Wednesday on Political Rewind: As cases of COVID-19 surge dramatically across Georgia, candidates on both sides of the aisle are using the spread of the virus in their 2022 campaign messaging. Meanwhile, Gov. Brian Kemp is urging state business leaders to back his efforts to fight violent crime in Atlanta and other major cities.
Tuesday on Political Rewind: New polling shows Herschel Walker is the best liked of the potential field among both Republicans and Democrats. The recent survey suggests the former college football star would be the strongest Republican against incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock.
Monday on Political Rewind: Officials continue to resist establishing a statewide procedure for mitigating the possible spread of COVID-19 in schools. Cases are rising in some systems in the first week of classes. In Atlanta, public schools will begin offering vaccines to middle and high school students next week.
Many Georgia schools are back in session, and with the reopening of classrooms, debates rage over whether to require masks for students and staff. Gov. Brian Kemp faces pressure from state legislative leaders to ban mask mandates in school systems across the Peach State. Meanwhile, businesses contemplate what to do about vaccines for employees.
Thursday on Political Rewind: State Republicans in the General Assembly are urging the governor to issue an order forbidding schools from imposing mask mandates for students and staff. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden has answered critics within his own party who accused him of failing to take action as a moratorium on evictions expired late last week.
Monday on Political Rewind: Concern about the resurgence of COVID-19 in Georgia is growing as the summer break draws to a close. Meanwhile, congressional leaders in Washington, D.C. allowed the end of an federal eviction moratorium over the weekend.
Thursday on Political Rewind: Georgia Republicans have begun taking steps to a possible takeover of Fulton County elections. A letter signed by two dozen state senators supports a performance review of the county’s election chief. Also: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s moratorium on evictions during the pandemic is set to end this Saturday, potentially unleashing a wave of pent-up evictions around metro Atlanta.
The push and pull between the state and local officials during the pandemic is familiar: Last year, Republican Gov. Brian Kemp blocked local leaders from imposing their own facial covering requirements. This year, his power to do so is more limited.
Tuesday on Political Rewind: Voting rights advocates remain concerned Republican legislators are angling to use Georgia’s new voting law to take over operation of Fulton County elections. However, critics of past chaos in the county’s elections say change is needed. Meanwhile, as cases of COVID-19 propelled by the dangerous delta variant spread in the state, Savannah Mayor Van Johnson has once again issued a mask mandate for the city.
Savannah is once again requiring masks in indoor public places and urging businesses to follow suit, citing rapidly increasing community transmission rates of COVID-19.
Tuesday on Political Rewind: Gov. Brian Kemp says he’ll ask the General Assembly to pass laws to fight crime during a special session of the legislature later this year. The session’s primary mission will be to redraw political maps based on new census data. But Kemp has the power to add measures to combat violent crime, especially in Atlanta, to the agenda.
Plus, we look at the outcome of the U.S. Senate field hearing examining Georgia’s new voting law.
Thursday on Political Rewind: Gov. Brian Kemp and Georgia legislators will face a happy problem as they begin determining how to spend state revenues over the next year. Despite the pandemic, Georgia tax collections reached a record $3.2 billion in the recently ended fiscal year.
Wednesday on Political Rewind: In a fiery speech in Philadelphia, President Joe Biden reasserted his contention that Republican-backed election bills passed in Georgia and other states amounted to "Jim Crow 2.0." Meanwhile, Texas Democratic legislators have blocked the GOP effort to pass a controversial election bill by fleeing to Washington and denying state House leaders the quorum needed to pass legislation.