DNC Chairman Ken Martin visited Atlanta this week as part of the city’s bid to host the 2028 Democratic National Convention. Martin spoke briefly at a press conference Thursday at the Hotel Phoenix in the Centennial Yards area of downtown Atlanta, which has been the focus of recent revitalization efforts. Jill Nolin/Georgia Recorder
Death and destruction dominated the headlines in Georgia this week.
The political world mourned the death of long-time Congressman David Scott, whose passing is set to bring about yet another special election.
At the same time, firefighters are working hard to contain massive wildfires in south Georgia, where drought conditions have turned part of the landscape to tinder.
With such weighty news dominating headlines, you may have missed some of the week’s other developments.
We’ve got the latest on Atlanta’s effort to woo the 2028 Democratic National Convention. And a former Democratic presidential candidate has weighed in on a surprising Georgia race, while a prominent Georgia Democrat says he’s not going to be a presidential candidate in 2028.
DNC in ATL?
National Democrats visited Atlanta this week as Georgia’s capital city makes its pitch to host the 2028 Democratic National Convention, where the party faithful will officially name that year’s presidential nominee.
Atlanta is one of five finalists for the job, and it’s competing against Boston, Chicago, Denver and Philadelphia.
“While we are here to tour and discuss the various logistical and administrative requirements for hosting the Democratic National Convention, we also seek a city that shares our values and will be a true partner with us as we plan this once-in-a-lifetime event,” Ken Martin, chair of the Democratic National Committee, said in brief remarks to reporters Thursday.
“The process of selecting our convention host city is a serious and deliberative one. We have five great cities bidding for this opportunity, and we look forward to continuing the conversation with each of them as we select a host for our 2028 and potentially for our 2032 convention,” he added.
If Atlanta comes out on top, it would be the first time in 40 years since the city hosted the convention. Its bid for the party’s major event fell short in 2024, when Chicago was selected.
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens and Charlie Bailey, who chairs the Democratic Party of Georgia, are making the case that choosing Atlanta would not just provide a good convention experience, but it would also be a boost for the party in a battleground state that they argue could help them retake the White House and make gains in a purple state.
“It’ll put the battery in our back for sure,” Dickens said. “Make us knock on a few more doors, make us make a few more phone calls, make us chip in five, 10 more dollars. It’ll make us more electrified, energetic about it.”
Former VP endorses in Georgia Supreme Court races
Two candidates in a pair of important but down-ballot races got a boost from a big name at the last Democratic National Convention Friday.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris released a video urging Georgians to vote in the state Supreme Court races for attorney and former state Sen. Jen Jordan and Miracle Rankin, a personal injury attorney and former president of the Georgia Association of Black Women.
“It’s going to be about who’s going to maintain and protect your rights and your freedoms, who’s going to stand for the rule of law,” said Harris, who ran for president in 2024. “And there are two candidates who are extraordinary, Miracle Rankin and Jen Jordan, and I urge you to please go to the polls and support them in their election to be on the Georgia Supreme Court.”
Jordan is challenging Justice Sarah Warren and Rankin is facing Justice Charlie Bethel.
The seats are nonpartisan, but Rankin and Jordan are both associated with the Democratic Party, and Jordan served as a Democrat in the state Senate.
Bethel served as a Republican state senator, and Warren and Bethel were both appointed to the bench by former Republican Gov. Nathan Deal and have been endorsed by current Republican Gov. Brian Kemp.
Because they are, on paper, nonpartisan races, the Supreme Court race will be settled next month rather than continuing to November like the partisan races which will take up most of the ballot.
Bottoms touts new poll, releases memoir
A new poll by Echelon Insights, a research firm headed by a Republican pollster, showed Democratic former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who is seen as Georgia’s Democratic gubernatorial frontrunner, as having a slight edge against Republican candidates Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and healthcare executive Rick Jackson.
Bottoms and Raffensperger quickly touted the poll, with Raffensperger saying in a press release that he is the strongest Republican in the primary positioned to beat Bottoms in November, saying that “the data shows my blueprint for the future is resonating with voters.” The poll showed that 46% of voters surveyed would pick Bottoms, compared to 44% who would pick Raffensperger. Bottoms fared better with voters against Jackson and Jones, who both got 43% of the voters polled, compared to 49% who went for Bottoms.
