Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for July 28, 2026

On July 28, 1868, United States Secretary of State William Seward proclaimed that the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution had been ratified and was now part of the Constitution. The first section of the 14th Amendment often forms the basis for litigation and reads:

All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Georgia initially rejected the 14th Amendment in 1866, later ratifying it on July 21, 1868 as a condition for readmission.

On July 28, 1978, Animal House was released, instantly becoming one of the greatest films of all time. In case you’ve never seen the film, there is a tiny little bit of adult language in the following clip.

On July 28, 1994, the United States Postal Service issued a stamp commemorating “The General” locomotive, which was stolen in 1862 during the Great Locomotive Chase. Today, The General may be viewed at The Southern Museum in Kennesaw.

On July 28, 2016, Hillary Clinton became the first female Presidential nominee for a major party.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

Voters are going to the polls today for the Special Election for the Thirteenth Congressional District, according to the Augusta Chronicle.

Yes, there is a special election on Tuesday, July 28 in the greater Atlanta area. Georgians in the 13th congressional district are voting for a new U.S. House representative.

The congressional district includes parts of Clayton, DeKalb, Gwinnett, Henry, Newton and Rockdale Counties. The majority of voters are in Gwinnett County, on Atlanta’s east side.

Georgia voters can check their polling location and district on the My Voter Page from the Secretary of State’s Office.

Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The seat was previously held by Democrat David Scott, who died in April at the age of 80. Despite concerns about his age and health, he was running for another term at the time of his death.

The winner of the special election will hold the seat until January, when Scott’s current term would have come to an end. Primaries for the midterm have already been completed, and whomever wins the general election for Scott’s seat will be sworn in to begin a full term in January.

From the AJC:

State Rep. Jasmine Clark, a Lilburn Democrat, is likely to win November’s general election to take over the seat once held by U.S. Rep. David Scott.

But there is also a special election underway to determine who will finish out Scott’s term that ends in January; he died in his Washington home on April 22.

One of his daughters, Marcye Scott, is among the four Democrats who qualified for this 13th Congressional District race. So did former Gwinnett County School Board Chairman Everton Blair, the only candidate who ran for a full term to also qualify in the special election.

There are also two Republican candidates.

Because it is a special election, all candidates will appear together on the ballot on July 28, with early voting starting on Monday.

If no one receives more than half of the votes, the top two will go to an Aug. 25 runoff.

More on Republican Rick Jackson’s $87 million dollar ad buy, from the AJC:

Jackson told supporters that an internal poll conducted three days after his runoff win showed 94% of Republicans were already rallying behind his campaign. President Donald Trump’s rally at a Cobb County high school last week “cemented” that support, he said.

Now comes the harder part: defining Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms — and introducing himself to everyone else.

Jackson said his campaign expects voters have largely forgotten the crime problems Atlanta faced during Bottoms’ tenure as mayor, in part because her successor has made progress.

“Most people have two things they don’t know. They have forgotten how bad it was back then, and we have to remind them. But I think because Andre Dickens has done a good job reducing crime, people have forgotten about it,” he said. “We have to remind people how bad it was.”

Then there’s Jackson’s own biography. His polling found only about 35% of voters know his rags-to-riches story, from government housing in Atlanta to billionaire executive, despite the seemingly inescapable ads earlier this year.

He got a reminder of that when he called Dickens to say he hoped they could work together if Jackson wins.

“And he said, ‘So, where are you from?’” Jackson recalled. When Jackson answered Atlanta, Dickens was surprised.

“He had no idea. Which is actually good confirmation of our polling,” Jackson said. “It showed our targeting of primary voters. Some of them saw some of the ads, but they didn’t hear my story. But when they are told the story, the polling shows there’s a big movement.”

Bottoms knows what’s headed her way. At an event geared toward Black men at The Gathering Spot, she conceded she’ll never match the financial firepower of a “gazillionaire.” But she vowed to squeeze the most out of what she can spend.

“There’s still a power of the megaphone. We’re going to do what we need to do with what we have, whatever that amount is,” Bottoms said. “I’m not surrendering. I won’t have that much money, but I’m saying whatever we have, we’re still gonna take our case directly to the people of this state.”

Jackson’s spending spree will ripple far beyond the governor’s race. After he poured more than $108 million into winning the GOP nomination, another huge buy means tighter — and pricier — airtime for everyone else on the ballot. It will be particularly hard for downballot contenders to snap up space, just as it was during the nomination fight.

It could also give Republican U.S. Senate nominee Mike Collins an indirect lift. GOP strategist Chip Lake, who knows what it’s like to face a big-spending rival, put it bluntly.

