Tuesday, April 21, 2026
Good Morning! Good morning! In the news today: An alarming drop in health insurance coverage among Georgians, a former PSC commissioner trying to win back his seat wins a residency challenge; and Buddy Carter and Mike Collins turn on each other. Finally, we note some things for your radar. Questions, comments, or story ideas? You can reach me at craig.thecurrent@gmail.com.
NEWS: HEALTH CARE ACCESS
Half a million: ‘A larger number . . . than anticipated’
More than half a million Georgians have dropped health insurance coverage amid stiff premium price hikes for federally subsidized Affordable Care Act plans, according to data obtained by The Current GA and Georgia Recorder.
The 37% enrollment drop — from 1.5 million Georgians in January 2025 to 950,000 as of April 17, 2026 — dwarfs any previous decline in the state since the launch of so-called Obamacare health insurance plans in 2014, Ariel Hart reports.
The sharp decline shown by the data, which was released to The Current in response to a records request, sparked immediate concern about the financial viability of rural hospitals, as well as the extent to which those Georgians who have been forced to drop ACA plans have not found an insurance plan elsewhere.
“I don’t know what we’re going to do, honestly” said Monty Veazey, president of the Georgia Alliance of Community Hospitals, when informed of the data by The Current. “It’s a larger number than I anticipated,” he said of the enrollment drop.
NEWS: ELECTIONS
‘Valid residency’
Fitz Johnson is a legal resident of Cobb County, an administrative judge has ruled, clearing the way for the former member of the state’s Public Service Commission to try to regain his seat on the panel, starting with the May 19 Republican primary.
Johnson, who was appointed to the five-member commission by Gov. Brian Kemp in 2021, lost his seat to Democrat Peter Hubbard in an election last November that to many Democrats signaled a revival the party’s fortunes in Georgia. Alicia Johnson, a Savannah Democrat and no relation to Fitz, also won a seat.
But Johnson’s path back to the powerful commission, which regulates Georgia Power and other investor-owned utilities, hit a roadblock when a DeKalb County resident filed a residency challenge, The Current GA’s Mary Landers reports.
But in her ruling, the judge, Judge Kimberly Schroer, wrote that while Johnson’s actions — including a $1.3 million mortgage on a house in Cobb County — pointed a life centered in that county, he had shown he had been a legal resident of Fulton County since at least Nov. 3, 2025, and was therefore qualified under Georgia law to run for the District 3 seat. Cobb County lies outside District 3.
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger affirmed Schroer’s ruling Monday. There was no immediate word on whether the DeKalb resident, Daniel O’Toole, would appeal the decision.
NEWS: POLITICS
‘MAGA warrior’ test
The battle between U.S. Reps. Buddy Carter and Mike Collins for the Republican nomination to face Democratic incumbent Jon Ossoff this fall ramped up over the weekend, as the two self-described “MAGA warriors” vie for votes from President Trump’s hardcore supporters in the May 19 primary.
In a new, 30-second ad posted by Carter’s campaign over the weekend, Coastal Georgia’s congressman accuses his colleague from Georgia’s 10th Congressional District of corruption, The Current’s Craig Nelson reports.
Collins’ campaign isn’t taking the new Carter ad lying down. On Monday, it posted a photo suggesting was something less than a “true MAGA warrior.”
The fracas comes as Carter seeks to make up ground in his three-way race with Collins and Derek Dooley for the nomination — a race in which he appears to be lagging, according to a recent poll.
NEWS: UPDATES
12 things for your radar
- CAT paratransit: Listed under “Chairman’s Items” in the agenda for this morning’s regularly scheduled meeting of the Chatham County Commission is “Paratransit Services Request for Qualifications.” No supporting documentation is provided in the attached agenda packet. In his ongoing dispute with the board of Chatham Area Transit, which operates a paratransit service, Commission Chairman Chester Ellis has threatened to set up a parallel paratransit system, at a cost of what critics say would be hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of dollars.
- ‘Crush Reloaded’: Tybee Mayor Brian West tells The Current there were 26 arrests at last weekend’s “Crush Reloaded” festivities, formerly known as “Orange Crush” — 17 by local police, the rest by state police. Most of the alleged offenses were alcohol related. Also, five firearms were seized, including a “makeshift converted machine gun,” West said. As for the number of arrests among the some 20,000 who attended the event, “we probably have that many on a typical holiday weekend, or even a normal summer weekend,” he said.
- Split screen: Buddy Carter on Newsmax, April 14: “We [Republicans] are serious policymakers, whereas all they [Democrats] are doing is just trying to disrupt things and trying to impeach Donald Trump because they have Trump Derangement Syndrome.” Punchbowl News, April 17: “Republicans just can’t stop fighting with Republicans. On every issue in front of Congress, the GOP seems to be locked in a circular firing squad.”
