Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for July 21, 2016

Union General Irvin McDowell’s forces engaged Confederates under General Pierre G.T. Beauregard and General Joseph Johnston at the First Battle of Manassas/Bull Run on July 21, 1861.

On July 21, 1868, the Georgia General Assembly ratified the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution as a condition for readmission.

Ernest Miller Hemingway was born on July 21, 1899 in Oak Park, Illinois.

On July 21, 1988, Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis accepted the Democratic nomination for President at the National Convention in Atlanta.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

Today, I feel like I have a political hangover from the Convention this week. I’m not going to do any real mental processing until tomorrow or Monday, so for today, I can’t tell you what it all means.

But here are my three takeaways from the Convention:

1. Most of the delegates I spoke to are comfortable, even enthusiastic, to work for the Trump-Pence ticket, and most of the dissidents are reserved in speaking about their misgivings.

2. The Trump-Pence campaign team is still at an early stage in its professional development, and we saw some hiccups at the Convention, but nothing earth-shattering.

3. Pro-Trump delegates and alternates are peeved at Ted Cruz, some even furious. There was pretty loud booing after Cruz delivered his Wednesday night speech without endorsing Trump. I wasn’t at the 1976 Convention, being all of five years old, so I don’t know what the immediate sentiment was after Reagan’s famed speech at the Convention. I have nothing to compare it to, and it’ll be a while before we know how this will play out.

Georgia Court of Appeals Presiding Judge Herbert Phipps will retire, leaving Governor Nathan Deal the opportunity to appoint yet another appelate judge to the bench.

So, it’s good timing that Governor Nathan Deal has appointed members to a newly-constituted Judicial Qualifications Commission.

J. Randolph Evans, Co-Chair
Pete Robinson, Co-Chair
State Rep. Stacey Abrams
Mary Paige Adams
Christopher Carr
Peter W. Carter
Dennis T. Cathey
Scott D. Delius
Arthur B. “Skin” Edge
State Rep. Chuck Efstration
Robert S. Highsmith
Darren R. Jones
William T. Mitchell
Patrick T. O’Connor
Attorney General Sam Olens
Jonathan Pannell
Charles E. Peeler
Lee W.O. Shafer
Patty S. Veazey
Rebecca “Ashley” Wright

Tonight at 6:30 PM, the Republican candidates in the Senate District 24 runoff election will appear at an event at the Rock Gym organized by the Elbert County Republican Party.

Lee Anderson and Greg Grzybowski, the two top vote-getters in the May primary for the 24th seat, are involved in a July 26 runoff to see which candidate will face Democratic candidate Brenda Jordan in November.

Anderson received 34 percent of the ballots cast in the primary, while Grzybowski picked up 19 percent of the votes in the primary, more than three other candidates in the race.

Elbert County Republican Party Chairman Mack Powell said the event has been scheduled to allow Elbert County voters to “personally interact” with the two candidates.