“Trust me when I say this matters. Bigly,” he wrote on X. “Midterms are always challenging for any party that controls the White House. This buy is a recognition that he’s aware of that — and bad news for any Georgia Democrat.”

Burke County Sheriff Alfonzo Williams’s certification is under review after his federal indictment, according to WRDW.

Burke County Sheriff Alfonzo Williams faces a state law enforcement certification review after being indicted by a federal grand jury.

The Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council listed Williams’ certification status as “POST Review required” as of Monday.

The agency shows all of his officer certifications are suspended. That means he has no arrest authority.

Williams is accused of taking cash payments to make DUI tickets disappear and illegally transferring a gun to a convicted felon.

The indictment also accuses him of using his office to solicit and accept money from at least five people between August 2021 and April 2022 in exchange for dismissing pending citations.

Williams said his lawyers have not advised him to discuss the case.

It comes after GoFundMe removed an online fundraiser seeking money for Williams’ legal defense, saying it violated the platform’s rules and that all donors have been refunded.

On Thursday, instead money was being sought for his legal defense on a separate website.

A federal grand jury indicted Williams on six counts in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia.

Federal prosecutors allege Williams solicited and accepted money from five people between August 2021 and April 2022 in exchange for getting their pending DUI citations dismissed in Burke County. Each of the five extortion counts alleges a violation of the federal Hobbs Act under color of official right.

Gov. Brian Kemp’s office has received the indictment, triggering a window for the governor to appoint a review commission.

Once the commission provides its findings to the governor, he will make a decision on the matter.

President Donald Trump denied a clemency request from former Atlantan Mitzi Bickers, according to the AJC.

President Donald Trump will not commute the 12-year federal prison sentence imposed on former city of Atlanta executive Mitzi Bickers after she was found guilty of taking millions of dollars in bribes from city contractors.

Bickers, 59, is currently serving her sentence in a federal prison in Lexington, Kentucky, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. She was convicted in 2022 on multiple charges, accused of operating a cash-for-contracts scheme while working under former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed.

Bickers is one of almost a dozen former Atlanta officials and contractors sentenced to prison in a sprawling City Hall corruption investigation that included pay-for-play contracting. Hers is the longest prison sentence.

Jim Beard, the city’s former finance chief, was sentenced to three years in prison in 2024 after pleading guilty to federal program theft and obstructing IRS laws. He also asked for clemency in 2024, which Trump denied July 10. Beard’s attorneys did not comment Monday.

Last year, Trump pardoned former Atlanta multimillionaires and reality television stars Todd and Julie Chrisley after they were found guilty of evading taxes and defrauding community banks out of $36 million.

Atlanta’s director of human services between 2010 and 2013, Bickers pocketed about $3 million in bribes from businessmen she helped to secure city contracts worth around $17 million, prosecutors said. She was appointed by Reed in exchange for helping him win election.

Chattooga County School District started class last week on their long-time four-day per week schedule, according to WRDW via WTVM.

Friday marked the first day of school for all five schools in the Chattooga County School District. Students attend classes Tuesday through Friday, with every Monday off.

Chattooga County is about 90 miles northwest of Atlanta.

The district adopted the four-day schedule in 2010 as a cost-saving measure. Since then, the model has been found to improve morale and academic performance while also reducing discipline issues. The district used the schedule for 14 years, briefly switching to a five-day model for two years before returning to the four-day week.

Superintendent Michelle Helie said the model is extremely popular among students and staff, and that the Monday off serves a practical purpose beyond rest.

“For us, having that Monday allows our students time to go to doctor’s appointments,” Helie said. “We have students who also work. That’s a part of our work-based learning program that’s at the high school, and it gives them an extra day to get that in.”

Helie said the longer school days also benefit teachers.

“You get to recover on the weekends. You get that three-day week, and then the teachers have extra instructional time during the school day because we have a longer day, and so it gives them more time per class period to do things in the classroom,” she said.

The model is drawing attention from other districts. Helie said five or six Georgia school districts have reached out over the last two years requesting data on the schedule. Two school districts in Tennessee and one in Alabama have also made similar inquiries.

“I’ve had probably around five or six school districts within the state of Georgia over the last two years reach out and just want our data,” Helie said.

High school students report at 7:45 a.m. Tuesday through Friday. Elementary and middle school students report at 8 a.m. All students are dismissed at 3:30 p.m.

Parts of Georgia entered “no disconnect” status for electric power, according to the Ledger-Enquirer.

Georgia is going to sizzle Tuesday, and it’s largely due to a climate-change heat dome, experts say.

