On June 14, 1736, James Oglethorpe ordered plans to be drawn for a new city to be called Augusta.
The first Georgia-Florida war game weekend began on June 12, 1740, as Georgia founder James Oglethorpe led 400 soldiers landing opposite the Spanish fort at St. Augustine.
A “Liberty Tree” was planted in Savannah on June 13, 1775 to symbolize support for independence. The first liberty tree was an elm in Boston that became a meeting spot for patriots, but Savannah’s was actually a Liberty Pole. In 2006, a seedling grown from the last of the original Liberty Trees on the campus of St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland was planted in Dalton, Georgia.
The Marquis de Lafayette arrived in South Carolina to assist General George Washington on June 13, 1775.
Happy birthday to the United States Army, established on June 14, 1775.
The Virginia Convention adopted George Mason’s “Declaration of Rights” on June 12, 1776. From Wikipedia:
The Declaration was adopted unanimously by the Fifth Virginia Convention at Williamsburg, Virginia on June 12, 1776 as a separate document from the Constitution of Virginia which was later adopted on June 29, 1776. In 1830, the Declaration of Rights was incorporated within the Virginia State Constitution as Article I, but even before that Virginia’s Declaration of Rights stated that it was ‘”the basis and foundation of government” in Virginia. A slightly updated version may still be seen in Virginia’s Constitution, making it legally in effect to this day.
It was initially drafted by George Mason circa May 20, 1776; James Madison assisted him with the section on religious freedom.
The Virginia Declaration of Rights heavily influenced later documents. Thomas Jefferson is thought to have drawn on it when he drafted the United States Declaration of Independence in the same month (June 1776). James Madison was also influenced by the Declaration while drafting the Bill of Rights (introduced September 1789, ratified 1791), as was the Marquis de Lafayette in voting the French Revolution‘s Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789).
The importance of the Virginia Declaration of Rights is that it was the first constitutional protection of individual rights, rather than protecting only members of Parliament or consisting of simple laws that can be changed as easily as passed.
On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress adopted a resolution, “the flag of the United States be thirteen alternate stripes red and white” and that “the Union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation.” One hundred years later, on June 14, 1877, was the first observance of Flag Day.
On June 12, 1924, George Herbert Walker Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts.
On June 13, 1966, the United States Supreme Court released its decision in Miranda v. Arizona. In Miranda, the Court held that a confession obtained by police without informing the suspect of his rights against self-incrimination (Fifth Amendment) and to the service of a lawyer (Sixth Amendment) was inadmissible.
Thurgood Marshall was appointed to the Supreme Court by President Lyndon B. Johnson on June 13, 1967.
As the NAACP’s chief counsel from 1938 to 1961, he argued 32 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, successfully challenging racial segregation, most notably in public education. He won 29 of these cases, including a groundbreaking victory in 1954′s Brown v. Board of Education, in which the Supreme Court ruled that segregation violated the 14th Amendment to the Constitution and was thus illegal. The decision served as a great impetus for the African American civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s and ultimately led to the abolishment of segregation in all public facilities and accommodations.
In 1961, President John F. Kennedy appointed Marshall to the U.S. Court of Appeals, but his nomination was opposed by many Southern senators, and he was not confirmed until the next year. In June 1967, President Johnson nominated him to the Supreme Court, and in late August he was confirmed. During his 24 years on the high court, Associate Justice Marshall consistently challenged discrimination based on race or sex, opposed the death penalty, and supported the rights of criminal defendants. He also defended affirmative action and women’s right to abortion. As appointments by a largely Republican White House changed the politics of the Court, Marshall found his liberal opinions increasingly in the minority. He retired in 1991, and two years later passed away.
The New York Times began publishing excerpts from the “Pentagon Papers” on June 13, 1971.
After failing to persuade the Times to voluntarily cease publication on June 14, Attorney General John N. Mitchell and Nixon obtained a federal court injunction forcing the Times to cease publication after three articles.Times publisher Arthur Ochs Sulzberger said:
Newspapers, as our editorial said this morning, we’re really a part of history that should have been made available, considerably longer ago. I just didn’t feel there was any breach of national security, in the sense that we were giving secrets to the enemy.
The newspaper appealed the injunction, and the case New York Times Co. v. United States (403 U.S. 713) quickly rose through the U.S. legal system to the Supreme Court.
On June 18, 1971, The Washington Post began publishing its own series of articles based upon the Pentagon Papers; Ellsberg gave portions to editor Ben Bradlee. That day, Assistant U.S. Attorney General William Rehnquist asked the Post to cease publication. After the paper refused, Rehnquist sought an injunction in U.S. district court. Judge Murray Gurfein declined to issue such an injunction, writing that “[t]he security of the Nation is not at the ramparts alone. Security also lies in the value of our free institutions. A cantankerous press, an obstinate press, a ubiquitous press must be suffered by those in authority in order to preserve the even greater values of freedom of expression and the right of the people to know.” The government appealed that decision, and on June 26 the Supreme Court agreed to hear it jointly with the New York Times case.Fifteen other newspapers received copies of the study and began publishing it.
On June 30, 1971, the Supreme Court decided, 6–3, that the government failed to meet the heavy burden of proof required for prior restraint injunction. The nine justices wrote nine opinions disagreeing on significant, substantive matters.
Only a free and unrestrained press can effectively expose deception in government. And paramount among the responsibilities of a free press is the duty to prevent any part of the government from deceiving the people and sending them off to distant lands to die of foreign fevers and foreign shot and shell.
—Justice Black
On June 12, 1987, President Ronald Reagan spoke in then-divided Berlin and challenged Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to “tear down this wall.”
The University of Georgia’s Russell Library for Political Research and Studies opened archives of papers from United States Senators Saxby Chambliss (R-Moultrie) and Johnny Isakson (R-Cobb County), according to the Athens Banner Herald.
The Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson papers are now available to the public. UGA reported that the records include campaign memorabilia, correspondence, photographs, and other political papers collected during their careers.
Chambliss, 82, of Moultrie, received a bachelor’s degree from UGA and a law degree from the University of Tennessee. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 2003 and in the Senate from 2003 to 2015.
Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections
Today is the last day of early voting before the Primary Election on Tuesday, June 16, 2026.
Early voting turnout as of yesterday was 342,944 ballots, per the Secretary of State’s website.
Democratic – 119,871 – 34.95%
Republican – 222,067 – 64.75%
Nonpartisan – 1,006 – 0.29%TOTAL: 342,944
Higher GOP voter turnout could cause problems for Democrats in State Senate District 7’s Special Election, according to Georgia Recorder.
Democrats worry a wave of early voters in runoffs for the governor’s office and U.S. Senate could flip a Gwinnett County-based state Senate district just as lawmakers prepare to convene for a special session.
Out of over 300,000 ballots cast statewide during early voting as of Thursday, nearly 66% came from Republicans, who are outvoting Democrats by a 2-to-1 margin due to competitive GOP primary runoffs for the U.S. Senate and the governor’s mansion. In Gwinnett County, where Senate District 7 sits, about 17,000 ballots have been cast as of Thursday, and like the rest of the state, about two-thirds came from Republican voters.
“There are headwinds. There is no denying that there are definite headwinds to close this gap,” said Democratic candidate Adrienne White, who is facing Republican Aizaz Shaikh in the special election runoff for the metro Atlanta Senate seat.
White received about 33% of the vote in a three-way race for the seat against Shaikh, who got nearly 34%, and Astrid Ross, a Democrat who got nearly 33% of the vote.
Shaikh did not respond to requests for comments Thursday.
Tuesday’s runoff will decide which candidate serves the remainder of former state Sen. Nabilah Parkes’ term after she stepped down to focus on her campaign for lieutenant governor. Parkes is in a runoff with state Sen. Josh McLaurin in that race, which is one of four down-ballot runoff contests on the Democratic ballot.
The winner of the special election to fill Parkes’ Senate seat will join the Legislature just as lawmakers are set to return to Atlanta next week to redraw the state’s political maps. If Shaikh wins, it would give Republicans another vote at a pivotal time.
Josh McKoon, chairman of the Georgia Republican Party, said in an interview that while statewide Republican runoffs might be driving turnout, he believes that a win on Tuesday would challenge assumptions about shifting demographics in the north Atlanta suburbs, where Democrats have been able to flip seats that were previously held by Republicans.
Parkes flipped the seat in 2022 with nearly 53% of the vote and held on to it in 2024 with 55%.
“Democrats try to have this narrative that in multi-ethnic places, in places where the demography shifted, that Republicans can’t win, and my goodness, if we win on Tuesday in this Senate district, boy, does it totally upend that narrative that Democrats have been trying to spin,” McKoon said.
But the potential gain for Republicans in this special election may be short-lived, said University of Georgia political scientist Trey Hood, who said he believes Democrats could easily flip the seat back in the November general election. He said that Shaikh, if elected on Tuesday, may have a slight advantage in November as an incumbent, but not enough to keep the seat in Republicans’ hands.
“It’ll probably flip back to Democratic, I would suspect, given the way that just the sort of partisan composition of the district. I wouldn’t expect it to hold,” Hood said.
Despite a seeming uphill battle to keep the seat blue, White said she is not giving up. She said she is ramping up her campaigning efforts as well as getting help from high-profile Democrats in hopes of turning out voters.
“The numbers look insurmountable, but if I am really pulling from my ancestors, it says that justice really is kind of the root of everything. You don’t stop fighting, and I just want people to know I’m not done until 7 p.m. on election day,” White said.
As White and Shaikh battle it out in the special election, there is a parallel race unfolding to decide who will succeed Parkes longer term. Attorney Rahul Garabadu and state Rep. Ruwa Romman are competing for the Democratic nomination in a runoff Tuesday in that race, and the winner will face Shaikh in November.
The special election to fill the remainder of former state Sen. Nabilah Parkes’ term is set for Tuesday, the same day as Republican runoffs for governor and U.S. Senate. While Democrats have no marquee races on the ballot, Republicans do. And so far, GOP voters are turning out at a much higher rate.
That dynamic won’t affect the Democratic runoff between Rahul Garabadu and state Rep. Ruwa Romman to determine who succeeds Parkes next year, a race we profiled earlier this week.
But it will shape the race to fill the seat for the rest of this year, where Democrat Adrienne White faces Republican Aizaz Shaikh in a head-to-head contest.
If Republicans flip the seat, it also would give the GOP-controlled Senate another vote as lawmakers return to Atlanta on Wednesday for a special legislative session, where a bitter fight over redistricting and voting rules is expected.
Former state Rep. Beth Moore warned of a “nightmare scenario” after the first days of early voting showed Republicans with a 60-40 turnout edge.
“In a district that would normally be an easy win for Democrats, Republican voters are vastly outpacing Democratic voters in the first three days. Why? Because Republicans are incentivized to show up for the top of their ticket, in the runoffs for U.S. Senate and the governor’s office,” she said.
Others are also rattled. Activist Seth Taylor called the turnout gap a “five-alarm fire.” Democrats are planning a canvassing push Saturday in hopes of boosting White’s chances.
“This runoff is close,” organizers said, “and every conversation counts.”
Georgia voters return to the polls next Tuesday for runoff elections that will decide several major races, including the Republican nominations for governor and U.S. Senate, after no candidate cleared the 50% majority in last month’s primary.
In the governor’s race, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones led the field with 38.4% of the vote, followed by businessman Rick Jackson at 32.5%. In the U.S. Senate race, Mike Collins topped the field at 40.5%, ahead of Derek Dooley at 30.2%. Runoffs are also set in both parties’ lieutenant governor contests and the secretary of state race.
