Top 10 Georgia political stories of 2024

But before we go, we wanted to recap the Top 10 biggest political stories of the year. We’ve listed these in order, counting down to No. 1. Do you agree with us? Disagree? Let us know.

Here we go.

Credit: Jacquelyn Martin/AP

Credit: Jacquelyn Martin/AP

10. Game of thrones. It doesn’t take long after an election for the finger pointing to begin on the losing side. In Georgia, criticism focused on state Democratic Party Chair Nikema Williams, who pulls double duty representing an Atlanta district in Congress. U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff was the first to make a move, privately asking Williams to step aside. The riff angered some in the party. The dominoes are still falling, but it looks like Williams might step down early next year if the party approves a rule change making the chair a full-time, paid position.

Credit: Bob Andres/AJC

Credit: Bob Andres/AJC

9. Public money for private schools. One of the biggest fights in the Legislature this year was over a bill — now a law — that promises parents of children in low-performing schools up to $6,500 to help pay for private school tuition. The law only applies to schools that are in the bottom 25% of test scores. The state published a list of these schools last month, but quickly withdrew it, saying it needed to adjust its calculations. Then, an AJC analysis found that more than 300,000 students are likely eligible for this program. That’s more than 15 times the number of students the state thought would be eligible. Something tells us there will be more to come on this story in 2025.

Credit: Georgia State Senate

Credit: Georgia State Senate

8. Prison woes. It was another violent — and deceptive — year in Georgia’s prisons. A record number of inmates were murdered behind the bars. A federal investigation laid out “horrific and inhumane” conditions inside state prisons. State lawmakers recommended some changes, including boosting officers’ pay, partnering with private companies to expand capacity and increasing mental health services. The AJC’s Carrie Teegardin and Danny Robbins will be watching to see what happens in 2025.

Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC

Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC

7. Changing the rules. The State Election Board spent so much time in court this year that AJC reporter Mark Niesse practically has a law degree now. A trio of far-right members changed the rules to require hand counts of ballots and potentially give local election officials a path to withhold certification of results, among other things. The changes prompted lawsuit upon lawsuit that critics warned was just a prelude to the real chaos after Election Day. But those fears never materialized. Judges blocked the most sweeping changes. And President-elect Donald Trump’s victory quelled any uprising from his supporters. We’ll be watching for more action in 2025.

Credit: Courtesy of Augusta University

Credit: Courtesy of Augusta University

6. Tragic deaths. The deaths of three Georgia women — Laken Riley, Amber Thurman and Candi Miller — had profound impacts on Georgia’s politics this year that will likely continue to reverberate in 2025. A Venezuelan migrant who authorities say entered the country illegally was convicted of Riley’s brutal murder, which acted as a rallying cry for conservatives who opposed Democrats’ border policies. Thurman and Miller both died from complications from abortion pills. Their deaths first came to light after reporting by ProPublica and fueled Democratic criticism of Georgia’s strict abortion laws.

Credit: Elijah Nouvelage for the AJC

Credit: Elijah Nouvelage for the AJC

5. Fani Willis. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis began the year overseeing an election interference case against Trump and his allies. She ended it likely disqualified from the case after her romantic relationship with the former special prosecutor in charge of it was exposed in court. In between, she easily won reelection and fought to suppress subpoenas from the Republican-led state legislature. She’ll likely be doing more of that in 2025.

Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC

Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC

4. The storms. Georgia was hit by portions of three major storms this year. The worst, by far, was Hurricane Helene. No part of Georgia was untouched from its wrath, as the massive storm cut a path through the Peach State that inflicted billions of dollars in damage and killed more than 30 people. Many are still reeling from its effects. Meanwhile, the storm sparked a brutal political fight over federal relief dollars that was part of a crisis over the weekend about government funding. About $100 billion was tied up in legislation to temporarily fund the government, which President Joe Biden signed on Saturday to avoid a shutdown.

Credit: AP

Credit: AP

3. The feud. Politicians in the same party don’t have to like each other. But they often must act like they do. For much of 2024, Gov. Brian Kemp and Donald Trump couldn’t even do that. Whether it was first lady Marty Kemp saying she wouldn’t vote for Trump or Trump blasting the Kemps during a Georgia campaign rally, it was clear their damaged relationship threatened to spill over into the campaign. Both sides made up, and by Election Day Kemp was running ads for Trump — although still not mentioning him by name. Their relationship will be one to watch going forward.

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

2. Georgia’s flip-flop. Did you know there was a presidential election in Georgia this year? It’s true. The candidates came here 49 times. They spent $318 million in Georgia just on TV ads. One can only imagine how many text messages they sent. Trump turned Georgia red, and in doing so he reset politics in the peach state. He resurrected the political careers of former U.S. Rep. Doug Collins, one-time U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler, donor Bill White and failed Senate candidate Herschel Walker by nominating them to key positions. And he altered the dynamics of the 2026 statewide elections, which include the race for governor and a U.S. Senate seat.

