Today’s highlights include:
- A pair of Georgia Republicans campaign in Pennsylvania on opposite sides.
- Georgia Ports Authority prepares for potential strike.
- Congress to vote on legislation to temporarily avoid a government shutdown.
Vice President Kamala Harris will lay out her economic policy agenda today during a speech in Pittsburgh, where she is expected to draw a sharp contrast between her plan and the one former President Donald Trump unveiled in Savannah on Tuesday.
Trump pledged to impose stiff tariffs on foreign manufacturers that refuse to move their operations to the U.S.
“Under my leadership we’re going to take other countries’ jobs,” Trump said.
Harris is expected to press for new federal incentives to encourage more domestic manufacturing along with renewing her support for universal child care and paid family leave, The Washington Post reported.
“For Donald Trump, our economy works best if it works for those who own the big skyscrapers,” she will say, according to prepared remarks. “Not those who build them. Not those who wire them. Not those who mop the floors.”
While Georgia’s electorate remains sharply divided on the presidential race, they are more optimistic about the economy. An AJC poll released last week showed 58% of respondents showed they expect the economy to improve over the next year. That number was just 36% in January.
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Credit: Evan Vucci/AP
Credit: Evan Vucci/AP
GOOD MORNING! The presidential election is 41 days away. Here’s three things to know for today:
- Attorney Ben Crump has been hired by the family of Amber Thurman, the Georgia woman who died from abortion complications. Crump’s other clients include the families of Trayvon Martin, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd.
- NMAC, formerly the National Minority AIDS Coalition, will host a voter registration drive on the campus of Clark University today in Atlanta. The organization plans to visit nine historically black colleges and universities in the South to encourage Black students to vote.
- Former President Donald Trump packed the 2,500 seat Johnny Mercer Theatre in Savannah on Tuesday, and venue officials estimated another 3,000 to 4,000 people stood outside. That’s close to the estimated 6,200 people who attended Vice President Kamala Harris’ rally in Savannah earlier this month, per an analysis from The New York Times.
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Credit: John Spink/AJC
Credit: John Spink/AJC
TWO GOVS. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and the state’s former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan both beat a path to Pennsylvania on Tuesday. But the Republicans had starkly different missions.
Kemp campaigned for Republican U.S. Senate nominee David McCormick, even finding a few Georgia fans at the Philadelphia event.
“You really need people in the government like Dave McCormick that will be fighting against those regulations, making the environment good for small-business people and entrepreneurs,” Kemp said of the Republican contender.
Duncan trekked to Pennsylvania to lobby Republicans to reject former President Donald Trump. He’s hitting the road to support Vice President Kamala Harris’ bid for president weeks after he gave a well-received speech for the Democrat at the party’s convention.
“This election will most likely come down to a few thousand votes in a handful of states,” he said on social media. “That’s why I am on the ground today in Pennsylvania recruiting more #RepublicansForHarris voters to stop Donald Trump from ever going back to the White House.”
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ROBINSON REINFORCEMENTS. Many Republicans across the nation are trying to forget about North Carolina gubernatorial nominee Mark Robinson after CNN detailed a series of vulgar comments he made on a pornography site.
His senior staffers resigned. Some GOP officials are deleting photos of Robinson or mentions of his name on their social media accounts, CNN reported. And as we told you earlier this week, Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp notably rescinded his endorsement.
Robinson, North Carolina’s lieutenant governor, has denied writing the posts and vowed to stay in the race.
Credit: Courtesy photo
Credit: Courtesy photo
But not all are distancing themselves from Robinson’s bid. CJ Pearson, a Republican Gen Z influencer who advised far-right candidate Vernon Jones’ failed bids for office in 2022, posted on X that he recently spoke with Robinson. Then he implied he’s joining Robinson’s campaign.
“The cavalry is coming to NC! I won’t sit idly by as the liberal media attempts to lynch yet another free thinking black man,” Pearson wrote.
We aren’t sure what role Pearson, who lost a special House election in Georgia earlier this year, could play. He told us he isn’t serving as Robinson’s new campaign manager. He also didn’t say whether he would lend support to the candidate as a paid staffer or a volunteer.
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Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
ELECTORAL MATH. The Georgia Supreme Court will decide soon if two lesser-known presidential candidates are qualified for the ballot. But an issue likely to linger beyond Election Day is a quirk in the state law that, at least theoretically, could cause Georgia to sacrifice some of its electoral votes.
Georgia has 16 electoral votes for president. During Tuesday’s hearing on the state’s election code, Supreme Court Justice Sarah Warren wondered what would happen if an independent candidate qualified just one elector, then somehow got the most votes on Election Day.
“(We) would get only one electoral vote from Georgia and 15 would be in the wind,” she said. “That presents constitutional questions.”
Sachin Varghese, a lawyer for the Georgia Democratic Party, said it used to be if that happened the state Legislature could appoint additional electors. But a federal law change in 2022 eliminated that option.