Georgia’s majority requirement dates back to the state’s era as a one-party state, when the Democratic primary was effectively the only election that mattered.
“If you allowed a plurality to succeed, then if there was a large field of candidates, the person who got the nomination might have only gotten 25 to 30% of the vote,” said Charles Bullock, a distinguished university professor of public and international affairs at the University of Georgia and author of a book on runoff elections. “By requiring a majority, it means the winning candidate has to demonstrate broader base support.”
Turnout typically falls the second time around. Bullock says participation drops in about 90% of runoffs, and the voters who do show up tend to skew more partisan.
“The people who show up are going to be very, very committed Democrats or very, very committed Republicans,” Bullock said. “The composition of a runoff electorate may be even less representative of what Georgia looks like.”
That reality shapes how campaigns operate. Rather than trying to win over new voters, candidates focus almost entirely on motivating the supporters they already have.
For Macon voter Bobbie Byrd, who cast her ballot during early voting, the second trip to the polls was straightforward.
“I feel that it’s important to go back because when you get in a tie like that, you still got to go back,” Byrd said. “You have a choice to go back to choose the one that you feel like is really fit for the office.”
Betty Jean Slater, also voting in Macon, said she views every round of voting as carrying real stakes.
“Every election is important,” Slater said. “People died so that we could have the right to vote.”
Statistically, the frontrunner holds an edge. Bullock says the candidate who finishes first in the primary wins the runoff about 70% of the time — and that figure climbs higher when the leader cleared 40% with a margin of at least five percentage points over the runner-up.
But the governor’s race is a notable exception.
Since Georgia eliminated its county unit system roughly 60 years ago, the runner-up has overtaken the primary leader in five of eight gubernatorial runoffs. In 2010, Nathan Deal trailed Karen Handel by a wide margin before winning by fewer than 2,500 votes. In 2018, Brian Kemp came from behind to defeat Casey Cagle.
“In a gubernatorial runoff, past history has been: runner-up overtakes the leader,” Bullock said.
Economic concerns are likely driving voters more than the campaign trail rhetoric suggests, Bullock added. Candidates have focused largely on personal attacks and character questions, while voters across Georgia — like much of the country — remain focused on inflation and affordability.
“Georgians, like most Americans, are very concerned about economic conditions,” he said. “This is a big factor for families.”
Early voting runs through Friday. Polls on election day open at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m.
From the Statesboro Herald, dated June 10, 2026:
In the first three of the five days of early voting, 1,862 Bulloch County residents voted early in-person or by returning mailed absentee ballots for the June 16 state and county primary runoffs, according to the Election Data Hub maintained by the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office.
That would be, so far, about 3.7% of the county’s 50,694 “active” registered voters, as reported at the May primary.
Of the 1,698 Bulloch County early in-person ballots accepted in those first three days, Monday through Wednesday, 1,468 voted using the Republican ballot, while just 238 voted as Democrats, and of the 166 absentee ballots returned so far, 100 were Republican and 64 were Democratic Party ballots.
From WTVM, dated June 11, 2026:
As Georgia enters its fourth day of early voting, Columbus residents are showing up in big numbers to cast ballots in the runoff election.
Voters in Columbus are choosing a mayor, along with candidates for the District 7 and District 9 council seats, along with several statewide races including a U.S. Senate seat, governor and secretary of state.
Thousands of Columbus voters turned out for early voting this week. Voters said it took about 30 minutes to vote. Some said the line was longer than they’re used to seeing during runoff elections.
“It’s it’s a little more packed than usual,” one voter said. “I know typically runoff elections aren’t that popular. So I’m really glad to see a lot of people coming out to vote today.”
Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones (R-Jackson) campaigned in Savannah, according to the Savannah Morning News.
Nearly one month after Georgia’s General Primary, Burt Jones is moving on to the second leg of his campaign run, a critical stretch for the sitting Lieutenant Governor who will face billionaire Rick Jackson in Tuesday’s runoff.
Jones secured 38.4% of Georgia votes, while Jackson earned 32.5%. Jones said he was not surprised the race ended in a runoff.
“We always play for the win but when you got eight people, the math usually just doesn’t work out for you,” said Jones. “[The runoff] just adds three more weeks to the election process and you don’t really change anything you do, you just try to improve your ground game.”
Jones made a stop in Pooler Thursday afternoon at Del Sur Taqueria & Cantina hoping his meet and greet in South Georgia will move the needle at the polls come Tuesday’s runoff.
“We won 127 out of 159 counties, so obviously that speaks well of the ground game and the connection we’re making in a lot of different counties and communities,” said Jones. “We just need our folks to get back out and vote again.”
Jones faces billionaire businessman Rick Jackson in the runoff after one of the most expensive primaries in Georgia state history. The current lieutenant governor said he has an advantage after receiving the most votes on May 19.
He said he feels confident that supporters of other candidates who didn’t make the runoff will choose him as the Republican nominee.
“Policy wise, there’s not a whole lot of difference, I mean we’re running in a Republican primary,” Jones said. “People just have to decide who is the one who can actually follow through with the promises they make and I have a record of doing that.”
Jones also has President Trump’s endorsement. Since the runoff was announced, Rick Jackson has focused on showing voters his relationship with Brian Kemp, while Jones has championed the president’s endorsement.
The winner will face Democrat Keisha Lance-Bottoms in the general election in November.
From the Capitol Beat News Service via the Tifton Gazette:
Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and entrepreneur Rick Jackson have a few things in common.
Both are wealthy, but one is wealthier. Both say they are aligned with President Donald Trump, though Trump has endorsed only one of them.
Both are Republicans and want to become the GOP nominee for governor.
Yet only one can win the runoff Tuesday.
Republicans will make their choice after a bruising election campaign that cost the candidates tens of millions of dollars in advertising.
Both candidates have aired ads that allege the other is corrupt, another thing they have in common.
