Political Rewind: Kemp testifies in Fulton probe; Trump-backed Lake loses Arizona; Saturday voting

Caption

Gov. Brian Kemp, fresh from a reelection victory, testifies today in the Fulton County probe into election interference.

Credit: Riley Bunch/GPB

The panel: 

Adam Van Brimmer, @adamvanbrimmer, editor-In-chief of the opinion page, Savannah Morning News

Donna Lowry, @donnalowrynews, host, GPB-TV’s Lawmakers

Meg Kinnard, @MegKinnardAP, political and legal affairs reporter, Associated Press

Tamar Hallerman, @TamarHallerman, senior reporter, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The breakdown:

1. Gov. Kemp testifies in Fulton probe about interference in the 2020 election. 

• Kemp's testimony comes after winning his reelection bid last week.
• Unlike other high-profile witnesses, Kemp is not a target in the probe which centers on if Donald Trump interfered with the 2020 elections.
• In the same Fulton County probe, Sen. Lindsey Graham has lost all his appeals to avoid testifying. 

2. Red wave ends in Arizona as Trump-backed Kari Lake loses her bid for governor. 

• Lake, a former news anchor, lost to Democrat Katie Hobbs.
  • Hobbs is Arizona's current secretary of state. 
• The loss comes as it's widely reported that Trump may announce his 2024 bid tonight. 
• Meg Kinnard explains how the Associated Press called this race. 

3. Trump's 2024 announcement could affect the Senate runoff. 

• The 45th president has signaled he'll make a big announcement at Mar-a-Lago tonight. 
• Adam Van Brimmer speaks about how Trump's announcement could influence Georgia's runoff and energize voters as control of the Senate is already decided.

4. Sen. Raphael Warnock is challenging the state's Saturday voting block.

• The Georgia Democratic Party and Warnock's campaign filed suit against the state of Georgia to allow Saturday voting ahead of the Senate runoff.
• A 2016 state law banned Saturday voting within two days of a state or national holiday.
  • With a shortened runoff schedule, voters can't go to the polls after the Thanksgiving holiday and the Friday state holiday, formerly known as Robert E. Lee Day.

Wednesday on Political Rewind: Emory's Andra Gillespie and the AJC's Greg Bluestein join us.