Divided Legislature, State

Sunday Solutions – Nov. 8, 2026

Good morning! Elections are over, and so are the TV commercials. We can go back to lawyers, football promos and beer ads, right? We’re here with some updates from the vote and other news you may have missed plus some food for thought on data centers. Let’s go!

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NEWS: LEGISLATURE

A divided legislature

The election is over, and it’s been a nail-biter for state legislators waiting to see who’s in charge come January. It’s looking like there will be a healthy environment for legislators with accomplished negotiation skills. Republicans will hold sway in the Georgia state Senate with one vote to spare and a Democratic lieutenant governor holding the gavel. In the House of Representatives, it’s likely the Democrats will gain the majority by one or two seats, which will mean a change of speaker from east Georgia’s Jon Burns to west Georgia’s Carolyn Hugley. But the results haven’t been been clear-cut. In a twist late Friday in Seminole County, a computer card found in the cross-checking process added more votes and likely has retained one House seat for the GOP. Another seat will be decided in a runoff, and two others will likely be part of the Democratic majority as final tallies are announced.

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Younger voters turned out, but …

Georgia voters aged 18 to 24 showed up at the election this year more than their older siblings, but the grandparent and great-grandparent age cohorts still beat them.

That’s according to turnout demographics published by the Georgia Secretary of State, where you can explore about two years’ worth of turnout data.  Of the roughly 7.5 million who are able, about 3.3 million Georgians didn’t vote.

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ANALYSIS: GOVERNING

The persistent rural vs. metro divide

We’ve brought you work before by Georgia writer and journalist Charlie Hayslett. He’s a keen observer and has charted the demographic rural-urban divides of the state for years. His analysis of last week’s election is worth reading for all. His point? Keisha Lance Bottoms was elected without the help of Georgians outside Atlanta, but she’ll need to give the rural voters more focus than ever. He cites the opportunities (or basic needs) in health care, strengthening the smaller cities, and making sure that the state’s business growth extends deep into the rural areas, not just the metro area and the coast. You can read his thoughts here.

Along those lines, we have updates on the main top-of-mind issue he cites: health care. Governor Brian Kemp’s Medicaid-expansion alternative, Georgia Pathways to Coverage, and its work requirement will expire in January. If it does, it’ll abandon 20,000 who’ve found some health coverage through it. The new governor will have to figure out what’s next.

And if that wasn’t a challenge, the quickly evaporating access to consistent healthcare for rural Georgia faces another problem. Promised federal benefits to help save rural hospitals aren’t coming. Here are those stories.

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NEWS: UPDATES

There’s other news…

The midterms took our attention for a bit, but rest assured, the world kept on turning. Here are some stories from the week:

• Marine education event looks at life in Wilmington River: Maybe the most fun Halloween trick or treat activity yet: An educational boat trip to find creatures living in a river to treat the inhabitants of the UGA aquarium on Skidaway Island. It’s a story and photo essay from The Current‘s Justin Taylor.
• ‘Surprise’ calf adds to 2026 right whale calving season total: Add one more baby to 2026’s list of right whales births. 2026 was a good year for whale babies off the coast, and the newbie sparks optimism for the coming 2027 season. From The Current‘s Mary Landers.
• Changes to federal preservation act could threaten Georgia historic findings: The bipartisan bill to cut delays in infrastructure projects could wipe out requirements to find and preserve historical resources during a development project. From WABE
• Homeowners fight high HOA fees as Georgia drafts new oversight regulations: Lawmakers hear from residents about ways to deploy recent legislation to help level the playing field for homeowners and neighborhood associations. From Capitol Beat.

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EXPLAINER: JOBS

☕ Your second cup: Back to data centers

Data centers are out there, and we’re all looking for independent information to help us learn more about them as our elected reps are trying to figure out the best ways to handle them through moratoriums, outright bans, solicitations, tax breaks or energy-use restrictions and other parameters. One thing is consistent: a community’s need for higher paying jobs. We found two stories this week that bring information on the types of jobs, training and numbers a community may expect.

• Tech companies enlist colleges to help them train data center workers: In a story for The Hechinger Report and The Daily Yonder, we learn more about the specific jobs that are available after the construction phases for the giant computing centers.
• We studied 1,584 data centers – and found the buildings full of machines are tied to modest local job growth: From economic researchers writing for The Conversation, we get a clear view of what’s happened to jobs so far as data centers went on line.

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