They share similar policy priorities, too.
Here is what they have said about the issues when queried at public events in recent months.
Both say they want to cut taxes
Jackson said during an Atlanta Press Club debate in April that he would cut the state income tax in half and freeze property taxes.
Jones had advocated for eliminating the income tax altogether, a goal that proved elusive during this year’s legislative session, when lawmakers approved more modest rate cuts.
Also, the Senate, which Jones leads, balked at the House’s goal of abolishing the property tax, agreeing instead only to an inflation-based cap on homestead value increases.
“Special interests pressured Burt. He did what was best for them and not you,” Rep. Brent Cox, R-Dawsonville, says in a new attack ad by the Jackson campaign.
Jones said at a Georgia Association of Manufacturers’ gubernatorial forum in April that he would continue trying to cut the income tax if he were to become governor.
“I’d like to see us go to zero,” he said.
They hold similar views on the environment
Asked about environmental regulations at the manufacturers’ forum, Jones said, “We’re regulated way too much as a country and even sometimes at the local and state level.”
Jackson said he “would keep protecting our natural resources” but only up to a point. “There has to be a balance between protecting the environment and actually making a good business decision,” he said.
He had a similar response to an audience question about litigation connected with PFAS, a pollutant that has been detected in rivers and the blood of residents in northwest Georgia, home to the carpet industry.
Jackson said, “there’s a balance between the health of the people … versus putting out of business one of the largest manufacturers in Georgia through class action litigation.”
Immigration policy got personal
Jones attacked Jackson on immigration at that Press Club debate in April, claiming Jackson was employing “illegals” in his backyard.
Jackson said he would deport “criminal illegals” as governor, but when Jones pressed him about whether he had employed undocumented workers, Jackson responded, “I don’t know.”
Jackson skipped the next Press Club debate in May, which was to be a runoff forum between the two of them. Jones, in a nod to the empty lectern for Jackson, said Jackson had skipped because Jones had “tripped him up” with that immigration question.
At the manufacturers’ forum in April, Jackson had offered his views on immigration.
“I’m not anti people coming in as long as they come here legally, but we need to do everything we can to make that possible because being here legally they pay taxes,” he said.
Competing for Trump supporters
Both say they are avid supporters of the president.
“President Trump’s business focus inspired me to run,” Jackson said at the April Press Club debate. ” Georgia needs business leadership, a focus on results, not politics. I’ll be just like him, with a Southern tone.”
But only Jones has Trump’s endorsement, a fact that Trump has repeatedly communicated for his chosen candidate.
“The biggest reason why President Trump is endorsing my candidacy for governor is because he knows me,” Jones said at that same debate. “We’ve got over a 10-year history together, and he knows me to be somebody who does what he says he’s going to do.”
Soon after Jackson ran his attack ad against Jones on the tax issue, Jones fired back with one of his own, repeating prior claims about Jackson being a political shapeshifter.
“Jackson donated to Stacey Abrams and donated to Liz Cheney after she impeached President Trump,” Jones’ ad says.
Jackson had addressed the issue at the Press Club debate, saying he did not know he had given money to a political action committee affiliated with Cheney but had given considerably more money to Trump’s campaign in December.
“I was late to the Trump train. I admit that,” Jackson said, adding that as a longtime conservative he had donated “to all Republicans, good and bad. … But there’s nobody that supports President Trump more than I do now.”
Money talks
Both men have considerable wealth at their disposal and have used it to promote their candidacies.
Jones talks about his stable family background, while Jackson shares his rags-to-riches story.
Jones describes himself as a sixth-generation Georgian, who helps operate his family’s petroleum business, with 2,500 employees.
Jackson says he was born to an alcoholic mother and raised in public housing and in foster homes. As a young man, he skipped college and went into business, ultimately growing a multibillion-dollar medical staffing business.
The candidates’ wealth invited an attack from Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, who failed to gather enough votes on May 19 to advance to the Republican runoff.
Carr could not match their ad-buying power, a point he drove home at the April Press Club debate.
“There’s one really rich guy and one guy’s rich daddy that are trying to buy your vote,” he said, “and one guy’s trying to earn it and that’s me.”
The week after he lost the primary, Carr threw his support behind the really rich guy, endorsing Jackson.
At that manufacturers’ forum, before the field was winnowed to two, Jones questioned whether anything the candidates were saying really mattered, noting that the Republicans had similar platforms.
“So, at the end of the day,” he said, “the voters have to decide who it is that they think can best execute on these promises.”
From the Savannah Morning News:
In the governor’s race, Trump has doubled-down with his support for Jones and will be hosting another “telerally” for the candidate on June 10. It will be the second event Trump has hosted for Jones during his campaign.
Both Jones and Jackson claim to be the “Trump candidate,” despite only one having a formal endorsement, something Jones has regularly called out during his events and meet-and-greets across the state.
During an event in Cumming, Georgia last week (where Jackson now lives on his multi-million dollar estate), Jones said his opponent has been putting Trump on his flyers and in his campaign ads, and used comments from Kemp in an ad despite the governor not endorsing either candidate.
“So think about that for a second. When a guy comes out of the gates, and he comes out trying to mislead voters right out of the gates, you start looking at their track record,” Jones said. “I’m telling you, I’ve said it before. Best way to see what somebody’s going to do in the future is just look at what they’ve done in the past.”
In response to the “telerally” and Trump’s strong endorsement of Jones, Democratic nominee Keisha Lance Bottoms said it was “clear that Donald Trump wants to pick the next governor of Georgia.”
“Burt Jones refuses to stand up for Georgians as they face higher costs and threats to their health care because of Donald Trump’s reckless policies. He isn’t running to serve Georgians, he’s running to be Trump’s lackey,” Bottoms said in a statement. “As governor, I will always put Georgia’s families and Georgia’s economy first and I will never be afraid to stand up against the chaos coming from the White House when it hurts our state.”