- ‘Education, not indoctrination’: “As a Christian my whole life, we’ve been getting beat up and canceled and disgraced,” GOP gubernatorial candidate Rick Jackson said to loud applause during a campaign stop in Savannah last week. “If you cannot teach Christianity in school, you should not be able to teach the religion of ‘woke ideology’ in school. Our schools are made for education, not indoctrination.”
- ‘WTH’: As the Hyundai-LG battery plant in Bryan County prepares to reopen following last year’s raid by U.S. immigration agents, Gov. Brian Kemp recalls his first reaction to news of the raid: “What the hell?”
- ‘Cannot make law’: With an election-system crisis looming, Gov. Brian Kemp challenges the authority of the State Election Board to press counties to use paper ballots filled out by hand. The board “cannot make law, they set rules for elections, so we’ll see what they end up doing, if anything, and whether that holds legal muster,” the Atlanta Journal-Constitution quotes him as saying.
- Recruiting Black candidates: Days after a decade-old photo goes viral showing state Rep. Kasey Carpenter (Dalton) wearing blackface and purporting to impersonate Kanye West, House Speaker Jon Burns (Newington) makes an “unusually aggressive push to recruit Black Republican candidates this cycle,” the Atlanta Journal-Constitution says. Carpenter has apologized for the photo.
- ‘Unique gift’: Time magazine names Mashama Bailey, executive chef and co-founder of Grey Spaces and its flagship restaurant The Grey in downtown Savannah, one of its 100 “most influential people of 2026.” In a commendation, former U.S. vice president and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris praises Bailey for her “unique gift of connecting people through a bond of mutual understanding.” The two shared the stage on Friday at the Johnny Mercer Theater in Savannah, the last stop of Harris’ book tour.
- Study committees: House Speaker Jon Burns (Newington) announces the creation of seven House “blue-ribbon” study committees, including one on “education performance metrics and workforce stability” and another on the “impact of online platforms on Georgia youth.”
- “Why don’t we have a Trader Joe’s? (and other questions everyone’s asking about housing and development),” 10 a.m. Saturday, April 25 at Trinity United Methodist Church, 225 W President St., Savannah. The forum is part of a series sponsored by The Current, called “Current Conversations: Bridging Perspectives.”
- Televised and streamed: The Atlanta Press Club to hold 1st Congressional District Republican and Democratic candidate debates, as well as executive office candidates, including Public Service Commission candidates. For more information, click here.
- State school superintendent’s race: GeorgiaCan, the Georgia Center for Opportunity, and the Chatham Education Alliance sponsor a candidate forum from 6-8 p.m. on April 29 at the Coastal Georgia Center, 305 Fahm St., in Savannah. GOP candidates for state school superintendent Nelva Lee, Fred Longgrear, Mesha Mainor, Randell Trammell and Democratic candidates Anton Anthony, Lydia Powell, and Otha Thornton have confirmed their attendance. No word on whether incumbent superintendent Richard Woods will attend. Also participating in the forum: Savannah-Chatham County School Board presidential candidates Dionne Hoskins-Brown and Roger Moss.
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Georgia’s ACA enrollment plunges, raising concerns for rural hospitals
More than half a million Georgians have dropped health insurance coverage due to rising premiums for federally subsidized Affordable Care Act plans, leading to concerns about the financial viability of rural hospitals and the state’s uninsured rate.
Fitz Johnson prevails in PSC residency challenge
A judge determined Fitz Johnson meets the legal residency requirement to run for the Republican nomination for the District 3 Georgia Public Service Commission seat.
Buddy Carter, Mike Collins contest heats up
Buddy Carter’s campaign has released a new ad accusing Mike Collins of corruption, as the two Republicans vie for the GOP nomination to face Democratic incumbent Jon Ossoff in the May 19 primary.
Georgia Democrats compete for attention, funds in governor primary race
Georgia Democrats are struggling to raise money and gain attention in the upcoming primary for governor, with Republicans having spent nearly $100 million in advertising so far, while Democrats have spent only $1.24 million.
ICE went on a hiring spree. Sterling credentials were not required, AP investigation finds
ICE has hired 12,000 new officers and agents in a rush to carry out a mass deportation campaign, but many of them — including former Coastal Georgia officers — have questionable backgrounds.
Kingston, Carter lead fundraising race as primaries near
Jim Kingston leads all candidates in fundraising in the race to succeed Earl “Buddy” Carter as Coastal Georgia’s representative in U.S. Congress, with $1.81 million in contributions since June 2025.
Monday deadline to register for May 19 Georgia primary, local nonpartisan races
Georgians have until Monday to register to vote in the May 19 primary election, where candidates from the two major parties will compete for a place on the ballot for November’s election.
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