“The current Georgia code does not account for that situation,” he said.
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Credit: Katelyn Myrick/AJC
Credit: Katelyn Myrick/AJC
PORTS STRIKE WORRIES. The head of the Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) on Tuesday confirmed plans to close its marine terminals in Savannah and Brunswick if union dockworkers go on strike next week, the AJC’s Adam Van Brimmer reports.
The labor contract between the International Longshoremen’s Association and the cargo shippers expires Monday.
The first Georgia ports’ work stoppage in nearly 50 years is likely as negotiators remain at odds over wages and the use of automation in port facilities. Ports Authority CEO Griff Lynch and GPA Board Chairman Kent Fountain said they were hopeful a deal could still be struck.
Their cautious optimism is buoyed by reports that the U.S. Department of Labor has reached out to negotiators, a sign that the Biden administration may attempt to help facilitate contract talks.
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Credit: Katelyn Myrick/AJC
Credit: Katelyn Myrick/AJC
LISTEN UP. Today on “Politically Georgia,” the AJC’s Greg Bluestein and Democratic strategist Rick Dent talk about former President Donald Trump’s visit to Savannah. And Emory Political Science Professor Andra Gillespie discusses polling.
You can listen live at 10 a.m. on WABE 90.1 or follow “Politically Georgia” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are uploaded by noon each day, just in time to have lunch with us. Have a question for the show? Give us a call at 770-810-5297.
On Tuesday’s show, former state Sen. Eric Johnson, R-Savannah, previewed Trump’s Georgia visit. Plus, the AJC’s Martha Dalton discussed students resuming classes at Apalachee High School, site of a deadly school shooting earlier this month.
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AVOIDING SHUTDOWN. The U.S. House is expected to approve legislation today that would fund the government until Dec. 20.
The bill is being rushed to the floor using procedures that require a two-thirds vote for passage. As with previous funding packages, it could pass with more support from Democrats than Republicans who hold the majority.
The Senate has already agreed to quickly take up the House-passed bill and not insert amendments that could cause further delays. It is expected to pass with bipartisan support in both chambers.
There are two factors that helped move things to a speedy conclusion.
First, Tropical Storm Helene is looming off Florida’s coast, and lawmakers want to make it back to their districts before the storm could disrupt flights and other transportation systems.
Secondly, once they finish their work, lawmakers are headed home until after the November election. The prize of a six-week recess is often enough to get Congress to shift into high gear.
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Credit: Ben Margot/AP
Credit: Ben Margot/AP
PROJECT 2025 AND ABORTION. A woman who works as an ultrasound technician at an Atlanta area abortion clinic was among the experts who testified during a hearing Tuesday hosted by U.S. House Democrats to highlight various provisions contained in the Project 2025 manifesto.
Suki O., who withheld her last name to protect her identity, said she felt it was important to be a voice for patients who come to her clinic seeking to terminate a pregnancy but are prohibited because an ultrasound detected fetal cardiac activity.
“It breaks my heart to have to turn them away,” she told the AJC in an interview after her testimony. “I often cry with them. I often hold their hand. I often give them encouraging words to let them know this does not have to be the end. There are still places where you could obtain the care that you so desire and you deserve.”
Project 2025 was envisioned as a guidebook for carrying out a conservative agenda under the next U.S. president. Authors of the manifesto have ties to former President Donald Trump. But Trump has distanced himself from it.
Democrats in Congress have been holding hearings and news conferences to bring attention to the document. These efforts and others have made the document a key theme of this year’s presidential contest, and it could be a drag on Trump’s campaign.
NBC News released a poll Sunday that showed Project 2025 is unpopular among voters with 57% of respondents saying they have a negative perception of it, versus 4% who reacted positively.
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Credit: Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP
Credit: Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP
TODAY IN WASHINGTON:
- President Joe Biden will be a guest on the “The View.” He will also meet with Vietnam’s President To Lam, introduce a resolution supporting Ukraine with other world leaders and host a reception at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City to close out his time at the United Nations General Assembly.
- The Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus will release its annual Stop AAPI Hate report.
- The U.S. House and Senate are expected to vote on legislation funding the government through Dec. 20.
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ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL. Events today:
- Second gentleman Douglas Emhoff will deliver remarks at campaign events in Wilmington, North Carolina, and Charlottesville, Virginia.
- Vice President Kamala Harris will campaign in Pittsburgh.
- Former President Donald Trump will speak about U.S. manufacturing at a plant in Mint Hill, North Carolina.
- U.S. Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, the Republican vice presidential nominee, will speak at a campaign rally in Traverse City, Michigan. He will also participate in a virtual news conference with union leaders.
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SHOUTOUTS. Belated birthday:
- Tuesday was the birthday of former Snellville mayor and Georgia state Rep. Melvin Everson. U.S. Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Suwanee, got his fellow U.S. House Republicans to collaborate on a video to celebrate.
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.
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AS ALWAYS, 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.