From the Capitol Beat News Service:
With days to go before the final votes are cast in Georgia’s Republican gubernatorial runoff, President Donald Trump committed to another tele-rally to help his preferred candidate across the finish line.
Last month, Trump said, “I love you,” after Lt. Gov. Burt Jones introduced him during a public phone call.
Trump’s endorsement has been a core asset for Jones in his campaign against self-funded entrepreneur Rick Jackson.
Jackson has tried to complicate the narrative for Trump loyalists, calling the president an inspiration and a role model, saying he would govern like him. Jones has repeatedly noted that he is the only candidate in the race with the president’s endorsement.
Democrats countered Jones’ tele-rally announcement on X Wednesday, saying Jones had tied himself to a president whom they contend had raised costs for Georgians by imposing tariffs.
“Burt Jones has shown Georgians time and again that the only approval he’s looking for is Donald Trump’s,” a spokesperson for the Democratic Party of Georgia said in a statement.
Jones and Jackson emerged from the May 19 Republican primary ahead of six other candidates.
Jones won just over 38% of the vote, about 6 percentage points ahead of Jackson.
Soon after, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, who won about 12% of the vote, threw his support behind Jackson.
Given the margin in the first round, Carr’s endorsement could swing enough votes to influence the outcome Tuesday.
“In this runoff, you have a chance to choose a leader who will put Georgians first,” Carr said in a statement, “and Rick Jackson is that person.”
But Trump, who was scheduled to call into the tele-rally at 7 p.m. Thursday, has repeatedly shown an ability to influence primary outcomes.
U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter (R-SSI) endorsed LG Burt Jones, according to WRDW.
As his political war of attrition against Republican rival Rick Jackson enters its final hours, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones picked up the endorsement of U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter on Thursday.
Early voting ends Friday ahead of next Tuesday’s runoffs, one of which will determine if Jones or billionaire health care executive Rick Jackson will face Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms this fall in a campaign that will elect Georgia’s 84th governor.
Carter, who has represented coastal Georgia’s first congressional district since 2015, launched an unsuccessful bid for the GOP Senate nomination this spring. In last month’s state primaries, Carter finished third behind U.S. Rep. Mike Collins and former football coach Derek Dooley, respectively.
The GOP Senate nomination will also be decided next week, as neither Collins nor Dooley earned enough votes to win that race outright last month.
I feel like that might have been written by Atlanta News First’s Tim Darnell, since he often calls the GOP Runoff for Governor a “war of attrition.” From Atlanta News First:
[LG Jones tweeted:] @Buddy_Carter is on our team because he loves this state and refuses to let Georgia fall into the wrong hands. This election matters, y’all. Two days left of Early Voting and Election Day is THIS Tuesday. Make a plan and let’s finish strong! #gapol
U.S. Rep. Mike Collins (R-Jackson) campaigned for U.S. Senate in Coastal Georgia, according to WSAV.
With just days remaining before Georgia’s Republican U.S. Senate runoff, candidate Mike Collins is making a final push through the Coastal Empire as campaigns work to secure support from voters who backed other candidates in last month’s primary.
The June 16 runoff will determine which Republican advances to challenge Democratic incumbent Sen. Jon Ossoff in November, in what is expected to be one of the nation’s most closely watched Senate races.
Collins, who finished first in the Republican primary with roughly 40 percent of the vote, spent Thursday evening in Savannah before continuing his campaign swing through Southeast Georgia on Friday with stops in St. Simons Island and Waycross.
Former University of Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley, who earned approximately 30 percent of the primary vote to secure the second runoff spot, is focusing much of his final campaign push in metro Atlanta, where he performed strongest during the primary.
The runoff became necessary after no candidate surpassed the 50-percent threshold required to win the nomination outright.
One of the biggest questions heading into Election Day is where supporters of former Congressman Buddy Carter will land. Although Carter did not advance to the runoff, he dominated Coastal Georgia in the primary, winning Chatham, Bryan, Effingham, Glynn and Ware counties with more than half of the vote in each.
Those voters now represent a crucial group that could help decide the outcome of the race, with more than 51,000 votes from those in Coastal Georgia who voted for Buddy Carter now up for grabs.
Speaking during a campaign stop, Collins emphasized the influence a U.S. senator can have on advancing legislation important to Georgia.
“You’re one of 100 instead of 435,” Collins said. “The biggest thing that you can do for the state of Georgia – that I can do – is make sure that I’m also a conduit for the bills that are coming across from the House, especially from our House members in Georgia. We don’t have that right now.”
Political observers note that runoff elections typically see lower voter turnout than primaries, making voter mobilization efforts especially important during the campaign’s final days.
The winner of the June 16 Republican runoff will earn the opportunity to face Ossoff in November’s general election.
As campaigns make their final appeals to voters, every ballot could carry added significance in a runoff expected to draw fewer voters than the initial primary election.
Mike Collins scheduled campaign stops Friday, June 12:
St Simons Island: 8:00 a.m., Coastal Kitchen, 102 Marina Dr., St. Simons Island, GA 31522
Waycross: 10:30 a.m., Hog N’ Bones, 1900 Memorial Dr., Waycross, GA 31501
Lyons: 1:00 p.m. at Hardware Pizza, 131 SW Broad St., Lyons, GA 30436
Statesboro: 3:00 p.m., Holiday Inn – University Area, 455 Commerce Dr., Statesboro, GA 30458
Democratic candidate for the First Congressional District Joyce Marie Griggs campaigned, according to WTOC.
Retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Joyce Marie Griggs is facing Amanda Hollowell in the Democratic runoff. The winner will face Republican James Kingston in November.
Griggs said she has walked and lived in the district and is determined to bring about change.
“I’ve walked this district, I’ve lived this district, so I am more determined than ever to bring about a change,” Griggs said.
