Congressman @JodyHice, who once rescinded his endorsement of Marjorie Taylor Greene, opens for her at her rally in Dalton tonight. Chants of “LOCK HIM UP” erupt as Hice rails against Secretary of State Raffensperger, a fellow Republican he’s challenging next year. #gapol
Matt Gaetz walks in to the tune of “Thank You For Being A Friend.” To a roar of applause, he tells the crowd of several hundred: “This is Donald Trump’s party.” When he invokes Paul Ryan’s anti-Trump speech tonight, a cascade of boos follows. #gapol
“This is not about a cult of personality,” Gaetz says, outlining a nationalist platform against “never-ending wars,” aid to “countries that hate us” and one-sided trade deals. “Printing more money does not make you stronger. If it did, Zimbabwe would be the greatest power.”
Gaetz is now citing “deep state” conspiracy theories I won’t repeat and claims, to approval from the crowd, that the Post Office is complicit. The biggest applause so far came when he attacked Fauci, contending the public health official is “trying to seize power.” #gapol
“Home sweet home.” Greene rolls up in a Humvee to cheers and a “happy birthday” song from her fans. Like Trump, she immediately takes aim at the media. “Bless their hearts.” #gapol
A taste of Greene’s rhetoric: “We’ve got to clear something up: Who won the presidential race on November 3 for Georgia?” The crowd chants TRUMP. “If you want an audit, then you deserve an audit.” More on that ... #gapol
Greene is continuing to tie Democrats to Nazis, after drawing bipartisan condemnation for comparing vaccine mandates to the murderous Nazi German regime.
“Nazis were the National Socialist Party, just like the Democrats are now a National Socialist Party.” #gapol
Georgia House Democrats walk out of the chamber en masse in protest of a Republican-backed bill to block taxpayer funds from being used to pay for gender-affirming care for state prison inmates. #gapol
“Take a walk!” House Democrats chant after bolting from the chamber in defiance of the GOP bill. When I asked House Minority Leader Carolyn Hugley whether she worried this could push Republicans further to the right, she said: “There’s not much left” to go. #gapol
Plays into this: Georgia Democrats are channeling their fury and frustration inward as liberal voters and grassroots organizers demand a more aggressive, confrontational response to President Donald Trump’s return to power. #gapol
The town hall crowd peppers Rep. Rich McCormick with boos and catcalls as he struggles to answer a pointed question from a resident who says she’s a descendant of Patrick Henry who pressed him on whether Trump was moving toward “tyranny.” #gapol
Republican state Sen. Colton Moore was just arrested by state Troopers after he tried to defy a House order that banned him from the chambers. He was knocked to the floor after a scuffle, and was led away after telling authorities they were denying his rights. #gapol
Backstory from yesterday here: A far-right Republican state senator said he plans to ignore his banishment from the state House and attend Thursday’s State of the State address by Gov. Brian Kemp. #gapol
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