Tag: Georgia (U.S. state)

On the other side is a symbol of Cobb’s future, the Marietta Walk homes, one of many developments bringing new voters to an area that was the cradle of Newt Gingrich’s political career a few short decades ago. In 2012, Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney won Cobb County by 12 percentage points and won Georgia by eight points. In 2016, the county swung Democratic as Hillary Clinton won Cobb by two points, even as she lost the state overall by five points. “I tend to look at this going back to 2016 when one of the most monumental things that happened was when Hillary Clinton actually won the top of the ticket here in Cobb,” said Michael Owens, the Cobb County Democratic Party Chairman. “It’s the first time in 40 years that a Democrat has won the top of the ticket.” “In 2018, in Cobb County, we carried every statewide election by 30,000 votes or more,” Owens noted. Since 2010, Cobb’s population has swelled by 10 percent, outpacing overall growth in the state. “I’d say younger people in this area definitely change the politics in this area. It’s definitely a younger crowd moving in.” That’s just Cobb County, of course. Brian Kemp lost Cobb County, but it still produced the most Republican votes of any county in the state. “I think Georgia’s been a swing state before.

John Bazemore/Associated Press The House Oversight and Reform Committee is investigating allegations of voter suppression in Georgia under Secretary of State Brian Kemp, who has since become governor. The letters instructed Mr. Kemp and Mr. Raffensperger — both Republicans — to provide by March 20 a wide range of documents concerning voter roll purges; holds placed on voter registration applications; polling site changes and closings; and other voting-related issues. The committee also requested all documents related to the potential conflict of interest Mr. Kemp faced in administering an election in which he was a candidate. [Make sense of the people, issues and ideas shaping American politics with our newsletter.] The letter outlined several points of scrutiny during the 2018 governor’s race, in which Stacey Abrams, a Democrat, posed a strong challenge to Mr. Kemp in a normally solidly Republican state. Mr. Kemp’s office purged more than 1.4 million voters from the rolls during his tenure. And county and state officials closed more than 200 polling places from 2012 to 2018. Asked for comment on Wednesday, his spokesman directed The Times to video of a news conference where Mr. Kemp suggested that the investigation was a politically motivated distraction from more important issues. “They need to quit playing politics up there,” Mr. Kemp said at the news conference, before pivoting to an attack on House Democrats for giving billions of dollars in disaster aid to Puerto Rico “when we have our own farmers that are fixing to lose their farm.” He said nothing about the substance of the allegations or the document requests, and his spokesman did not respond to a follow-up email. Mr. Raffensperger, the current secretary of state, said that he had received his own letter and that his office “looks forward to an open dialogue and a thorough process.” Mr. Cummings and Mr. Raskin, the Democratic committee leaders, were not immediately available for interviews on Wednesday.

The national nonpartisan organization, which has six college chapters in Georgia, encourages women to engage in politics and run for office On February 9, IGNITE will host their 2019 Young Women Run Atlanta conference at Agnes Scott College. Congresswoman Lucy McBath, of Georgia’s 6th congressional district, will be the keynote speaker at the half-day event, along with guest speakers and state House Representatives Brenda Lopez and Park Cannon. Their K-12 curriculum teaches young girls the inner workings of government and why it is important to be politically involved. Collegiate chapters, of which Georgia has six, offer women the opportunity to connect with elected officials and other political leaders who act as mentors and role models. “We’re giving [women] opportunities to be in spaces where they can dish it all out,” chief program officer Sara Guillermo says. ; Adrienne White, vice president of strategy and business development at Citizens Trust Bank; political strategist Pallavi Purkayastha, and more. Two breakout sessions geared toward leadership and immigration policy will follow the panel. Atlanta City Council president Felicia Moore and state senator Nikema Williams are also on the guest list. IGNITE has allowed her to host voter registration drives, election watch parties, and “build a culture” of political activism on her campus she says was not present before. “This work is real hard, and it’s always better when you’ve got a good squad and girl gang with you,” Guillermo says.