But every Republican candidate’s chances are well within the survey’s margin of error, indicating the governor’s race is still competitive for Republicans, and the race is still a toss-up, according to the Cook Political Report.
Bottoms’ campaign manager Rashad Taylor said in a press release that voters “want lower costs, more opportunity, and a governor who will stand up to the Trump Administration’s chaos and failed policies that have driven costs higher for Georgia families.”
A majority of surveyed Georgia voters disapprove of how President Donald Trump is handling his job, with 57% either strongly or somewhat disapproving and 40% strongly or somewhat approving. The poll indicated that 52% of Georgia voters feel the country is headed in the wrong direction, with 37% saying it is on the right track.
The survey also indicated that the issues most concerning to Georgia voters are the economy and inflation, with healthcare coming in second. A majority said that food prices are straining their finances, followed by utilities.
Bottoms also released a memoir this week titled The Rough Side of the Mountain. In a social media post, she said that she doesn’t want “anybody to look at this book as something on a political ladder.” She said she started writing it before she planned to run for office, but it’s not uncommon for political candidates to publish books ahead of an election, as it gives them a profile and financial boost.
“It just really was timed this way, in divine order that the book is out today, just one week from early voting. But I wanted to be able to tell the story of my family in its totality, and just for people to be able to know that they don’t have to leave parts of (themselves) behind,” Bottoms said.
Ossoff seeks to tamp down recent White House speculation
As of Friday afternoon, prediction marketplace site Kalshi lists Democratic U.S. Sen Ossoff as the No. 3 pick to be the 2028 Democratic nominee for president. With a 9% chance to accept the nomination, Ossoff comes behind only California Gov. Gavin Newsom and New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
But in a recent appearance on MS NOW, the senator indicated he hasn’t placed any orders for Ossoff ‘28 stickers.
“I have zero interest in running for president in 2028,” he said. “I love serving the state of Georgia. I’ve got two young daughters, and to be honest, I think that the 2028 fantasy football risks distracting us from the urgent task at hand. If we do not restore checks and balances in these midterm elections, I don’t know that we have a free and fair presidential election in 2028.”
At 39 years old, Ossoff is practically a schoolboy compared to the average U.S. senator. And with no term limits in the Senate, he could continue to serve there for as long as he can get Georgians to re-elect him every six years.
If Ossoff were considering a run for president, he wouldn’t be likely to announce it now, when he’s months away from what is expected to be a tough election campaign.
Endorsements continue apace as early voting is set to begin Monday
Georgia Conservation Voters, a left-leaning environmental advocacy group, endorsed the following candidates this week:
- Former Sen. Jason Esteves for governor
- Penny Brown Reynolds for secretary of state
- Peter Hubbard for Public Service Commission, District 3
- Former Sen. Jen Jordan for Georgia Supreme Court
- Miracle Rankin for Georgia Supreme Court
- Will Wooten for Georgia Court of Appeals
The Georgia AFL-CIO also put out its list of endorsements this week. The coalition of labor unions is not endorsing in the governor’s race during the primary, but named its picks on a slew of down-ballot races including the following:
- State Sen. Josh McLaurin for lieutenant governor
- Reynolds for secretary of state
- Bob Trammell for attorney general
- Brett Hulme for labor commissioner
- Jordan and Rankin for Georgia Supreme Court
- Wooten for Court of Appeals
- U.S. Congressional District 3, Maura Keller
- US Congressional District 4, Congressman Hank Johnson
- US Congressional District 5, Congresswoman Nikema Williams (i)
- US Congressional District 9, Nick Alex
- US Congressional District 11, Chris Harden
- US Congressional District 12, Ceretta Smith
- US Congressional District 14, Shawn Harris
The AFL-CIO had planned to endorse Congressman David Scott in the 13th District, but are not currently endorsing a candidate following Scott’s death.
Endorsements from state legislators continued to trickle in for GOP gubernatorial nominee Rick Jackson this week, from Republicans including state Reps. Lehman Franklin of Statesboro, Jaclyn Ford of Tifton and Derrick McColumn of Chestnut Mountain.
Jackson is set to compete with Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who is running with the endorsement of President Donald Trump.
State and federal-level candidates can send their campaign news to info@georgiarecorder.com.
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