Griggs said her campaign focuses on improving quality of life through a grassroots strategy at porches, community centers and local businesses.
“I’m passionate about this. I’m intense about this. About making a change for the people. It has always been about the people of this district,” she said.
She said voters should consider economic conditions when deciding.
“Look at our economy, look at the families. Are we better off now than then? Will we be better off if we choose the Republicans? I think they need to look at that and realistically look at it. People are suffering,” Griggs said.
Griggs said she aims to improve healthcare access across the district by lowering out-of-pocket costs, supporting community health centers and increasing the workforce.
“Savannah, we’re okay because we have the hospitals, but the rural areas, a lot of the hospitals are closing down,” she said.
United States District Court Judge Eleanor Ross (ND-GA) faces possible impeachment, according to the Savannah Morning News.
Eleanor Louise Ross has served on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia since 2014, when she was nominated by former President Barack Obama and later confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
Now, two Georgia members of Congress have introduced impeachment resolutions following findings from a federal judicial misconduct investigation.
Investigators concluded that Ross was involved in a romantic relationship between 2023-2025 with a senior Atlanta police official who made repeated visits to her chambers.
Investigators also concluded she attended a partisan political event and made inaccurate statements during the inquiry.
The investigation resulted in a private reprimand rather than removal from the bench.
Federal judges hold lifetime appointments unless removed through impeachment by Congress.
The impeachment resolutions introduced by Georgia Republicans would need approval from the U.S. House and Senate for Ross to be removed from office.
Separately, the Atlanta Police Department has opened its own inquiry to determine whether any departmental policies were violated by the officer named in the judicial investigation.
For now, Ross remains an active federal judge in Atlanta while the political and administrative reviews continue.
United States District Court Judge J.P. Boulee (ND-GA) declined another request to stay enforcement of Georgia’s food & drink gift ban for voters, according to Atlanta News First via WRDW.
In a Thursday order, U.S. District Judge J.P. Boulee denied a renewed request for a preliminary injunction targeting the state’s elections law’s “food, drink and gift” ban, ruling the plaintiffs had not shown the court could grant effective relief against the officials they sued.
The food and water ban is part of SB 202, a law passed by the Georgia legislature in its 2021-22 session after the tumultuous 2020 presidential election and its aftermath.
The measure banning water at polling stations drew national ridicule from entertainers such as Larry David, whose final season of Curb Your Enthusiasm featured the comedian being arrested for giving a bottle of water to a voter standing in line outside a polling place.
The plaintiffs in this most recent challenge were the Sixth District of the African Methodist Church against Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and the Republican National Committee, and the Georgia State Conference of the NAACP against Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.
The groups were arguing the law’s criminal penalties chill their “line relief” work, such as handing out food or water, because they fear prosecution.
The Georgia General Assembly convenes in a Special Session next week, according to State Affairs.
Mere weeks after lawmakers butted heads in the regular session, Gov. Brian Kemp called the session starting June 17 to redistrict the state’s maps and find a fix to a legal tangle to replace Georgia’s voting system.
The special session also will include three other items, including two tax measures and a routine confirmation of political appointees made after the general session ended.
Legislators are expected to redraw congressional and state legislative districts, following a national trend of election-year redistricting as both parties fight for control of Congress and statehouses across the nation. Any redrawn maps in Georgia will apply for the 2028 election cycle, not the upcoming November general elections.
The General Assembly’s redistricting is a delicate balancing act, said Charles Bullock, political science professor at the University of Georgia. If a party in power draws maps that carve up too many opposition districts, they risk putting their own seats at risk.
“There’s a saying about redistricting: Pigs get fat and hogs get slaughtered,” Bullock said. “2022 was a great year for Republicans in this state. If you’re basing your decisions on those results, the maps you draw may not work to your advantage the way you think they will if 2026 is a wave election for Democrats.”
Lawmakers will also stare down a July 1 deadline to find a replacement for the current system of ballots that record votes in QR codes. During the special session, the Legislature will either have to find a replacement for the current QR code system or postpone the July 1 deadline until a permanent replacement can be found.
After Kemp amended his original proclamation on June 3, legislators will have two additional tax issues to take up when they meet on Wednesday. One is a simple ratification of the governor’s suspension of fuel taxes, and the other is among one of the most hotly debated issues of the regular session: property taxes.
During the regular session, lawmakers passed Senate Bill 33, which restricted the amount by which property taxes can increase. The taxes depend on a property’s assessed value, which is determined by the county. Forty percent of this value is multiplied by various tax rates to calculate the property tax bill.
An assessed value can change significantly year to year, especially as home prices in the state have increased by over 20% in the last five years. The Legislature’s bill introduced a floating homestead exemption, which modified the state’s flat exemption to a variable one tied to inflation. Any increase in property taxes going forward would be restricted to an inflation index maintained by the state, and if a tax hike exceeded that rate, the homestead exemption would offset the difference.
The Legislature’s bill includes two measures that would help soften the blow to counties and give homeowners even more relief. Localities have the option of choosing between them. One is a new one-cent sales tax called a floating local option sales tax, which would go toward reducing local property taxes for all types of properties, not just homes.
The other route is a different one-cent sales tax called the local homestead option sales tax, which would only provide revenue for lowering property tax bills for people with homestead exemptions.
What the Legislature has left to do in the special session is allow these taxes to be placed on ballots in November for voters to consider. In order to enact the measures, legislators must first pass local legislation allowing voters to approve the tax arrangement within their counties.
Georgia is just days away from the start of another special session — the third during this decade that will center around redrawing district lines for Congress and the General Assembly.
But unlike the last round of redistricting, in which state lawmakers were tasked with creating additional districts to protect the voting power of Black Georgians, this time the Republican-controlled Legislature may choose to strip electoral power away from minority voters to gain a partisan advantage.
The redistricting push comes in the wake of an April U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Louisiana v. Callais that dilutes a key provision of the 1965 Voting Rights Act by ruling that plaintiffs must prove there was “intentional racial discrimination” in order for gerrymandered districts to be overturned.
