Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024
Good morning! We start today with this week’s planned visit to Savannah by Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris. We then look at local GOP calls for unity and some signage at polling places this November. Finally, we note some things for your radar. Questions, comments, or story ideas? You can reach me at craig.thecurrent@gmail.com
NEWS: POLITICS
‘Vital piece of the pie’
Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris is coming to Savannah, pursuing votes in a friendly corner of what in a matter of weeks has once again become a battleground state in this November’s presidential election.
Harris’ visit to the Hostess City on Thursday will cap a two-day bus tour through South Georgia, accompanied by her running mate, Tim Walz. The Minnesota governor will not join her for her stop in Savannah.
As of this writing, the Harris’ campaign hasn’t announced her exact schedule in Savannah. Nor has it disclosed who will join the vice president at her appearances, or the tour’s other stops in South Georgia. The campaign yesterday would only say that a “couple of events” were planned in the Savannah area.
As a whole, Coastal Georgia as a whole has been scarlet red in recent U.S. presidential elections. Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton by 15% of the vote here in 2016 and by 12% of the vote over Joe Biden four years later.
But Trump has been far less successful in Chatham County, where he lost by 15% of the vote to Clinton and 19% of the vote to Biden, which partly explains why Harris is holding a rally in Savannah, the county seat, fresh off the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
Another incentive for the Harris visit: the notable increase in registered voters in Chatham. In 2020, the county had 200,388 registered voters; today, it has almost 31,000 more.
Citing the recent successful Senate runs of Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, the chair of the Chatham County Democrats and District 6 county commissioner, Aaron “Adot” Whitely, said Chatham County and Coastal Georgia are essential for Democratic Party success in the state. “We are a vital piece of the pie.”
Countless presidential aspirants aside, Savannah has hosted visits from ten U.S. presidents. The first was George Washington in 1791; the latest was Barack Obama in 2010.
Coastal Georgians wishing to attend the what is expected to be the main event, a rally, can register here.
NEWS: POLITICS
Party loyalty
Seeking to offer a counterpoint on a night when Harris delivered her formal acceptance speech in Chicago on Thursday, the Chatham County Republican Committee hosted a part-pep rally, part-roundtable in Savannah featuring Coastal Georgia Congressman Earl “Buddy” Carter and other local candidates in this fall’s election, The Current’s Gillian Goodman reports.
Carter urged local Republicans to “tune out all that noise” regarding the feud between Donald Trump and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, which reportedly has been resolved.
Committee chair Brittany Brown urged fellow Republicans to set aside any reservations they might have about any of their candidates and vote the party ticket.
“Even if you don’t want to, you might have to hold your nose for someone, I don’t care. Just do it,” said Brown, the Trump campaign’s field organizer in Coastal Georgia.
Audience members peppered Carter throughout the evening with suspicions about Georgia’s voting system and criticisms of the government response to flooding caused by Tropical Storm Debby.
He said legislation passed by the state legislature would ensure November’s election was free and fair, and urged residents affected by the floods to document the damage to their property. (In his weekly newsletter distributed Sunday, Carter termed “excellent” the response to the flooding from all levels of government.)
During his turn at the podium, Joel Boblasky, the GOP candidate for chair of the Chatham County Commission, pushed for improvements to infrastructure and county tax management.
Andre Pretorius, Republican candidate for Chatham County district attorney, focused on building trust with the DA’s office and criticized the current DA for low conviction rates. Running for the commission’s District 6 seat, Leonard Massey said his roots in the district were deeper than his opponent’s.
NEWS: ELECTIONS
‘Upholding integrity of election process’
Calling it part of an effort to “uphold the integrity of the electoral process,” Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger last week ordered election officials in the state’s 159 counties to post a sign at polling places this November warning noncitizens it’s illegal for them to vote.
“Only United States citizens may vote in Georgia. If you are not a United States citizen, it is a violation of state and federal law to vote,” reads the sign, written in English and Spanish.
Raffensperger issued the directive three days after the State Election Board voted to require signs at polling stations admonishing noncitizens against voting. His news release announcing the move doesn’t mention the board’s vote.
Under longstanding federal and state law, noncitizens aren’t allowed to register to vote, and every voter is required to present an ID before casting a ballot.
One state official called the Raffensperger’s move “worthless,” saying election officials already have controls in place to prevent noncitizens from voting.
But some critics of the Biden administration’s immigration policies allege that its lack of tight border controls is part of an effort to flood the polls with illegal voters in November to ensure a Democratic Party victory.
Others view the message more benignly, with SEB member Janice Johnson, a Republican appointee, saying it is aimed at the “unwitting or naïve person who was informed they could vote when they were noncitizens.”
A state audit in 2022 showed no instances of noncitizen voting. In July, Raffensperger’s office said it was undertaking another audit of “potential noncitizens who may have registered to vote.”
NEWS: NOTES
6 things for your radar
- McIntosh County will hold a special election on Oct. 1 on whether to reverse the decision by the county commission to rezone Hog Hammock. Reporter Mary Landers updates where the lawsuits about the zoning decision as early voting starts.
- Organizers of First Friday events in Statesboro cancel events for rest of the year, citing threatened legal action by the Bulloch Action Coalition. The coalition called it “disappointing” that the Downtown Development Authority chose to cancel the events “instead of simply allowing the citizens of Bulloch County (and beyond) to practice their First Amendment rights.”
- The Chatham County Democratic Party is holding a virtual town hall this evening from 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. featuring Democratic Party women challenging five “MAGA Republicans” for Congress — Tambrei Cash (9th District), Lexy Doherty (10th District), Patti Hewitt (1st District), Maura Keller (3rd District), Liz Johnson (12th District), For more information, contact @lexydoherty.com.
- The Republican Jewish Coalition will hold a volunteer training session in support of Donald Trump tomorrow, Aug. 29, starting at 6 p.m. To RSVP and receive further information about the event’s location contact RJC state field director Marisa Kahn at mkahn@rjchq.org or (321)544-4191.
- Ladies on the Right will host a luncheon featuring Annabelle Rutledge of Young Women for America and Joel Boblasky, candidate for chair of the Chatham County Commission, Thursday, Sept. 19, 12:30 p.m. until 2 p.m, at the Palmetto Club at The Landings. For more information and reservations, click here.
- To serve as a GOP block captain in the upcoming election, contact Jerilyn Gibbs, second vice chair of the Chatham County GOP, at Jerilyn.gibbs@hey.com or (301)461-7236.
We want to meet your friends! If you like this newsletter be sure to share it.
We want to meet your friends! If you like this newsletter be sure to share it.
Support independent, solutions-based investigative journalism without bias, fear or favor on issues affecting Savannah and Coastal Georgia.
You must be logged in to post a comment.