Credit: @staceyabrams, @HerschelWalker
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Political Rewind: Dems and GOP rally over the weekend; Student loans debate; Sandra Deal's memorial
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The panel:
Edward Lindsey, @edlindsey14, former Atlanta state representative
Melita Easters, @GAWINList, founder and director, Georgia WIN List
Patricia Murphy, @MurphyAJC, political reporter and columnist, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Tammy Greer, political science professor, Clark Atlanta University
The breakdown:
1. Perry fish fry heats up GOP alliances.
- For the first time, incumbent Gov. Brian Kemp, Senate candidate Herschel Walker, and Republican lieutenant governor nominee Burt Jones come together for a public event during the midterm cycle.
- In Buckhead, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz headlined a super PAC’s “Together for Truth” conference.
2. Over in Columbus, Democrats hold their convention.
- The top two Democrats, Stacey Abrams and Sen. Raphael Warnock, never shared the stage during the convention.
- Abrams and Warnock are longtime political allies. Abrams convinced the pastor to run back in 2020.
- In the latest polling from the AJC, Warnock pulls slightly ahead of his conservative opponent Herschel Walker.
- Meanwhile, Abrams trails Kemp by a much wider margin in their 2022 rematch.
3. Abortion remains a key item for candidates across Georgia, and the country.
- Pat Ryan is a Democrat who campaigned almost solely on the right to choose and won a special election in New York.
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Recent polling from Georgia voters shows that only 31% of voters agreed with the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
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4. Debate over student loans continues.
- Patricia Murphy points out that the most vocal critics of Biden's student loan forgiveness plans have accepted PPP loans during the pandemic.
- Clark Atlanta University's Tammy Greer emphasizes the impact this plan will have on HBCUs.
5. Sandra Deal's funeral held over the weekend.
- Georgia's most recent former first lady died last week after a battle with breast cancer.
- A public memorial service for Deal was held Saturday afternoon on the campus of Lanier Technical College in Gainesville.
Tuesday on Political Rewind: The AJC's Tamar Hallerman joins the panel.