Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for December 2, 2021

John Wesley left Savannah on December 2, 1737.

John Wesley’s strict discipline as rector of Christ Church in Savannah irritated his parishioners. More trouble followed when he fell in love with Sophia Hopkey, the niece of Georgia’s chief magistrate. When she married another man, Wesley banned her from Holy Communion, damaging her reputation in the community.

His successful romantic rival sued him; but Wesley refused to recognize the authority of the court, and the man who would eventually found a major Protestant denomination in America left Georgia in disgrace on December 2, 1737.

Touro Synagogue, the oldest existing synagogue in the United States, was dedicated on December 2, 1763 in Newport, Rhode Island.

The Skirmish at Rocky Creek Church took place near Waynesboro, Georgia on December 2, 1864.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

Governor Democrat Stacey Abrams announced yesterday that she will run for Emperor Governor in 2022. From the AJC:

Stacey Abrams launched a campaign for Georgia governor Wednesday with a pledge to fight for economic equality and expand health care access, setting up a potential rematch against Republican Gov. Brian Kemp in one of the nation’s most competitive political battlegrounds.

The Democrat announced her campaign with a video that highlighted her work in the state since her narrow 2018 defeat to Kemp, along with a message that “opportunity and success in Georgia shouldn’t be determined by your ZIP code, background or access to power.”

Abrams lost to Kemp by less than 1.4 percentage points in 2018, the closest Georgia gubernatorial election in decades, and her refusal to concede defeat because of what she called an “erosion” of voting rights made her an icon to many Democrats and a villain to conservatives.

Kemp might as well have ripped a page from his 2018 playbook with his reaction to her announcement, which repeated a stark warning that Abrams’ “far-left agenda” doesn’t reflect Georgia’s values.

“Next November’s election for governor is a battle for the soul of our state,” he said. “I’m in the fight against Stacey Abrams, the failed Biden agenda and their woke allies to keep Georgia the best place to live, work and raise a family.”

Click here for the Twitter announcement and video.

From Fox News:

The announcement, which was long expected, sets up a potential rematch with Kemp in the one-time solidly red state that’s morphed into a key electoral battleground. President Biden defeated former President Donald Trump in Georgia in last year’s election by a razor thin margin, becoming the first Democratic presidential candidate to carry the state in nearly three decades. And the Democrats swept Georgia’s Jan. 5 twin Senate runoffs, giving them the majority in the chamber.

But despite her party’s recent successes in Georgia, which were aided by Abrams, she’ll be running in a difficult political environment for her party, as the Democrats hope to defend their narrow House and Senate majorities. Abrams will be on the top of the Georgia ballot along side Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock, who narrowly won one of the two Senate runoff contests nearly a year ago and faces reelection next year. Republicans are targeting Warnock, whom they view as one of the most vulnerable Democratic Senates on the ballot in 2022.

Trump has vowed to return to Georgia to campaign against Kemp, to punish his onetime ally for refusing to help the then-president’s efforts last year to overturn the election results in Georgia. The ballots in Georgia were counted three times – the original Election Day count, a mandatory hand recount and a recount requested by the president’s campaign.

The former president is urging former Sen. David Perdue, who was narrowly defeated by now-Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in last January’s Senate runoffs, to challenge Kemp in a GOP primary. Former state Rep. Vernon Jones – a Democrat turned Republican and major Trump supporter – earlier this year launched a primary challenge against Kemp.

But the Republican Governors Association (RGA) is firmly backing Kemp.

“Over the past four years, Governor Kemp has exhibited courageous leadership for Georgians and guided his state through a turbulent time,” RGA spokesperson Maddie Anderson said. “Stacey Abrams spent her time touring the country in search of fame and fortune. The RGA looks forward to ensuring Abrams is once again soundly defeated.”

From Newsweek:

Former President Donald Trump has taunted Stacey Abrams, the Georgia Democrat who narrowly lost in the governor’s race in 2018, after she announced her intention on Wednesday to run in the 2022 gubernatorial elections.

In a statement issued later on Wednesday evening, Trump said: “Stacey ‘The Hoax’ Abrams has just announced that she’s running for Governor of Georgia. I beat her single-handedly, without much of a candidate, in 2018. I’ll beat her again, but it will be hard to do with Brian Kemp, because the MAGA [Make America Great Again] base will just not vote for him what he did with respect to Election Integrity and two horribly run elections, for President and then two Senate seats.”

Further discussing the 2022 gubernatorial election in Georgia, Trump added in his statement: “But some good Republican will run, and some good Republican will get my endorsement, and some good Republican will WIN!”

From Georgia Health News:

Democrat Stacey Abrams’ entry Wednesday into the 2022 Georgia gubernatorial race almost guarantees that health care will be a leading issue in the campaign.

Abrams, who narrowly lost to Brian Kemp in the 2018 race, pushed Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act as a top priority in that campaign.

As governor, Kemp has taken a much narrower path toward increasing the Medicaid rolls, and has opposed expanding the program in the standard ACA fashion, as most states have done.

Instead, he has proposed a plan to extend Medicaid to more low-income adults, but this plan has strict eligibility requirements – such as holding a job or fulfilling some alternative obligation. That means it would cover far fewer people than standard expansion would. And the Biden administration, which must approve such a state plan, has raised questions about those requirements.

Georgia is one of 12 states that have not expanded Medicaid, as Republican leaders have called the move too costly.

Amazon announced a 70-megawatt solar project in Burke County, according to the Augusta Chronicle.

Amazon is bringing a 70 megawatt solar farm to Burke County, according to a news release from the company Wednesday. The facility will be the first solar project from Amazon in Georgia.

According to a press release, the internet giant is rolling out 18 new wind and solar projects around the world as part of an initiative to power the business entirely with renewable energy by 2025. The project in Burke County is one of eight announced today, along with projects in Ohio, Texas, Virginia and Arizona. Together, they will add 1 gigawatt of power to the company profile.

The projects will supply power to Amazon’s corporate offices, its fulfillment centers and data centers sometimes referred to as server farms. Details about the new project in Burke County remain vague, however.

The project is not associated with Georgia Power, and the Georgia Public Service Commission had no additional information. Other energy co-operatives could not immediately be reached for comment.

A spokesperson for Amazon declined to answer any questions beyond confirming the size and location of the facility. Local officials in Burke County could not be reached for comment.

I believe 700 megawatts will make it about the fifth largest capacity power generator in Burke County, assuming the third and fourth Vogtle reactors ever come online.