Political Rewind: Georgia officials to testify in front of Jan. 6 committee; View of country bleak

Caption

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is set to appear before the January 6th Committee.

Credit: Stephen Fowler | GPB News

The panel:

Chuck Kuck — Immigration lawyer

Eric Tanenblatt — Global Chair of Public Policy, Dentons

Kevin Riley —Editor, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Melita Easters — Executive director, Georgia's WIN List

The breakdown:

1. Key Georgia figures are set to appear in the Jan. 6 committee hearings starting tonight. 

• Days after his testimony in Fulton County's investigation, Brad Raffensperger will appear in D.C. along with other officials from Georgia.
• Liz Cheney, one of two Republicans on the committee, has opposed her party's stance of disregarding Jan. 6. 
  • Chuck Kuck called Republican refusal to cooperate with the committee "a great mistake" and said that Cheney's questioning is "going to be a problem for Republicans."

2. The hearings will likely shape Georgians' minds as they vote in November.

• Since candidates like Kemp and Raffensperger enjoyed a large pool of crossover votes, state Democrats might face difficulty in bashing Republican candidates that voters view as moderates.
  • In the Democratic Secretary of State debate, state Rep. Bee Nguyen and former state Rep. Dee Dawkins-Haigler both targeted Raffensperger.
  • Kevin Riley says that it's difficult to imagine that Raffensperger doesn't leave the hearings "stronger or with a higher profile" as a candidate.
• The hearings' impact on elections is an unknown. As Americans struggle with mass shootings, inflation, and high gas prices, Republicans look to pull attention away from the hearings in favor of campaigning on current issues.

3. A new poll from the Wall Street Journal shows that a large majority of Americans are dissatisfied with the state of the country.

• The poll shares some unsettling statistics. 83% of over a thousand respondents describe the economy as poor or not good. 38% percent of respondents say that their financial situation has gotten worse in the past few years.
  • Eric Tanenblatt says this might precede a swing towards Republicans as midterms approach.
• Issues like abortion may divide voters not only along party lines, but along other demographic lines.
  • From Melita Easters, "We also believe that some of the moderate suburban women who may have voted Republican in the past will think about reproductive freedom for themselves and their daughters and vote for Democratic pro-choice candidates."

Tonight's Jan. 6 Commission hearing will be available live on GPB-TV, GPB radio and on our website at GPB.org. Coverage starts at 8 p.m.