Some more news out of the Peach State today and this will put a smile on your face:
http://politics.blog.ajc.com/...
Democrat Jason Carter’s campaign was hoping to stay in the ballpark against Gov. Nathan Deal’s donor network. Instead, the Atlanta state senator outpaced the Republican incumbent’s fundraising machine in the three months between April and June.
Deal’s campaign said Tuesday it raised $1.27 million in the second quarter and has $2.6 million in cash on hand going into the final four or so months ahead of the November election. Carter’s camp raised more than $2 million in the same timeframe and has $1.8 million in the bank.
The surprising results will be hard for Deal’s camp to spin, one reason they were likely released so late on Tuesday evening. The campaign noted, though, that 92 percent of its donors came from within the state. A Democratic source said about 70 percent of Carter’s supporters were in-state. We’ll be able to crunch the numbers when we get the full reports.
For Carter, the fundraising numbers prove his network can hold its own – and then some – against the governor’s team. With help from his grandfather, former President Jimmy Carter, the Atlanta Democrat has tapped a rich vein of donors who believe in his chances in November, or are at least willing to hedge their bets.
“There is no question that the momentum in this race is firmly on our side,” Matt McGrath, the Carter campaign manager, said in a statement. “Georgia voters are ready for a new direction, and they are enthusiastic about getting behind Jason’s vision for the state’s future.”
For Deal, it underscores his challenges against a well-financed campaign. Polls show a tight race between the two, but it seemed a given that he would have an insurmountable financial advantage. Carter may never be able to match Deal blow-for-blow over the long haul, but the latest figures show the two will compete through the summer on a somewhat level playing field.
The governor, though, can rely on outside resources that Carter can only dream of matching. He’s spent parts of the last few months raising money for two outside organizations, the Republican Governors Association and the Georgia Victory Fund, which seek to influence the race. Already, the RGA has spent $1.5 million on a pro-Deal ad blitz, and big donors like the Koch brothers are backing the state GOP fund. - Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 7/8/14
Now Deal still has a lot of money on hand but these fundraising reports should make him worried:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/...
Overall, Deal has raised about $9.3 million for the race, while Carter has received about $3.9 million in contributions since announcing his campaign in early November. In comparison, Deal’s predecessor, Republican Sonny Perdue, had raised about $10.7 million by the same point in his 2006 re-election bid.
But Perdue had spent far less and still had about $9 million in cash at the end of June 2006, although his primary wasn’t until the following month. Meanwhile, Deal has spent nearly $6.7 million so far and has been airing TV ads for months. Carter has spent just over $2 million and began airing his first TV ads in early June.
The role of Carter’s grandfather has so far been limited to fundraising. The elder Carter hosted a fundraising weekend last month at the family home in Plains. The event drew about a dozen people, each of whom paid $12,600 to attend.
Also on the November ballot is Libertarian Andrew Hunt, who reported receiving about $23,000 in contributions last quarter, with $11,700 in cash at the end of June. - Washington Times, 7/9/14
There are some clear signs Deal's trying to move to the center but he's doing it too late. First there's this:
http://www.ajc.com/...
As a new state law to drug-test welfare recipients went into effect Tuesday, state officials said they would delay enforcing it, while opponents prepared to sue.
With the passage this spring of House Bill 772, the Georgia Legislature and Gov. Nathan Deal approved the nation’s hardest-hitting law using drug tests on recipients of poverty aid.
But a spokesman for Deal, Brian Robinson, on Tuesday told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the state would hold off on implementing HB 772 until a federal appeals court rules for good on a related Florida case, so as not to waste money on a legal fight. - Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 7/1/14
And this:
http://www.wjbf.com/...
Wednesday, Governor Nathan Deal and the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL) announced the launch of additional financial support for Georgia’s early childhood educators to enhance their credentials through three new programs.
“Throughout my administration, I have made the education of our state’s children my top budget priority,” said Deal. “As we all know, having a great teacher is one of the keys to a child’s success in the classroom. These three programs will provide teachers and administrators with more affordable higher education opportunities, helping to ensure that our state’s education workforce is well-trained, prepared and positioned to educate our future leaders.”
For the next three years, early childhood education program administrators and teaching personnel can receive financial awards for furthering their education and earning higher credentials in the field. The program will award a single bonus at each level to eligible applicants who earn the following credentials or degrees from eligible institutions from January 1, 2014, through July 1, 2017:
1st Level: Single payment of $1,200 for completion of a CDA Credential or a Technical Certificate of Credit
2nd Level: Single payment of $1,500 for completion of a Technical College Diploma or Associate of Applied Arts or Science Degree
3rd Level: Single payment of $2,500 for completion of bachelor’s or master’s degree
Funding for this effort will come from the federal Early Learning Challenge grant (ELC) that DECAL was awarded in December 2013. In addition, DECAL will continue to provide tuition assistance through its scholarship program for eligible early educators in licensed child care settings who enroll and attend any of Georgia’s SACS-accredited, HOPE-eligible institutions to earn an early childhood education credential. - Channel 6 News, 7/2/14
And then there's this:
http://chronicle.augusta.com/...
Georgia children with difficult to treat seizures will get access to a marijuana-derived oil in a clinical trial through Georgia Regents University perhaps as soon as this month, or at least by the end of the year, Gov, Nathan Deal said.
In addition, GRU and the state of Georgia will pursue their own clinical trial of cannabidiol oil, although that will take longer to set up, he said. But some parents at his press conference said they think Deal should do something to shield them from prosecution so they can get cannabidiol oil themselves and administer it to their children right away.
Deal met Tuesday with officials from GW Pharmaceuticals and GRU as well as other Georgia providers such as Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta to talk about the logistics of expanding clinical trials of Epidiolex, a cannabidiol oil being tested on children with certain difficult to treat seizure disorders.
Deal said Georgia’s arm of the trial would actually be expanded to cover more than just certain diagnoses.
“We all have to be sensitive to the children that have these seizures,” he said. “That’s the focal point for all of the discussion. It was the genesis of why legislation was attempted this last session. And that should always be our focus.”
Deal said he has heard estimates of 300 to 400 such children in Georgia. - Augusta Chronicle, 7/8/14
Momentum is on our side but we can't afford to let Deal dupe voters. So lets keep the momentum going by donating and getting involved with Carter's campaign:
https://carterforgovernor.com/