Georgia’s current districts were drawn during a court-ordered special session in 2023. The state’s previous maps, which were adopted in 2021, faced a series of lawsuits from Georgia residents and advocacy groups who argued the districts illegally diluted Black Georgians’ voting strength.
In the fall of 2023, U.S. District Court Judge Steve C. Jones ordered legislators to redraw the maps to include an additional majority Black congressional district in west metro Atlanta and seven additional majority Black legislative districts — two Senate and three House districts in metro Atlanta and two House districts around Macon.
The maps were ultimately redrawn and went into effect for the 2024 election cycle, but both sides filed appeals to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, where the cases still sit. The state is challenging the original decision that tossed out the 2021 maps, and the plaintiffs are appealing Jones’ decision to approve the boundary lines drawn in 2023, which are still in use today.
But in the weeks since the Supreme Court decision was released, Georgia has started its own redistricting push, following similar moves from neighboring states like Alabama, Louisiana and South Carolina. Normally, new political maps are drawn each decade based on new U.S. Census data.
Shortly before announcing the special session to redraw Georgia’s legislative and congressional districts, Republican Gov. Brian Kemp said “it’s clear that Callais requires Georgia to adopt new electoral maps before the 2028 election cycle.”
But Rep. Saira Draper, an Atlanta Democrat and election lawyer, said Kemp’s interpretation “couldn’t be further from the truth.”
Under the previous understanding of the Voting Rights Act, she said, a federal judge ruled that Georgia’s 2021 maps were racially discriminatory against Black voters.
“Whether that analysis has changed under the new Supreme Court ruling is an open question,” she added.
Shortly after the Supreme Court ruling, lawyers for the state filed a notice arguing that the recent Supreme Court decision “compels prompt reversal” of the district court’s earlier ruling.
However, the 11th Circuit Court has yet to make a decision either way. Last month, a three-judge panel asked both the plaintiffs and defendants to submit briefs explaining how the decision impacts the legal analysis in their case.
“Callais takes a sledgehammer to Plaintiffs’ litigating theory,” the state argued in its brief, which was filed in late May. The attorney general’s office did not provide further comment.
The plaintiffs’ response isn’t due until June 19, after the start of the special session, but ACLU of Georgia senior staff attorney Akiva Freidlin, who helps represent the plaintiffs, said the organization would keep fighting to ensure that Black Georgians had fair representation.
“The Supreme Court has now shifted the standard for proving a (Voting Rights Act) violation, but this case is not over,” he said in a statement. “We will keep pressing for full representation for all Georgia voters.”
Chris Grant, who chairs the political science department at Mercer University, said that part of the reason the 11th Circuit Court may be hesitant to rule is that there isn’t a clear standard under Callais for proving racial discrimination.
“The Supreme Court has not been as clear as I think the lower courts would like them to be in understanding what is and isn’t the standard of law here,” he said.
The case is unlikely to be settled before the end of the special legislative session, and any new maps proposed by state lawmakers could face additional lawsuits, he added.
“My suspicion is whatever the General Assembly comes out with, there will be additional litigation,” he said.
LaFayette city employees will receive their first raise in fifteen years, according to WTVM.
Employees for the city of Lafayette will receive a pay raise for the first time in over 15 years after city council’s vote Monday night.
City council approved the 3 percent raise for all city employees.
The last time there was a substantial citywide raise was 2009, but Mayor Kenneth Vines said there have been several individual raises since then.
However, departments like Lafayette Fire have not received any sort of cost of living or merit raises in 41 months.
“Everything is going up except salaries,” said Jim Doody, Lafayette fire chief. “Our operating supplies have nearly tripled, our salaries have stayed stagnant.”
Lafayette City Council voted on a range of 3 to 5 percent in Monday night’s meeting, but they had initially proposed an 8 percent raise.
“Rejected that from the start, because I knew our financial situation of the city,” Vines said.
With cost of living increasing each year, Doody said they are already far from competitive with neighboring departments.
Former State House Majority Leader Larry Walker, Jr. (D-Houston County) has died, according to the Macon Telegraph.
Houston County coroner James Williams confirmed Walker’s death. He said Wednesday that Walker died at his home, surrounded by his family and under hospice care.
Walker, a Houston County Democrat, served as majority leader from 1986 to 2004. He is the father of current Georgia Senate President Pro Tem Larry Walker III.
In 1972 he won election to the state House of Representatives, taking the seat formerly held by Sam Nunn when Nunn was elected to the U.S. Senate. Walker later became the House floor leader for then-Gov. Joe Frank Harris.
On Wednesday, Nunn said he had lost a “a close and cherished friend.”
“Larry made an indelible imprint on our state, and he was an example to us all in terms of his integrity, his character, his faith, and his love for his family,” Nunn said.
Walker rose to House majority leader at a time when Democrats controlled the General Assembly. He considered running for governor in 1990 but ultimately ruled it out.
In the 1980s, then-Gov. Roy Barnes and Walker worked side by side every day, Barnes said Wednesday. He remembers Walker as a great legislator, lawyer and friend.
“In my more than 50 years in public life and around the General Assembly, if I had to name five great legislators, Larry Walker would be at the top of the list,” Barnes said.
“His legacy is one of integrity,” Barnes added. “One that understands how the system works and how to make sure that it delivers for the people of Georgia.”
Former Rep. Calvin Smyre, a Columbus Democrat, said Walker was a good man, an outstanding orator and a “tremendous legislator.”
Smyre spent nearly 50 years in the House and credits Walker for helping boost his career. When Walker became Harris’ floor leader, he recommended Smyre as his assistant. And when Walker became majority leader, his recommendation allowed Smyre to become the chamber’s first Black floor leader.
“From a legislative perspective, they don’t come any better than Larry Walker,” Smyre said. “He was one of the best and one of the brightest I served with.”