Credit: Gerald Herbert/AP

Credit: Gerald Herbert/AP

1. That debate. Conventional wisdom says political debates don’t matter much. But the CNN debate on June 27 changed the course of U.S. history. President Joe Biden’s performance was so disastrous that it forced him to withdraw from the race just a few months before Election Day. That it all happened in Atlanta provided a bittersweet bookend to Biden’s presidency. After all, it was Georgia that helped propel him past Trump in 2020. His withdrawal from the 2024 race played a big part in ensuring Georgia flipped back to Trump.

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Credit: Curtis Compton/AJC

Credit: Curtis Compton/AJC

GOOD MORNING! Georgia’s legislative session starts in 21 days. President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration is in 28 days. The next edition of this newsletter is in 11 days. We hope you enjoy the holidays.

Here are three things to know for today:

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Credit: Bob Andres/AJC

Credit: Bob Andres/AJC

RIP. Georgia’s political world buzzed with fond memories of former Democratic state Sen. Vincent Fort, who died Sunday from complications of cancer at the age of 68. Some of our favorite stories about him come from the Republican side of the aisle.

Conservative activist Debbie Dooley recalled her unlikely alliance with the liberal Fort over the 2012 push to defeat a tax hike for transportation improvements that each worried would be rife for abuse.

She told us she met Fort in a Decatur alley during that campaign and popped her trunk so that he could quietly unload signs and T-shirts for protesters so no one could see the two rivals collaborating.

Then there’s Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul, a former Republican lawmaker who once sat next to Fort when they both served in the Senate. He called Fort his favorite “frenemy.”

During the long fight over creating the north Fulton County city, founding Mayor Eva Galambos, who died in 2015, said that Fort once declared the city would be incorporated “when pigs fly.” Now, there’s a meeting area at Sandy Springs City Hall christened the “Flying Pig Conference Room.”

“Rest in peace, my friend,” Paul said. “After all the joyous turmoil you created on behalf of those you truly served, you deserve it.”

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Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC

Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC

LISTEN UP. “Politically Georgia” had its final live show of the year on Friday. Today, you’ll hear a pre-recorded episode of the hosts answering questions from listeners. We’ll be back on Dec. 27 with an interview with the AJC’s two-time Pulitzer Prize winning editorial cartoonist Mike Luckovich. On Dec. 30, we’ll have a special episode reviewing the news from 2024 and looking ahead to the biggest issues of 2025. Live shows will resume on Jan. 2.

Be sure to download the AJC’s 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. You can also listen live at 10 a.m. EDT on 90.1 FM WABE. Have a question for the show? Give us a call at 770-810-5297.

On Friday’s show, Gov. Brian Kemp talked about the federal government funding proposal and its ties to disaster relief. The hosts discussed fallout of the Georgia Court of Appeals’ decision to remove Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from the election interference case.

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Credit: Nathan Posner for The AJC

Credit: Nathan Posner for The AJC

MR. CHAIRMAN. U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter was disappointed last week when his attempt to create new oversight of prescription drug benefit managers became part of the back-and-forth over the stopgap federal spending legislation. When Elon Musk described these policy add-ons as pork, House Speaker Mike Johnson retreated from the deal and the language was dropped from the final version.

But Carter will have plenty of leeway to renew his efforts starting next month when he takes over as chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Health.

“The goal of this subcommittee is as straightforward as it is consequential: help Americans live healthier and longer lives,” Carter, R-St. Simons Island, said in a statement.

U.S. Rep. Rick Allen, R-Augusta, will serve as vice chairman of a different panel, the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology.

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Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC

Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC

SHOUTOUTS. Belated birthday:

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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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Credit: Susan Potter/AJC

Credit: Susan Potter/AJC

SO LONG. We couldn’t close out the year without wishing a fond farewell to our dear politics colleague Jim Denery. Jim is listed as a “premium editor” on the AJC’s website, and that’s a fitting description because all of the stories he touches end up at the highest quality.

Denery has been with the AJC since 2007 after working as a reporter and editor at eight other newspapers, mostly in the South. He’s leaving at the end of this year.

We’ll leave you with these words of wisdom from Denery in an essay he wrote years ago about the perils of journalists using the word “reform” to describe a lawmaker’s proposal.

“Reform is not the same thing as change, and when politicians drop that ‘reform’ label on one of their proposals, they’re making a promise they can’t keep,” Denery wrote. “Frankly, we should be unhappy, ourselves, if we allow any politician to go unquestioned in calling his proposal an improvement.”

Well said, Jim.

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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.