The wild November elections could just be a preview of the tumultuous year ahead in Georgia politics. Here are some of the biggest questions in Georgia politics that your Insiders will be watching this year. How will Brian Kemp govern? And he’ll face new pressure – from the courts, from Democrats and from his own party – to solve pressing voting rights issues that surfaced over the last year. He’ll also have a largely untested team dealing with a host of powerful players that include House Speaker David Ralston – who has solidified control of his chamber over the last decade – and incoming Lt. Gov. That’s the margin of Republican victories in Georgia by percentage point since 2014. One of the juiciest targets on the Senate map in 2020 is Republican David Perdue, who is running for his second – and he says final – term in the U.S. Senate. Will lawmakers tackle Georgia’s voting issues? Nathan Deal supported many transit initiatives and 2018 was a watershed year for metro Atlanta transit. Georgia Democrats enter the year with some hard-earned clout after winning more than a dozen state legislative seats across the close-in suburbs of metro Atlanta, offsetting the defeats of three imperiled House Democrats in more rural territories.

The wild November elections could just be a preview of the tumultuous year ahead in Georgia politics. Here are some of the biggest questions in Georgia politics that your Insiders will be watching this year. How will Brian Kemp govern? And he’ll face new pressure – from the courts, from Democrats and from his own party – to solve pressing voting rights issues that surfaced over the last year. He’ll also have a largely untested team dealing with a host of powerful players that include House Speaker David Ralston – who has solidified control of his chamber over the last decade – and incoming Lt. Gov. That’s the margin of Republican victories in Georgia by percentage point since 2014. One of the juiciest targets on the Senate map in 2020 is Republican David Perdue, who is running for his second – and he says final – term in the U.S. Senate. Will lawmakers tackle Georgia’s voting issues? Nathan Deal supported many transit initiatives and 2018 was a watershed year for metro Atlanta transit. Georgia Democrats enter the year with some hard-earned clout after winning more than a dozen state legislative seats across the close-in suburbs of metro Atlanta, offsetting the defeats of three imperiled House Democrats in more rural territories.

The wild November elections could just be a preview of the tumultuous year ahead in Georgia politics. Here are some of the biggest questions in Georgia politics that your Insiders will be watching this year. How will Brian Kemp govern? And he’ll face new pressure – from the courts, from Democrats and from his own party – to solve pressing voting rights issues that surfaced over the last year. He’ll also have a largely untested team dealing with a host of powerful players that include House Speaker David Ralston – who has solidified control of his chamber over the last decade – and incoming Lt. Gov. That’s the margin of Republican victories in Georgia by percentage point since 2014. One of the juiciest targets on the Senate map in 2020 is Republican David Perdue, who is running for his second – and he says final – term in the U.S. Senate. Will lawmakers tackle Georgia’s voting issues? Nathan Deal supported many transit initiatives and 2018 was a watershed year for metro Atlanta transit. Georgia Democrats enter the year with some hard-earned clout after winning more than a dozen state legislative seats across the close-in suburbs of metro Atlanta, offsetting the defeats of three imperiled House Democrats in more rural territories.

This Candidate Wants You to Read About Love and Politics Stacey Abrams, Georgia’s Democratic candidate for governor up for election in November, has the voracious and eclectic literary tastes befitting a woman who has authored not only a political memoir (Minority Leader: How to Lead from the Outside and Make Real Change) but also eight romance novels (including Deception and Secrets and Lies, written under the pen name Selena Montgomery). Here, a few of her recommendations: William Dobson investigates how authoritarianism has taken on the trappings and lessons of modern institutions to strengthen its ability to strip nations of their democracy. A timely handbook for current political times around the world. (Amazon) Alan Lightman’s exploration of the iterations of Einstein’s theories of relativity offer brief glimpses into the nature of time and human relationships. In sharp, short vignettes, he imagines what complex ideations would mean in our daily interactions. With each installment, I learn more about how to be a stronger leader, as well as how to guard against the hubris inherent in political power. (Amazon) Her novel about Estebanico, a Moroccan slave who was part of Narváez expedition, uses the narrative device of a fictional memoir to excavate the horror faced by African slaves and native peoples in 16th-century Florida. His story makes the reader uncomfortable, angry, and bereft by turn—yet willing to endure all to see it through to the end. Plus, her heroines are fiercely independent and her heroes are flawed and dashing, excellent romantic fare. (Amazon)

