I admit I've been more focused on the Georgia U.S. Senate race and on Michelle Nunn's (D. GA) candidacy to succeed retiring Senator Saxby "Chicken Hawk" Chambliss' (R. GA). But I am now starting to add the 2014 Georgia Governor's Race to my list of races to watch. And I have some good news to report for Team Blue:
http://www.ajc.com/...
Jason Carter’s decision not to resign his state Senate seat amped up the fundraising pressure in his Democratic campaign for Georgia governor. He just announced the results of that first crucial test.
Carter told us he's raised about $1.3 million from about 1,800 donors since he announced in early November. He said he'll have about $1.2 million cash on hand.
Republican Gov. Nathan Deal hasn’t yet reported his year-end contributions, though his campaign has said he is expected to far surpass the $1.1 million he reported in June. Another GOP contender, Dalton Mayor David Pennington, reported late Friday that he raised about $327,000 and added another $46,000 loan. He has roughly $240,000 on hand.
State Superintendent John Barge, who is also running for governor, hasn't reported his figures. - Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 1/3/14
Here's a little more info:
http://mdjonline.com/...
Carter, a state senator and grandson of former President Jimmy Carter, announced in November that he would be challenging Republican Gov. Nathan Deal, who is seeking a second term. State and national Democrats have rallied around Carter and he is not expected to draw a major primary challenger.
Carter campaign chair Michael J. Coles told The Associated Press on Friday that Carter will report the money by the Jan. 8 deadline. Coles said the campaign had more than 1,800 donors, with over 1,500 of them from Georgia.
Carter said he was heartened by the level of enthusiasm and support he has received, noting the vast majority of Georgia donors to his campaign.
"We thought that Georgia was ready for something new and now we know it for sure," Carter said. "There is pent-up energy both among Democrats and a lot of Republicans for a new and better discussion about where our state needs to be, and that outpouring is evident." - Marietta Daily Journal, 1/3/14
Carter's decision to stay in the State Senate is looking like a good call:
http://www.sfgate.com/...
His decision to run for governor energized Democrats who are hoping that changing demographics — increases in minorities and residents moving in from other states — will transform Georgia's political landscape despite tough odds. Most state Democrats had been looking to 2018, but Carter and Michelle Nunn, who's running for U.S. Senate, think they can move the electorate now and see hope with their early fundraising.
Carter, the grandson of former President Jimmy Carter, has decided to remain in the Senate for the session, forgoing an opportunity to gain some ground in fundraising. He may be banking on the fact that he's not expected to face a primary challenger while Deal's two opponents will force him to spend money.
By staying in the Senate, Carter also will benefit from being the most visible opponent to Deal's legislative agenda and will look to challenge the governor on education issues and the decision not to expand Medicaid under the federal health care law. Deal will continue to make the case that his focus on economic development has bolstered the economy, producing jobs.
Other issues likely to arise in the legislative session include an effort to toss out the Common Core academic standards, a push for medical malpractice reform and a call for more criminal justice reforms with an emphasis on improving rehabilitation and reducing recidivism. One lingering question from last year's legislative session is what lawmakers will do with a proposal, still active, to expand gun rights on public college campuses. - SF Gate, 1/4/14
And Carter's grandfather's friends have been helping him raise money for his campaign:
http://www.lohud.com/...
Stuart Eizenstat, a domestic policy adviser to President Jimmy Carter, and Gerald Rafshoon, the advertising guru who helped a little-known Georgia governor become the 39th president, are among the hosts for a reception benefiting the younger Carter on Dec. 10 in the nation's capital.
Jason Carter, a Georgia state senator, recently announced his bid for governor. He told Politico he'll be his own man in the 2014 campaign. "It's important for folks to know I'm Jason Carter, I have my beliefs," the candidate is quoted as saying. "He's Jimmy Carter, he has his."
Other hosts include National Geographic Society Executive VP Terry Adamson, who worked in the Justice Department in the Carter administration; Rex Granum, a former ABC News executive who was deputy press secretary to the president; and Robert Pastor, who was a national security aide to Carter. - USA Today, 12/3/13
And Carter has been doing everything he can to make himself look like a strong candidate:
http://www.flagpole.com/...
Carter (President Jimmy's grandson) managed to draw a couple hundred people to a last-minute, virtually unpublicized meet-and-greet at Hendershot's on the weekend after Thanksgiving 11 months before Election Day. No way Mark Taylor or Roy Barnes could've pulled that off.
