FILE PHOTO: White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows attends U.S. President Donald Trump's campaign event, in Lititz, Pennsylvania, U.S., October 26, 2020. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo

FILE PHOTO: White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows attends U.S. President Donald Trump's campaign event, in Lititz, Pennsylvania, U.S., October 26, 2020. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo

The panel

Jim Galloway, @JimJournalist, former political reporter, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Karen Owen, @ProfKarenOwen, professor of political science, University of West Georgia 

Maya King, @mayaaking, politics reporter, New York Times

Stephen Fowler, @stphnfwlr, political reporter, GPB News 

 

The breakdown

1. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has issued requests for testimony from former Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and attorney Sidney Powell.

  • This marks a high-profile attempt byDA Willis to seek testimony from members of former President Trump's inner circle. 
    • Powell allegedly hired an Atlanta-based tech company to copy and distribute information from Coffee County voting machines. 
  • This comes as Gov. Brian Kemp's attorneys attempt to either quash or delay his testimony until after the November election, citing sovereign immunity.

 

2. Looking to the history of special elections to anticipate 2022's outcome.

  • Democrats hope to make abortion a major driving issue to increase outcome in a midterm where they were expected to lose control of legislative bodies.
    • In Texas, a federal judge ruled that doctors could not be required to perform abortions. Similar decisions nationwide could motivate voters.

LISTEN: Karen Owens has studied results from previous special elections in order to predict future elections.

3. The New York Times' Maya King tracked Stacey Abrams' history on abortion.

  • Stacey Abrams expressed discomfort with pro-choice ideology with a college friend who was considering an abortion.
  • Her belief changed over time as she came to terms with the idea that others should be free to choose, even if she personally disagreed.
  • Abrams' history on abortion could be leveraged to appeal to moderate or conservative women who may not like abortion, but want access to remain available.

LISTEN: Maya King spoke to Stacey Abrams and people who knew her in order to see how her views on abortion changed over time.

Monday on Political Rewind: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Patricia Murphy joins our panel.

Tags: Georgia  Atlanta  Macon  Savannah  Fulton County  Fani Willis  Brian Kemp  Abortion  Stacey Abrams  elections