both: $1,500 to Esteves and $1,000 to Bottoms.

Things to know

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

Good morning! We’re five days away from the runoff election in the Democratic primary for a seat on the Public Service Commission. But turnout is so low that in some counties that there are more poll workers than voters.

Here are three things to know for today:

Dooley’s ‘Volunteers’

Credit: Wade Payne/AP

Credit: Wade Payne/AP

Derek Dooley has not held public events in the month since he confirmed his interest in a potential challenge to Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff.

But that hasn’t stopped anonymous opposing operatives from working to muddy the waters for the former head football coach at the University of Tennessee, who is a Republican.

Earlier this week, GOP activists across the state received text messages with a link to “Dooleys Volunteers,” a spoof website with not-so-subtle digs at the coach. It includes quotes from famously ruthless Tennessee sports columnists, digs at Dooley for his past political positions or lack thereof, and a very Tennessee orange backdrop.

It’s a lot of effort to attack someone who isn’t even in the race yet, especially since the announced candidates — U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter and Insurance Commissioner John King — aren’t getting nearly the same amount of incoming fire.

A person close to Dooley responded to the attacks: “Tell us you’re scared of Dooley without telling us you’re scared of him.”

We’re told Dooley has his own timeline for making a final decision on the race. But expect the Georgia peanut gallery to make the most of the pregame show until then.

Travel ban

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

President Donald Trump’s threat to expand a U.S. travel ban drew a strong rebuke from Georgia’s African-born state lawmakers on Wednesday who warned of the economic damage it would cause as Atlanta prepares to host the World Cup next summer.

Trump has threatened to expand the ban to 36 countries, mostly in Africa. That includes Nigeria, where state Rep. Segun Adeyina was born.

“Americans with deep roots in African communities will be torn apart. Flights canceled, weddings missed, parents unable to visit their children,” the Democrat from Grayson said. “This policy isn’t just cruel. It’s economically reckless.”

Atlanta is one of 16 host cities for the 2026 World Cup. The city will host eight matches at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, including a semifinal. We don’t know what countries will be here, but there’s a good chance more than one could be from Africa.

“Extending a travel ban in this context would be a grave mistake,” said state Rep. El-Mahdi Holly, a Democrat from Stockbridge and co-chair of the Georgia Africa Legislative Caucus.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency posted on Facebook last month that it would have agents at Club World Cup matches this year. It later removed the post. But Andrew Giuliani, who leads the White House’s task force on World Cup preparations, told Politico the event “will be both secure and welcoming.”

Campaign auditions

Credit: Courtesy photo

Credit: Courtesy photo

Two more Republicans running for statewide office made the trip to the White House recently to meet with President Donald Trump’s advisers in what’s become a rite of passage for GOP candidates in Georgia.

This time it was state Rep. Tim Fleming, R-Covington, and state Sen. Blake Tillery, R-Vidalia. Fleming is running for secretary of state while Tillery is running for lieutenant governor.

Hospital redux?

Credit: Screenshot

Credit: Screenshot

Georgia lawmakers survived a brutal fight in 2024 to loosen the rules governing the expansion of hospitals and other medical facilities. Now, one of the few remaining private oncology practices in Georgia wants lawmakers to do it again.

Petros Nikolinakos, managing partner of University Cancer and Blood Center in Athens, said the 2024 law let private practices like his provide PET and CT scans “has been nothing short of transformative,” drastically reducing imaging delays for patients.

The law relaxed rules around the certificate of need process, which aims to prevent duplication in the health care industry by requiring medical facilities to prove a need exists before expanding services.

“We strongly advocate for hopefully lessening CON laws of all cancer related services,” Nikolinakos told members of the House Study Committee on Cancer Care Access, which includes five state lawmakers and a host of medical experts.

“I realize a lot of this is a little controversial. I’m in a room with hospital executives and academic leaders, who I have enormous respect for,” Nikolinakos told the committee during its meeting at the Georgia Cancer Center in Augusta. “But I would, as a minority representative in this state, love to shine a little light on the role private practices play.”

Female farmers

Credit: TNS

Credit: TNS

Georgia lawmakers are constantly reminding us that agriculture is the state’s largest industry. Increasingly, more of those businesses are being run by women.

More than half of all farms in Georgia are operated by women, reflecting a 26% increase over the past decade. Women producers — a catchall term that covers all aspects of the agriculture economy — have increased by more than a third in the past 10 years, now accounting for 35.4% of the state’s total.

That’s based on an analysis of data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture by Traceone, a food and beverage software company.

Nationally, there are 1.2 million female farmers, accounting for more than a third of all U.S. producers. Male producers, meanwhile, have fallen since 2007.

It didn’t come as a surprise to state Sen. Russ Goodman, R-Cogdell, who operates Cogdell Berry Farm along with his wife, Carra Goodman. He noted his mother-in-law handles all of the food safety matters, bill paying and payroll.

“We couldn’t function without her,” he said.

Listen up

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Today on “Politically Georgia,” Greg Bluestein breaks down how Lt. Gov. Burt Jones’ campaign for governor could reshape the GOP field. Then, AJC City Hall reporter Riley Bunch discusses how Jones’ candidacy could strain relations between the state and the city of Atlanta.

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

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.

Today in Washington

History lessons

Credit: AJC file photo

Credit: AJC file photo

If you’ve been missing former AJC political columnist Jim Galloway’s history-infused writings and observations, you’ll be happy to know that he has two articles in the latest issue of Georgia Historical Quarterly, published by the Georgia Historical Society.

During his many years at the AJC, Galloway covered the multiple fits and starts involved in efforts to remove the Confederate emblem from the Georgia state flag. He writes in GHQ about why the emblem was originally added to the flag in 1956, as well as the first attempt to lower the flag in response.

One glance at Galloway’s deeply researched pieces and you’ll see that the more things change in Georgia politics, the more they stay the same.

Shoutouts

Credit: Courtesy photo

Credit: Courtesy photo

Kudos:

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Before you go

Credit: Evan Vucci/AP

Credit: Evan Vucci/AP

U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter raised $1.1 million for his U.S. Senate campaign and loaned himself another $2 million as he jockeys for the Republican nomination to take on Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff.

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.