Former Democratic state Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver also remembered Walker as a gifted politician and leader. Like Smyre, she credits him for helping her build her career.
“He was very gifted and I respected his leadership and the amount of intelligence and strategy he offered to all of us in leading the House as majority leader,” Oliver said.
As majority leader, Walker was the right-hand man to House Speaker Tom Murphy. Murphy lost his House seat to a Republican in 2002, and Walker sought to replace him as speaker the following year. But Democrats chose Rep. Terry Coleman instead.
In February 2004, he announced he would not seek reelection.
“I just think it’s time to quit,” Walker said at the time. “I’ve been in (the House) 32 years, and I want to go out when I’m on top. I’ve seen people who stayed too long, and I don’t want to be one of those.”
During his tenure as majority leader, Walker worked with Democratic governors Harris, Zell Miller and Barnes. But he also saw the state transition to Republican control. Walker’s friend Sonny Perdue switched parties to become Georgia’s first Republican governor since Reconstruction.
Walker’s son, the Senate president pro tem, is a Republican. But in 2008 Walker told an interviewer for an oral history project that he never considered switching parties.
“I respect what (Perdue) did. Obviously, he made the right choice if he wanted to be governor,” Walker said. “But I never considered doing that. I was of the school that I’d rather quit than change, and that’s what I did. I’d been on that team a long time.”
Lee County tax assessments for agricultural land are skyrocketing, according to the Albany Herald.
Lee County property owners could see significant changes in assessed values this year as county officials move forward with a comprehensive revaluation of residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural properties.
During a work session Tuesday, Terry McCormick of McCormick Solutions provided the Lee County Board of Commissioners with an update on the county’s 2026 tax digest and ongoing reappraisal efforts.
The review comes as Lee County continues to recover from a tax digest error discovered earlier this year that resulted in approximately $1.5 million in excess ad valorem taxes being collected. County officials have since approved corrected PT-32 forms, lowered millage rates and begun issuing refund checks to affected taxpayers.
While discussing the current revaluation process, McCormick noted that commercial and agricultural property assessments present unique challenges because of the limited number of recent sales available for comparison.
“There are limited samples to draw from,” McCormick said, noting the county had approximately 10 commercial sales and 12 agricultural sales available for analysis, leading them to take the previous three years of sales records into account.
Despite the limited data, preliminary figures indicate substantial increases in assessed values across several property categories.
According to McCormick, residential properties are projected to see an overall gross increase of approximately 6%.
Commercial and industrial properties are expected to increase by roughly 20%, while agricultural land values could rise by as much as 83%.
McCormick said much of the agricultural increase is tied to properties enrolled in Georgia’s Conservation Use Value Assessment program, which provides preferential tax treatment for qualifying agricultural land. Under Georgia’s CUVA program, agricultural, forest, and environmentally sensitive lands are taxed based on their productivity rather than fair market value.
The Lee County Board of Education voted to repay their portion of the over-collected property taxes, according to the Albany Herald.
The Lee County School Board voted unanimously to issue direct refunds to taxpayers impacted by the property tax overpayment issue.
Before voting on repayments, the board first officially accepted the adjusted rollback rate of 13.539 mills to correct the error.
“As we have explained many times previously, we as Board of Education set our budget using the total digest based on the fiscal needs of the district, not the rollback rate. If we had had this new number in September, we would have set our millage rate at 15.96 as communicated and held through public hearings.” [said] Superintendent Kathleen Truitt[.]
Before the vote, Trey Newell, who recently lost his re-election for District 3, called the conversation surrounding the issue disappointing.
“I have watched political games being played, false information spread on social media, and outright lies told about our schools. Those falsehoods have been perpetuated by anonymous social media profiles; some elected officials just a couple doors down, and even those individuals who as recently, as their last meeting, continue to take shots at the school system over taxes. Unfortunately, I’ve seen these things show up on the internet that only elected and appointed officials could have known about,” Newell said.
After accepting the new rollback millage rate, the board then turned to the next question: should taxpayers receive direct refunds or a credit on next year’s bills?
“The public wants their money back. What you don’t understand, when you give your money back next year, you’re going to go through this whole thing with escrow again because you’re going to be overcharged to make up for the money you’re getting back. So, I don’t know if there’s a right answer. I think the public wants their money back.” [said] Trey Newell[.]
The board voted to move forward with direct refunds.
Hall County Commissioners unveiled their proposed FY 2027 budget, according to AccessWDUN.
Hall County held its first public hearing of the fiscal year (FY) 2027 budget at Thursday night’s commission meeting.
Director of Financial Services Taylor Samples presented the budget. The highlights include a 9% increase in the general fund to $147.4-million, up from $135.1-million.
The budget presentation specified that the millage rate would remain unchanged for unincorporated residents, although incorporated residents may see an uptick.
A citizen asked how there is a $10-million increase in property tax revenue if there is not a millage rate increase with many homes having homestead exemptions to insulate themselves from property value increases.
Samples noted while other rates will go down, the overall millage rate will see an uptick. A final millage rate was not specified.
The Gwinnett County Board of Education adopted their FY 2027 budget, according to AccessWDUN.
The Gwinnett County Board of Education has approved the Fiscal Year 2027 final budget and tentatively adopted an unchanged millage rate during its second public budget hearing held on May 28.
The FY2027 spending plan totals approximately $3.5 billion, excluding transfers, with the General Fund accounting for $2.8 billion.
According to a press release from the BOE, the FY2027 budget totals approximately $3.53 billion, with reductions from strategic central office efficiencies that protect direct investments in schools and classrooms.
As part of the annual budget and tax-setting process, the Board also approved a tentative millage rate that remains unchanged from the current year.
Additional public hearings on the proposed millage rate are scheduled to begin in late July, providing residents with further opportunities to review and comment on the district’s tax plans.
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