I swung by @JohnCowanGA’s campaign party, where the mood is optimistic despite an early deficit to @mtgreenee. His main base of support is here in Floyd County, where results are still at least an hour away because the polls don’t close until 9p. #gapol#ga14
Greene has built an early lead in Murray and Paulding counties - two counties where she was dominant in the June primary -- but Cowan is holding his own in Chattooga, Gordon & Walker (all counties he lost in June). #gapol
Decision Desk calls the #ga14 race for @mtgreenee based on early returns in her strongholds. Floyd County polls still haven't closed, but she's built a solid lead. #gapol
In neighboring #ga09, Andrew Clyde is showing strength across the region. If these Hall County margins hold, he’s set. #gapol
Across the river at @mtgreenee HQ, the mood is jubilant. “The best person won because we are the real conservatives in this race,” said Pamela Reardon, a Greene supporter. “She’s never going to waver from her values.” #gapol#ga14
@mtgreenee Greene: “I’m really fed up with what I’ve seen from the radical left, but I’m just as fed up with what I’ve seen from spineless Republicans. I’m a mama bear, so if you mess with my kids’ future, I’ll come after you. So I ran for Congress.” #gapol#ga14
@mtgreenee Greene declares victory in #ga14 race: “The Republican establishment was against me. The D.C. swamp is against me. And the lying fake news media hates my guts. It’s a badge of honor. It’s not about me winning. This is a referendum on every single one of us, on our beliefs” #gapol
@mtgreenee More Greene: “My victory tonight should be a message to every single one of them. You don’t speak for us. The radical left and their allies in the media are terrified ... because I’m going to be their worst nightmare.” #gapol#ga14
@mtgreenee Huge applause for this line about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi: "She’s a hypocrite. She’s anti-American. And we’re going to kick that bitch out of Congress.” #gapol#ga14
And that’s that. I got kicked (escorted?) out by @mtgreenee’s campaign manager, who said it was a closed press event ... #gapol#ga14
A spokesman for @JohnCowanGA confirms that he’s conceded the #ga14 race, with results showing him trailing 60-40. #gapol
National outlets call the #ga09 race for Andrew Clyde over Matt Gurtler. That sound you hear is Speaker David Ralston screaming for joy that “Dr. No” was rejected by the voters. #gapol
Says @GeorgiaDemocrat executive director @hoganscott18: “Georgia Republicans own this crisis and their mealy-mouthed statements can’t hide the fact that Marjorie Taylor Greene’s nomination is a stain on their party.” #gapol
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Fulton County is now starting to report its totals. Georgia’s most populous county, Biden won 73% of Fulton’s vote in 2020. Harris is on a similar track with half the county’s precincts reporting. #gapol
Keep an eye on Forsyth County, an exurban GOP stronghold. In 2020, Trump captured Forsyth with nearly two-thirds of the vote. Democrats are working to shave his margins there - winning by losing less - particularly targeting independent women there. #gapol
Clayton County might be the spot that has most spooked Democrats, because of lagging early voting turnout. So far, Clayton is about on pace where it was in 2020. #gapol
I’m here at the Kamala Harris rally in DeKalb County. I wandered the crowd of thousands asked voters the same question: What’s going to decide this election in Georgia? I got some intriguing answers. Here’s a thread. #gapol
Ashleigh Ewald is an activist working to drive up young voter turnout. “Republicans are underestimating the power of Gen Z voters. We couldn’t vote in 2016. Now we can – and we are energized.”
Jourdan Russell is an Oglethorpe University student who has been urging her friends, neighbors and classmates to vote – not just for president but for down-ticket races.
“Government is local on its most basic level, and these races matter.” #gapol
Here at the Kamala Harris rally in Atlanta, I wandered the crowd of thousands and asked voters the same question: How are you feeling about the Democrat’s chances in Georgia in November. The answers I got ran the gamut from confidence to anxiousness. Here’s a thread.
Jed Rich of Atlanta says he’s “hopeful and energized.”
“I view Trump as an existential threat to democracy. My father and both grandfathers are all U.S. military veterans and I think it’s a patriotic duty to vote for Kamala Harris. Trump is anti-democratic and anti-American.”
I spotted Mike Diamond’s Georgia hat in the crowd. He’s an East Cobb resident who is blunt about how he feels.
“I’m nervous. We cannot take four more years of Donald Trump. If you believe half the things he says, he will destroy our country. And there’s nowhere to run from it.”
Three right-wing Republicans behind a series of rules changes praised by Trump face intensifying political pressure as the State Election Board considers new rules for ballot-counting and election certification at its Monday meeting. #gapol ajc.com/politics/trump…
Fulton County’s former elections board chair filed an ethics complaint on Friday alleging a series of conflicts of interests, and asking Gov. Kemp to intervene. #gapol
Over the weekend, dozens of Georgia House Democrats penned a letter to Speaker Jon Burns asking him to replace his appointment to the board, Janelle King, who provided the swing vote for Trump’s “pit bull” bloc.
Just in: Former Fulton County Election Board Chair Cathy Woolard files an ethics complaint against three GOP members of the State Election Board in Georgia, accusing them of maneuvering to “advance their own political preferences.” #gapol
The complaint highlights the ovation for the three when Trump praised them at his Atlanta rally, along with comments from one of the members, Rick Jeffares, who told the Guardian he sought a job with the Trump administration if he wins in November. #gapol
(Jeffares told me in an interview he never made a formal ask for a Trump administration job, but didn’t deny being open to a gig if the Republican prevails.) #gapol ajc.com/politics/polit…