Tuesday, May 12, 2026
Good morning! In the news today: The Kingston brand faces an election test; prominent Savannahians sound the alarm over a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision; and a U.S. Senate candidate gets called out. Finally, we note some (voting) things for your radar.
Questions, comments, or story ideas? You can reach me at craig.thecurrent@gmail.com.
NEWS: POLITICS
Whose interests?
He attended the University of Georgia but never graduated. His voter registration lists his residence as a Chatham County home owned by his mother and a mailing address in Atlanta. Just as his prominent father did more than three decades ago, he is hoping to jump from a job as an insurance salesman to a seat in the U.S. Congress.
Jim Kingston, the 35-year-old son of former longtime Coastal Georgia Congressman Jack Kingston, has been criticized by his Republican primary opponents as someone with a paper-thin résumé trading on his father’s success.
But heading into next week’s crowded primary election against Patrick Farrell, Brian Montgomery, Krista Penn, Kandiss Taylor and Eugene Yu, the first-time candidate boasts the most valuable piece of currency in GOP politics: the endorsement of President Donald Trump.
Kingston’s friends and supporters say he would bring “tenacious” energy to the job of protecting and advancing Coastal Georgia’s interests in Washington. But many staunch Republicans beyond Chatham, friends as well as critics, wonder just whose interests Kingston would represent if elected, The Current’s Craig Nelson and Caitlin Phillippo report.
And, they wonder, is Jim Kingston more than the sum of his family name and the contacts amassed by his father, who has thrived as a Washington lobbyist since leaving Congress? More pointedly, they ask, is he his own man?
NEWS: COURTS
‘Devastating day’
Three prominent Savannahians — Rev. Thurmond Tillman, Mayor Van Johnson, U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock — sounded the alarm Monday over the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision two weeks ago that hollowed out a landmark Civil Rights-era law that has increased minority representation in Congress and elsewhere.
The decision “marked a devastating day in the history of our country, and a massive step backwards in American democracy,” Warnock told a gathering of some 100 elected and former officials and civil rights activists in front of the historic First African Baptist Church.
“I’m here because I’m worried about all Americans. I promised that I would fight for all Georgians, and this is an assault on the ability of ordinary people to be heard,” he said.
Johnson put Savannah at the heart of what is expected to be a titanic political and legal struggle over renewed attempts at partisan gerrymandering in Georgia and elsewhere across the nation.
“We have a native son of Savannah here to help us fight for our rights,” said Johnson, referring to Warnock. “We have another native son of Savannah in D.C. trying to take them away,” he added, referring to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
Thomas was one of six conservatives on the court who joined in ruling that a Louisianna congressional district represented by a Black Democrat was drawn with too much emphasis on race.
NEWS: PUBLIC SAFETY
‘Higher rate of unsafe driving’
U.S. Rep. Mike Collins (Jackson) who is locked into a three-way race for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate with Buddy Carter and Derek Dooley, has vowed in social media posts and interviews to make America’s roads safer — by taking commercial driver’s licenses away from noncitizens.
“If you can’t read English road signs,” Collins posted on Facebook in April, “you don’t belong behind the wheel. Period.”
It turns out, though, that Collins’ trucking business has a higher rate of unsafe driving, speeding violations per mile than most companies, ProPublica reports.
Over the past 25 years, truckers for his businesses have been involved in crashes that killed five people and injured more than 50 people, it says.
In March, the Trump administration enacted a rule that could eventually revoke commercial licenses from nearly 200,000 noncitizen drivers.
Wendy Liu, one of a group of lawyers who is challenging the rule in federal court, says, “The notion that immigrant drivers are less safe than other drivers is not supported by the facts.”
NEWS: UPDATES
4 things for your radar
- Getting out to vote: For candidate lists and up-to-date information on voting, ballots, and candidate appearances ahead of next Tuesday’s primary elections, click here.
- For your pre-voting homework: voter guides on Democratic candidates for lieutenant governor, Republican candidates for Georgia secretary of state, Democratic candidates for Georgia secretary of state.
- ‘Not doing what they’re paid to do’: Frustration with incumbents and high property taxes are high on the list of primary voters in Liberty County, The Current’s Robin Kemp reports.
- Bill signing: With Gov. Brian Kemp’s signature last week, people who raise chickens in their backyards won’t have to “candle” their eggs. Restaurants that serve shrimp will have to let diners know if it is from abroad. And forest products manufacturers will get a tax break.
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A Georgia U.S. Senate candidate says foreign truckers are making America’s roads unsafe. His own truckers have caused harm.
Mike Collins, a congressman from Georgia, wants to take away commercial driver’s licenses from noncitizens. Over the past 25 years, truckers for his businesses have been involved in crashes that killed five people and injured more than 50 people.
Kemp signs shrimp, farm, forestry bills
Governor Brian Kemp signed 10 bills into law this week, including tax breaks for forest products manufacturers, egg candling exemptions for backyard chicken raisers, and shrimp labeling requirements for restaurants.
Healthcare costs likely to significantly impact November elections, KFF poll shows
According to a KFF poll, 61% of voters say the cost of healthcare will have a major impact on their voting decisions in the midterm elections, with 42% of MAHA voters listing it as their top issue.
Property taxes, schools motivate early Liberty County voters
Liberty County leads Coastal Georgia in early voting turnout for the May 19 primaries. High taxes and anger at incumbents is motivating them.
Voter guide: Republican candidates for Georgia Secretary of State
Office oversees elections, business licensing and securities market.
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