Local GOP sees ‘danger’ in a chaotic race to replace Marjorie Taylor Greene

The Republican field to succeed the suddenly resigning U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is expected to be crowded and unpredictable. But local GOP leaders are already sounding alarms about what a wide-open special election could mean.

It’s a deep-red district that Greene carried with nearly two-thirds of the vote last November. Even so, the 14th District GOP issued an eyebrow-raising warning: in a fractured field, a unified Democratic front could pose an unthinkable threat.

“Fewer Democrat candidates + more Republican candidates = greater danger to Republican outcomes,” read the post. “A crowded Republican field risks fracturing the GOP vote, potentially enabling a Democrat to win — even in a strong Republican District.”

The odds of that happening are vanishingly slim — especially since no consensus Democrat has emerged. But it underscores just how chaotic the coming months could be.

Already, much of the early chatter is circling around three potential Republican contenders: state Rep. Katie Dempsey, District Attorney Clayton Fuller and far-right state Sen. Colton Moore. But the field could grow far bigger as Republicans size up a rare open seat.

Which brings us back to the 14th District GOP’s plea for caution of a hopelessly split field that leaves an opening for a well-funded Democrat.

“We strongly encourage prudence, discipline, and strategic thinking during this process.”

Things to know

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Good morning! We’re five days away from special elections for state House Districts 23 and 121. Georgia’s legislative session starts in 39 days. The primary for U.S. Senate, governor and other races is in 166 days.

Here are three other things to know for today:

Youth movement

Credit: John Brogan

Credit: John Brogan

Akbar Ali won a special election for a Gwinnett County state House seat this week. At 21, he will be the youngest member beneath the Gold Dome. He might also be the youngest ever to serve in the Legislature’s 248-year history.

It’s hard to know for sure. The Georgia Archives does not maintain a list of lawmakers and their ages. Records before 1923, when the archives first published its official and statistical register, are hard to come by.

The youngest Georgia lawmakers we could find were all 22 or older, including Charles Pendleton in 1882 and Monty Veazey in 1977. Wikipedia says Seaborn Roddenbery was 21 when he took office in 1891. But AJC data editor Charles Minshew discovered he was actually elected on Oct. 5, 1892, when he was 22.

Ali told us he feels grateful either way. His election comes amid growing tension among Democrats as younger activists vie for bigger roles against aging party stalwarts. Ali wasn’t unknown to local Democrats. He was the first vice chair of the Gwinnett County Democratic Party and earned the endorsement of Hutchinson and several other local politicians.

“A lot of the other established Democrats knew me from the work that I did there and saw me as the best option to help carry the agenda forward,” he said.

Ali didn’t have much time to celebrate. The day after his victory he was at a 9 a.m. meeting of the Gwinnett County delegation to prepare for the upcoming session.

Swatting sentence

Back in 2021, the U.S. Secret Service discovered a man in Romania made a hoax bomb threat aimed at disrupting Joe Biden’s presidential inauguration. Romanian police interviewed the man, Thomasz Szabo, and reported that he promised he “would not do so again.”

Turns out, that wasn’t true.

Szabo is due in federal court today to be sentenced for his part in a series of fake emergency reports that targeted at least 25 members of Congress over the 2023 winter holidays. The victims included U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Rome.

Prosecutors say while Szabo did not personally participate in the hoax calls, he directed two other people to make them. He even urged them to make sure their victims included people from both sides of the political spectrum because “we are not on any side.”

Prosecutors have asked a judge to sentence Szabo to four years and nine months in prison.

Ethics hearing

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

We should learn more today about the allegations surrounding two political groups with close ties to First Liberty Building & Loan, the financial institution federal regulators have accused of running a $140 million Ponzi scheme.

The State Ethics Commission will hold a preliminary hearing today on the Georgia Republican Assembly and its associated political action committee.

Both political groups are closely tied to First Liberty founder Brant Frost IV and his family, who have pushed to purge more mainstream Republicans from the GOP’s ranks in recent years. The PAC was long led by his son, Brant Frost V, before it dissolved in June.

In July, the commission charged the Georgia Republican Assembly PAC with 61 violations of state campaign finance laws, accusing it of illegally trying to sway elections. In October, investigators added the affiliated Georgia Republican Assembly itself as a defendant in the case.

Good news, bad news

One of the biggest problems facing Georgia’s prison system is the state can’t find enough people willing to work behind the fence. The solution could be simple: pay them more.

Gov. Brian Kemp and state lawmakers have been raising correctional officer salaries, including a 4% bump this year. State officials project the turnover rate will fall to 26% this year, down from 39% in 2023.

“It’s definitely helping,” Corrections Commissioner Tyrone Oliver told lawmakers during a budget hearing this week.

Meanwhile, lawmakers have not given raises to the dentists and psychiatrists who care for inmates since 2022. The mental health caseload has grown 30% in three years as more than 14,000 inmates require specialized care. The staff to care for them have declined for six months in a row.

“The market is speaking to us and we are unable to respond,” said Tim Harlin, CEO of Centurion, the company that manages Georgia’s mental health and dental services for inmates.

The state Legislature earlier this year approved a $600 million spending increase for the prison system. But advocates and lawmakers at the time agreed it was just the start. We’ll see how much more they’re willing to spend when the Legislature convenes again in January.

Listen up

Today on the “Politically Georgia” podcast we discuss Congress’ busy agenda with only a handful of working days left in the year. Then, AJC reporter Zachary Hansen talks about the fallout from the U.S. immigration raid on a Hyundai plant near Savannah.

You can listen and subscribe to Politically Georgia for free an Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

Have a question or comment for the show? Email us at politicallygeorgia@ajc.com or give us a call at 770-810-5297 and you could be featured on a future episode.

NIL bill stalls

Credit: Eric Gay/AP

Credit: Eric Gay/AP

The U.S. House postponed voting on a bill that would set national standards for paying college athletes for the use of their name, image and likeness.

The early signs of trouble came Tuesday when the bill barely survived a procedural vote. U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Athens, was among the Republicans who initially withheld his vote, supporting the legislation only after intense conversations on the House floor.

Critics, which include Democrats and some conservative Republicans, say the bill would give too much power to the NCAA, top athletic conferences and universities by shielding them from lawsuits. They fear individual athletes and even consumers would get the short end of that deal.

Despite support from the White House and even the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, Speaker Mike Johnson decided not to bring the bill to the floor for a final vote on Wednesday. It is unclear if the vote will be rescheduled since it appears the bill does not have the votes to pass.

Today in Washington

Credit: J. Scott Applewhite/AP

Credit: J. Scott Applewhite/AP

Happenings:

Collins’ trip

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Turning Point USA will hold its annual AmericaFest conference later this month for the first time since the September assassination of founder Charlie Kirk.

U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, the Georgia Republican who is a candidate for Senate and jockeying for President Donald Trump’s endorsement, is listed among the speakers. Vice President JD Vance is headlining the conference.

The event is Dec. 18-21 in Phoenix.

Shoutouts

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Before you go

Credit: AJC file photo

Credit: AJC file photo

Herschel Walker, a former U.S. Senate candidate who is now the ambassador to the Bahamas, won the Heisman trophy 43 years ago today while a running back at the University of Georgia.

That’ll do it for us today. As always, you can send your best scoops, gossip and insider info to greg.bluestein@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com, patricia.murphy@ajc.com and adam.beam@ajc.com.