Nearly the entire state will be under a heat advisory, meaning high temperatures will reach 98 degrees or feels-like temperatures (the weather conditions that account for temperature and humidity) hitting 105 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.

With places potentially reaching 110 degrees in feels-like temperature across most of Georgia, air conditioning is a safety measure.

That is why if there is an outstanding or nonpayment for Georgia Power and at least 12 Electric Management Co-operatives, a customer or member will not have their power disconnected.

Specifically, Georgia Power, will not disconnect electric service during a heat advisory, where temperatures are at least 98 or have a feels-like temperature of 105 before 8 a.m. on the date of scheduled disconnection. This is a “Seasonal Restriction” rule set by the Georgia Public Service Commission in 1980.

Georgia Power made 28,118 disconnections in June, according to the PSC Monthly Bad Debt Report. Since June of 2020, the average amount of disconnects for nonpayment is 21,897. No section in the report discloses how many nonpayment customers still received A/C despite not paying due to extreme heat.

In addition to the 2.8 million Georgia Power customers who might feel the heat Tuesday, another 5 million people are members of EMCs that each have their own rules. The Ledger-Enquirer tried to contact all 41 EMCs across Georgia to find out whether they have similar heat protection policies.

A dozen responded with either the same or nearly identical policies as Georgia Power regarding disconnection due to nonpayment.

Georgia Power made a pledge to ratepayers, according to the Ledger-Enquirer.

Georgia Power is taking steps to improve its public image around data center infrastructure and rising utility bills in a new, six point pledge to customers.

In the pledge, announced last week, Georgia Power said it’s committed to keeping rates protected and energy affordable, ensuring large energy users like data centers pay their way, investing in a stronger grid, negotiating fairly and transparently for property, and balancing power in a reliable way.

The utility company also promised to put the cost of energy on new users of 100 megawatts or more, and emphasized their latest deals about saving customer $102 a year by 2029, despite the rapid growth in demand for electricity rises for data centers.

“Our Pledge clearly defines and solidifies the strategy that has been working for Georgia Power customers and our communities in recent years,” CEO and President of Georgia Power Kim Greene said. “Our company is built for this moment and, as we build and expand the power grid to serve this growth, we will do so responsibly and in a way which lives up to our longstanding mission to be a Citizen Wherever We Serve.”

Energy experts and activists called Georgia Power’s pledge a public relations campaign that doesn’t guarantee protection or offer anything new. They also called out the enforceability of a related pledge President Donald Trump made around ratepayer protections on Thursday.

On the heels of Georgia Power’s promises, Trump announced the Ratepayer Protection Pledge, that declares companies will pay for all new power delivery infrastructure upgrades to serve data centers, bringing resources and paying the full cost to protect Americans from higher utility bills.

“Customers need more than a pledge that they will be protected,” Brionté McCorkle, executive director of Georgia Conservation Voters, said. “(This customer pledge) repackages existing PSC decisions and company commitments rather than offering meaningful new protections..”

Utilities Director of the Georgia Public Service Commission Tom Bond said the pledge doesn’t offer anything new.

“(Georgia Power) appears to be describing actions already taken by the Commission,” Bond told the Ledger-Enquirer in an email.

Former Georgia Public Service Commissioner, now an attorney, Bobby Baker said the Customer Protection Pledge was a defense against negative publicity.

“The one thing Georgia Power will defend to the death is their corporate reputation, and I believe they felt they had to publicly respond in some way to show they have not abandoned their current customers for the sake of the new large load data center projects,” Baker said. “The data center rates are secret so no one other than Georgia Power and one or two PSC staffers have any idea what the data centers are actually paying, but know they are paying a lot less than any Georgia Power customer being served on base rates.”

On the heels of Georgia Power’s promises, President Donald Trump announced the Ratepayer Protection Pledge on Thursday that declared companies will pay for all new power delivery infrastructure upgrades to serve data centers, protecting Americans from higher utility bills.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Georgia Power’s parent company, Southern Company, were at the announcement in Washington, D.C. to support the pledge.

“This is a tremendous moment for the Southeast and for our country,” said Chris Womack, chairman, president and CEO of Southern Company, in a news release. “AI and advanced technologies are creating historic opportunities for investment and economic growth, and Southern Company is committed to putting customers first. The President’s Pledge reflects an important principle: growth should strengthen our energy future while protecting rate stability and reliability for the families, businesses and communities we serve.”

Governor Brian Kemp opposes data center moratoriums, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Augusta Chronicle.

Gov. Brian Kemp weighed in on the rush to develop artificial intelligence, calling the technology “scary” while also welcoming data centers to Georgia and criticizing others who would pause their development.