This Candidate Wants You to Read About Love and Politics Stacey Abrams, Georgia’s Democratic candidate for governor up for election in November, has the voracious and eclectic literary tastes befitting a woman who has authored not only a political memoir (Minority Leader: How to Lead from the Outside and Make Real Change) but also eight romance novels (including Deception and Secrets and Lies, written under the pen name Selena Montgomery). Here, a few of her recommendations: William Dobson investigates how authoritarianism has taken on the trappings and lessons of modern institutions to strengthen its ability to strip nations of their democracy. A timely handbook for current political times around the world. (Amazon) Alan Lightman’s exploration of the iterations of Einstein’s theories of relativity offer brief glimpses into the nature of time and human relationships. In sharp, short vignettes, he imagines what complex ideations would mean in our daily interactions. With each installment, I learn more about how to be a stronger leader, as well as how to guard against the hubris inherent in political power. (Amazon) Her novel about Estebanico, a Moroccan slave who was part of Narváez expedition, uses the narrative device of a fictional memoir to excavate the horror faced by African slaves and native peoples in 16th-century Florida. His story makes the reader uncomfortable, angry, and bereft by turn—yet willing to endure all to see it through to the end. Plus, her heroines are fiercely independent and her heroes are flawed and dashing, excellent romantic fare. (Amazon)

A plan to close most polling places in a predominantly black Georgia county ahead of November’s midterm elections is drawing opposition from the state’s gubernatorial candidates and voting rights activists, who claim blatant voter suppression. 'You don’t tell yourself no': Stacey Abrams' bid to be America's first black female governor Read more The two-member local elections board is expected to vote Friday on a proposal to shutter seven of nine polling sites in rural Randolph county, in south-west Georgia, where roughly 60% of the 7,800 residents are black – twice the statewide rate. “You don’t help persons with disabilities by removing the number of locations at which they might possibly be able to vote,” Young said. He added that the Georgia ACLU and the county commissioner’s office offered to work with the county to solve compliance issues and were not taken up on the offer. Both Stacey Abrams, the Democratic nominee seeking to become the first female African American governor in US history, and Republican Brian Kemp, who is white and is Georgia’s secretary of state, urged county officials to drop the plan. “Consolidation has come highly recommended by the secretary of state and is already being adopted by several counties and is being seriously considered and being worked on by many more,” Mike Malone, a consultant hired by the elections board, said according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Voting while black: the racial injustice that harms our democracy | Carol Anderson Read more Voting rights could become a flashpoint in the governor’s race, as Abrams seeks to turn out African American voters in rural areas, particularly in a series of counties known as the “Black Belt”, mostly south of Atlanta. She has said Kemp is an architect of voter suppression, an accusation he has denied. Why US elections remain 'dangerously vulnerable' to cyber-attacks Read more “We are deeply troubled by this proposal which would impair the ability of African Americans, particularly in low-income areas, to reach the polls,” Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee, said on Monday. “If you live in one of these places where the polling location was closed,” he said, “that’s a three-and-a-half-hour walk to your new polling place, if you don’t have a car.”

While national Democrats debate pithy slogans, force out tired satires, and generally wonder what exactly they're supposed to be doing, Stacey Abrams has a plan. The Georgia state legislator and Democratic nominee for governor is a compelling speaker and driven public servant, Molly Ball wrote for Time in a profile published Thursday — but more than that, she's not afraid to try strategies that party bigwigs have largely ignored. Georgia is a red state veering purple; in the run-up to the 2016 election, there were several polls that breathed life into the idea that Hillary Clinton could steal the conservative state. President Trump ultimately won the Peach State by 5 points, but Abrams thinks there's a coalition to be built that could nonetheless propel her to the governorship. Abrams, by contrast, has made budget priorities the center of her campaign, pledging to rejuvenate Georgia's public education system and overhaul its safety net. The key, her team believes, is in tweaking its target voters: Ever since Bill Clinton won re-election in 1996 with a strategy of triangulation, Democrats have tried to win in Republican territory by appealing to white centrist voters. [Time] "I am coming for you, Georgia!" Abrams says, speaking to hyped up crowds. Read more about her plan to turn Georgia blue — and how she used to explain Republican lawmakers' bills back to them — at Time. Kimberly Alters