Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026
Good Morning! In the news today: The U.S. Justice Department comes to town; a Brantley County woman lands in court because of her protest against data centers; and candidates for next week’s midterm elections make their final pitches. Finally, we note some things for your radar. Questions, comments, or story ideas? You can reach me at craig.thecurrent@gmail.com.
NEWS: ELECTIONS
Neither benign nor traditional
On its face, there was nothing unusual about the announcement out of Washington.
The U.S. Justice Department confirmed it will deploy monitors in Georgia and elsewhere in the U.S. to ensure that voting in next week’s midterm elections is free and fair and complies with federal law. Previous administrations, Republican and Democrat alike, have done so in the past.
What is eye-catching, however, is the list of counties to be scrutinized in Georgia by DOJ monitors. All six — Chatham, Bibb, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, and Gwinnett — are Democratic Party strongholds. And all six have voted for Donald Trump’s Democratic opponent in the past three presidential elections, by an average of 28.9% of the vote (17.2% in Chatham), The Current’s Craig Nelson reports.
For local Democratic Party leaders, there is nothing benign or traditional about the Justice Department’s monitoring initiative or the people leading it. The effort, coordinated with the office of Meg Heap, U.S. Attorney for the South District of Georgia, is an attempt they say, to sow confusion, plant doubt, and discourage voters from showing up at the polls at casting their ballots.
“This is not the Department of Justice of yesteryear,” state Rep. Anne Allen Westbrook (District 163) said at a Democratic Party rally in Savannah on Sunday. “This is a Trump vengeance machine.” Savannah Mayor Van Johnson echoed the sentiment. Chatham is on a “DOJ hit list,” he said.
NEWS: COURTS
‘I guess God woke me up’
For most of her life, Tanya Tomanek thought of herself as a businesswoman, mother and grandmother, someone who moved to her quiet 16-acre land in Brantley County three years ago. She was more concerned with her family than politics.
That changed this summer, when Tomanek was led out of a county commission meeting in handcuffs and spent three nights in jail after delivering an impassioned plea for transparency and accountability over the hot-button issue of data centers.
On Wednesday, Tomanek, 53, is going to court to fight charges of criminal trespass. She tells The Current’s Justin Taylor that the accusations are politically motivated and meant to silence her coalition of residents against tech firms and developers that are scouring Georgia for places to build data centers and the local officials tempted to bring them to her county.
Tomanek’s journey from an apolitical citizen to a frontline warrior in Georgia’s data center wars illustrates how voters across the state are becoming more civically engaged around an issue that many see as an existential threat to their way of life.
NEWS: POLITICS
Final pitches
“Highway to hell” or “righting the ship”? These are just two of the ways that candidates in notable midterm races are framing their final pitches to those Georgians who haven’t voted.
For a look at how Jim Kingston, Amanda Hollowell, Rick Jackson, Keisha Lance Bottoms, Mike Collins and Jon Ossoff in recent days, either in Perry at President Trump’s rally or in rallies in the Savannah area, click here.
NEWS: POLITICS
5 things for your radar
- See where they stand (and who inspires them): Click here to see how Coastal Georgia candidates in contested state legislative races describe their aims for the next state legislative session, the motives for running for public office, and their role models for public service. The Current thanks Ben Watson, Corey Foreman, Bill Hitchens, David Dillie, Ron Stephens, Stephanie Burgess, Jesse Petrea, Pat Daley, Buddy DeLoach, Nathaniel Hicks, Jr., Al Williams and Kevin Remillard for their submissions to our voting guide.
- A very busy Wednesday: GOP gubernatorial candidate Rick Jackson will be at the Richmond Hill City Center at 8:30 a.m. and at Coach’s Corner in Savannah at 6 p.m. U.S. Senate candidate Mike Collins will be at the El Real Mexican Restaurant from noon to 1 p.m. Morgan Development Associates are hosting a reception for state legislative candidates Bill Hitchens (District 161) and Ron Stephens (District 164), both Republicans, at 701 US 80 in Bloomingdale from 3-5 p.m. Speaker of the House Jon Burns is hosting a fundraiser for state Sen. Mike Hodges (District 3) and state Rep. Rick Townsend (District 179) at Marshside Grill in Brunswick from 5-6:30 p.m.
- Early voting: Georgia entered the final week of early voting with nearly 1.8 million ballots accepted ahead of next Tuesday’s elections, according to the secretary of state’s website. Total represents 23.7 percent of Georgia’s 7,530,073 active voters.
- ‘Innocent’: State House candidate for District 161, David Dillie, a Democrat, tells The Current he’s “confident” he’ll remain on the ballot after the office of Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger says it has evidence that Dillie voted in Nevada’s primary elections on June 9, in violation of state law. A hearing is scheduled Wednesday. “I imagine I’ll be found innocent,” he says, while acknowledging that the allegations have hurt his campaign against incumbent Republican Bill Hitchens.
- Retaliation? U.S. Senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock ask federal officials to determine whether officers at the ICE processing center in South Georgia, the nation’s largest, have retaliated against hunger strikers at the sprawling facility, including placing at least 13 of the protesters into solitary confinement, The Current’s Jabari Gibbs and Craig Nelson report.
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Campaigns make final pitches in Coastal Georgia
‘Highway to hell’ or ‘righting the ship’? It’s all on the line
Justice Department targets Chatham, other Democratic areas for election monitors
Critics question whether effort ensures safe, fair voting or ‘vengeance machine’?
Free speech or threat? Brantley County activist faces court after arrest at county meeting
Grandmother Tanya Tomanek charged with criminal trespass after criticizing potential data centers
Job-based health plans get more expensive, with little relief in sight
Contributions for family insurance increased by an average of 9%; inflation hits 2.7%
Hyundai expands wastewater permit to increase vehicle production
Plant adds shift to support work to produce 200,000 vehicles
Proposed amendment aims to shield more Georgia farms from development
Proposal increases maximum eligibility for current tax relief program from 2,000 to 4,000 acres.
Warnock, Ossoff call for investigation at South Georgia ICE facility as hunger strike said to continue
Calls for probe comes after another detainee death at Folkston detention center
Georgia House Dist. 161: Bill Hitchens, David Dillie
Legislator serves portions of Effingham and Chatham counties.
Secretary of State files complaint against Georgia House candidate David Dillie over dual voting claims
Investigators found Hitchens’ challenger allegedly voted in Nevada’s primary while traveling in June.
Support independent, solutions-based investigative journalism without bias, fear or favor on issues affecting Savannah and Coastal Georgia.
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