Kamala Harris barnstorms Georgia

The Georgia Politics Podcast

Welcome to The Georgia Politics Podcast! Georgia continues to be the center of the political universe and we’re here for it.

On today’s show, we kick it off with a roundup on the presidential election. Kamala Harris and Tim Walz hit the trail in (south) Georgia. This is on the heels of her first rally as the presumptive nominee taking place at Georgia State University. What does it say that they are spending so much time in Georgia, and not the blue wall states of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan – long thought to be the road for Democrats to retain the Presidency?

While unusual for Democrats since Bill Clinton’s bus tour in 1992, for Republicans, visits outside metro Atlanta are the norm. Trump has held rallies in Commerce, Dalton, Perry, Rome and Valdosta.

Also, a lawsuit that has the support of Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign was filed by the Democratic National Committee, the Democratic Party of Georgia and Democrats on county election board to challenge new Georgia election certification rules, warning that they will “invite chaos” if the results are disputed. The state election board approved in a 3-2 vote to require that local election boards conduct a “reasonable inquiry” before certifying election results. It did not clarify what is reasonable or what the inquiry would involve. The rule also calls for county election boards to hold a meeting to verify results on the Friday after Election Day, before the deadline for the return of overseas and military ballots. The lawsuit asks a Fulton County superior court judge to declare that election certification is a mandatory duty, that certification can’t be delayed, and to throw out State Election Board rules that conflict with Georgia certification laws.

Next, RFJ Jr. had officially dropped out of the race. Who benefits? In an Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll conducted July 8-19, about 8% of voters said they were supporting Kennedy for president. About 3% said they were undecided, and about 1% said they were favoring another candidate, including Libertarian Chase Oliver, Green Party candidate Jill Stein and the unaffiliated Cornel West.

We also preview what we might expect from next year’s legislative session, as Lt. Gov. Burt Jones signals he wants to revisit the issue of transgender athletes in sports when the legislature reconvenes in January. In 2022 the Legislature punted the issue of transgender athletes to local athletic associations by encouraging them to take up a ban. The Georgia High School Association answered the call and subsequently voted to ban transgender athletes from competing based on their gender identity.

Races We’re Watching, Underhyped/Overhyped, Play-Along-at-Home and much more on today’s jam packed episode!

Connect with The Georgia Politics Podcast on Twitter @gapoliticspod

Preston Thompson on Twitter @pston3

Hans Appen on Twitter @hansappen

Craig Kidd on Twitter @CraigKidd1

Proud member of the Appen Podcast Network.

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