“I’m not saying we need a data center in every community that’s out there, but to have a moratorium just like the governor of New York did and what Keisha Lance Bottoms is proposing — to me, is irresponsible,” Kemp said in a video interview with POLITICO Energy published Monday.

The Georgia governor, who is nearing the end of his final term, may have been referring to a video interview given by Bottoms in April to the Columbus Ledger-Inquirer.

At the time, the former Atlanta mayor was competing in a crowded primary to win the Democratic nomination for governor, which she subsequently won in May.

“If I have the privilege of being elected governor, I am going to ask for a pause in construction on data centers throughout the state,” Bottoms said. “Give us an opportunity to understand exactly where we are. Are we on the right track or do we need to scale back?”

Kemp said data centers can generate local tax revenue and other benefits and that communities rather than the state should decide where they are built.

“We don’t need to try to push these things where people don’t want them,” he said in the interview conducted last week, “but to say that we’re just going to have a blanket moratorium — to me, is indeed insane.”

Kemp said he was concerned about the effect of AI on children and on security.

“Some of the things that are very scary when you think about national defense, cybersecurity issues, and other things,” he said. “But I’m more concerned about China winning this race and using all those things against us economically, militarily.”

Kemp said some data centers had been announced or even started working “in the dead of the night.”

That is not the case with the $20 billion data center that OpenAI announced for an industrial site in Effingham County near Savannah last week, he said, adding that the company had met with local officials and utilities in advance.

The public learned of the company’s plans Wednesday, when residents were given a one-day notice that the company would be holding an open house about its planned facility.

Beth Remmes, with the environmental group Georgia Interfaith Power & Light, attended the event. It featured information tables with company representatives who gave sometimes vague information, she said.

Remmes said she and others were concerned about the use of noisy and polluting diesel-fueled generators for backup power.

“They said they do have diesel generators, but they are just backing up a small part of the system, but what is a small part of a $20 billion system?” Remmes said. “That’s what I would like to see written down and explained.”

Rome City Commission will hold three meetings to discuss their proposed property tax millage rate, according to WRGA News.

The Rome City Commission will hold a Public Hearing concerning the proposed 2026 tax millage rate at a special called City Commission meeting on August 3 at 6:30 p.m.

The proposed combined rates for the City Government and City Schools of 26.25 will result in no increase of the millage rate from the prior year but will be an increase of 1.5% (.379) over the calculated rollback rate of 25.871 for City M&O, City Capital, and City School tax.

The final rate is still to be determined and that rate is planned to be adopted August 10.

The estimated City and City School tax for a property with a current market value of $250,000 would be $2,625 in 2026.

At the 2026 rollback rate, the estimated tax would be $2,587.

For a property with a current market value of $175,000, the proposed 2026 rate of 26.25 would result in a tax amount of $1,838 compared to the rollback rate of 25.871, which results in a tax amount of $1,811, a 1.5% increase.

If a homestead exemption or school tax exemption applies to your property, a deduction will apply based on your specific circumstances.

Additional Public Hearings will be held on August 10 at 10 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.

Former Gainesville Department of Water Resources Maintenance Superintendent Carl Timothy “Tim” Tench was indicted, according to AccessNorthGA.

 Tench was charged with 99 felony counts, including 33 counts each of bid-rigging, first-degree forgery and filing false documents. Authorities say additional charges may be filed as the investigation continues.

City officials said the investigation began this spring after an internal audit identified irregularities involving heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) purchases within the Department of Water Resources.

“We discovered during an internal audit this spring irregularities connected to HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) purchases through the Department of Water Resources,” Gainesville City Manager Bryan Lackey said. “We began an internal investigation through which we uncovered a pattern of bid-rigging and fraud using the City’s purchasing system. We took immediate action by terminating the employee and working with the Gainesville Police Department to build an evidence-heavy case resulting in an arrest.”

According to the city, investigators believe Tench manipulated the competitive bidding process by submitting low bids under another identity for HVAC equipment purchased on behalf of the department. He then allegedly submitted legitimate but inflated purchase orders through the city’s accounting system, allowing checks to be issued for amounts exceeding the equipment’s actual cost. Authorities say he used a portion of the funds to purchase the equipment and kept the remaining money.

The city terminated Tench’s employment on June 17 following its investigation. He had worked for the City of Gainesville for 14 years, beginning as a maintenance operator in April 2012. He was promoted to maintenance operator supervisor in 2014 and became maintenance superintendent in 2019.

Tench was released from the Hall County Jail on bond July 25.

In response to the case, the City of Gainesville said it has launched a secondary audit of all city departments in addition to its annual independent financial audit. Officials reported that no additional instances of fraud or operational misconduct have been identified.