Carter devoted much of his stump speech to convincing the Democratic activists and donors in the room who've been beaten down by a decade of defeats that he has a legitimate chance to win. He cited a poll showing that only 36 percent of voters think Gov. Nathan Deal should be re-elected, as well as President Barack Obama's performance in 2012. Obama won 46 percent of the vote without spending a dime here, making Georgia the second-least red state behind North Carolina.
"The thing I've heard the most is people are excited to have a real race," he said.
Policy-wise, Carter focused mainly on education. Sixty thousand students have dropped out of the technical college system, 140 school districts hold class fewer than 180 days out of the year, there are 9,000 fewer teachers in the state than there were four years ago, and college enrollment is down for the first time in memory because HOPE reform has put higher education out of reach for some, he said.
Carter was the public face of Democrats’ opposition to HOPE cuts, which he called an "unbelievable catastrophe." Even Deal has recognized that his reforms pushed thousands of students out of two-year schools and has moved to rectify the mistake.
At the same time that education is being cut and cut—incidentally, leading 39 cities and counties to raise property taxes, Carter said—he accused the Deal administration of trumpeting Site Selection magazine naming Georgia the No. 1 place to do business.
"You're not really building for the future," he said. "You're building for the present, and you're building for these magazine articles that don't matter." - Flag Pole, 12/4/13
Carter's likely opponent, Governor Nathan Deal (R. GA) did not have a good end to his 2013:
http://www.rawstory.com/...
The investigation into alleged campaign finance violations by Georgia’s Republican Gov. Nathan Deal has deepened into a criminal probe as the outlines of a broad cover-up emerged this week.
Some Georgia Democrats believe that the politician known in the state as “Teflon Deal” for his ability to elude punishment for ethics violations may finally be getting his due.
“We’re past an ethics complaint,” said Bryan Long of Better Georgia to Raw Story. “This is not an ethics investigation. When the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office issue subpoenas, this is a criminal investigation.”
In 2011, shortly after he took office, Gov. Deal was hit with charges that he had personally enriched himself on campaign funds. In 2010, Deal and his family allegedly helped themselves to at least $322,000 in campaign donations, paying generous stipends to companies that they own or have an interest in. - Raw Story, 12/17/13
Here's some more details:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
The grand jury, scheduled to meet next month, will receive documents relating to an ethics investigation that cleared Deal of major wrongdoing. Deal’s campaign agreed to pay $3,350 in fees over violations to the state’s campaign finance and disclosure laws.
Deal’s attorney, Randy Evans, said the governor is “not involved” and hasn’t received any communication from the U.S. Attorney’s office or the FBI.
But it’s not the first time the investigation into Deal’s campaign has been the center of legal attention. After the matter was settled, two former commission staffers alleged retaliation after they sought approval to issue subpoenas of their own. The former employees said in sworn testimony that Deal had helped recruit Holly LaBerge, the ethics commission’s executive secretary, and that LaBerge claimed Deal “owes her” for handling the complaints, AP said.
Deal has denied knowing LaBerge, who was tapped to head the commission after her predecessor was fired after telling commissioners she planned to subpoena documents. The commission slashed their own budget and eliminated the predecessor’s position.
LaBerge, ethics commission staff attorney Elisabeth Murray-Obertein and former staffer John Hair have all received subpoenas in the case, AP reported.
During the initial ethics investigation, Murray-Obertein recommended up to a $70,000 fine against Deal, along with further investigation into the allegations. Hair claimed he was fired after being asked to remove documents from the case file; Hair raised questions about the request after the documents weren’t replaced.
Deal won election in 2010 after finishing second in the Republican primary, then winning outright in a runoff against then-Secretary of State Karen Handel (R), who is now running for U.S. Senate. Deal beat former governor Roy Barnes (D) by 10 points in the general election. Earlier this year he signed an ethics reform package that gave Georgia’s campaign finance watchdog greater powers and increases transparency on campaign donations. - Washington Post, 12/12/13
And Deal's getting from both sides on this:
http://clatl.com/...
Deal's opponents wasted little time attempting to connect the governor to the federal investigation. Democratic Party of Georgia Chairman DuBose Porter last night called the issue "troubling" and likened the current allegations to ones that led to Deal's resignation from Congress in 2010.
"Every Georgian should pay close attention so that history does not repeat itself in the ethics commission," Porter said in a statement.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate and State Sen. Jason Carter, D-Decatur, hasn't weighed in on the matter yet. But Dalton Mayor David Pennington, one of two Republicans opposing Deal, went on the offensive in a statement: "Nathan Deal's ethics problems are continued distractions and embarrassments to Republicans and all Georgia citizens. Added to his reckless spending, tax increases, and failed economic policies - it is clear that Republicans must have a different candidate at the top of the ticket." - Atlanta Creative Loafing, 12/12/13
Not to mention Deal has a Tea Party problem on his hands:
http://www.ajc.com/...
State School Superintendent John Barge is trying out a new message: "It's time Georgia had a real education governor."
In a two-minute introductory video to voters, Gov. Nathan Deal’s Republican primary challenger walks around his farm wearing a flannel shirt and blue jean, and offers some background on his upbringing.
Throughout the exposition, Barge boasts of rising test scores and graduation rates during his three years in the superintendent's office:
"Now, do we still have a lot of room to grow? Absolutely. But what I know is we're not going to make that growth unless we have a leader, unless we have a governor who believes that we must invest in education. ...
"What I really grow tired of and what I really grow frustrated with is politicians, year after year, who want to make education their lasting legacy for the state of Georgia. I think it's time that we have a governor who truly understands education and who understands the value of education and who understands the power of education and its ability to level the playing field for all of our children." - Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 1/3/14
And activists and Democrats have been calling out Deal's fear of the Tea Party for causing him to do anything good for the people of Georgia:
http://www.thegavoice.com/...
With the Healthcare.gov website running smoothly, December enrollment figures soaring to over 1.1 million sign-ups nationally and coverage having started on Jan. 1, attention is turning locally to Gov. Nathan Deal's decision not to accept federal funds that would expand Medicaid for lower-income Georgia residents.
The expansion is projected to save 3,700 lives and create a historic economic expansion throughout the state, according to a recent study. And several organizations are turning up the heat on the governor in advance of his 2014 re-election campaign.
The Medicaid expansion is an optional provision of the Affordable Care Act that provides coverage to those individuals between the ages of 19 and 65 with incomes up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level. For single people, that is $15,800 a year. It goes up about $5,500 per person in the household from there.The federal government would pay 100 percent of the costs of the expansion in 2014, 2015 and 2016, then taper down to cover no less than 90 percent of the costs to the state thereafter.
The decision not to accept the funds for the Medicaid expansion hits the LGBT community hard, especially those living with HIV. The majority of people living with HIV would fall into the income levels that would benefit from the expansion, Georgia Equality executive director Jeff Graham told GA Voice. And the effect on young LBGTs turned away by their parents is also significant, especially if parents drop them from the plans that would otherwise cover them until age 26.
“Statistics show that up to 40 percent of young people that come out lose financial support from their parents, so they're on their own and wouldn't be able to benefit from the part of the law that expands coverage to those until they're 26,” Graham said.
Gov. Deal has claimed his opposition to the expansion is based on his concern about the federal government coming through on the promise to fund at least 90 percent of the cost, but there are provisions already in place in case that happens.
“That's just speculation on his part,” State Sen. Vincent Fort (D-Atlanta) told GA Voice. “Anytime that he would want, he can withdraw from the program [if funding falls below 90 percent].” Fort will be speaking at a Jan. 13 rally at the state capital organized by the grassroots group Moral Mondays. - The GA Voice, 1/2/14
And Carter isn't the only top Democrat slamming Deal:
http://www.ajc.com/...
In a conference call organized by the White House to sing the Affordable Care Act's praises in Georgia, state House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams said there will be a wide-ranging effort this year to cajole Gov. Nathan Deal into expanding Medicaid.
This will come in part by making sure everyone knows that it's solely Deal's decision. Said Abrams:
"The most important thing we can do is raise awareness and make sure our constituents understand who has the decision-making power. ... I do think there will be a concerted effort not just among the political class but citizen and community groups." - Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 1/2/14
Georgia is looking more and more like a political hot spot this year. Not only are Georgia Democrats getting energized about both the U.S. Senate and Governor's race but the GOP is having a serious Tea Party problem in both races. I will be covering this race more. In the mean time, if you would like to get involved or donate to Carter's campaign, you can do so here:
http://www.carterforgovernor.com/