Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025
Good morning! In the news today: A Republican state lawmaker from Vidalia travels to Savannah to announce his run for lieutenant governor and the head of the Georgia’s Democratic Party travels to Brunswick and St. Marys to talk messaging and unity ahead of next year’s midterm elections. Finally, we note 10 things for your radar. Questions, comments, or story ideas? You can reach me at craig.thecurrent@gmail.com.
NEWS: POLITICS
‘Protecting Georgia’
State Sen. Blake Tillery has entered the race for lieutenant governor, stepping on all the bases required of any Republican candidate as Georgia gears up for next year’s fiercely contested GOP primaries.
The 41-year-old, four-term lawmaker from Vidalia reaffirmed his opposition to “woke” ideologies, mandates for diversity, equity and inclusion, “gender extremism,” personal income taxes, drug cartels, street gangs and sanctuary cities that don’t make undocumented immigrants accountable for their crimes.
“I’m running to protect Georgia for my kids and for your kids, and the Georgia that they will inherit,” Tillery said at a news conference at a private terminal at Savannah-Hilton Head International Airport that was attended by state Rep. Ron Stephens, Chatham County Republican Party chair Brittany Brown and two dozen other people, The Current’s Justin Taylor reports.
“I want my kids to grow up in a Georgia that still knows right from wrong, where we stand with law enforcement, that we stand against radical woke agendas,” he said.
NEWS: POLITICS
Both arms
If Charlie Bailey, the recently elected chair of Georgia’s Democratic Party, had one message for Glynn County Democrats on Monday, it was that however distant they are from the state’s capitol and its largest concentration of people, they mattered.
“It’s the Democratic Party of Georgia, not just Atlanta,” Bailey told some 60 party faithful at the First United Methodist Church in Brunswick.
For years, the state party has relied on the affluent enclaves of Coastal Georgia for funds but has done little to build and strengthen Democratic committees in the region. Bailey said that must change, starting with the input of the region’s Democrats into the state party’s messaging ahead of next year’s midterm elections, The Current’s Jabari Gibbs writes.
“We will not leave our people out there fighting with one arm,” he said.
NEWS: UPDATES
10 things for your radar
- The Trump administration’s FY2026 budget proposes $500,000 in “initial funding” for a Savannah Harbor “deepening and widening study,” and funding of $10.6 million for Brunswick and $39.8 million for “operations and maintenance,” according to a “meetings packet” distributed by the Georgia Ports Authority.
- The site in Savannah where more than 400 enslaved men, women and children were auctioned off in 1859 —now known as “Weeping Time” — is up for sale, Eric Curl and the Savannah Agenda report. The Weeping Time Cultural Heritage Corridor Authority, created by the state legislature last year and charged with preserving the memory of the site, had no immediate reaction.
- The future of the landmark Bull Street building that currently houses the offices of the Savannah-Chatham County Public School System is up in the air, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Adam Van Brimmer reports. Hotel magnate Richard Kessler has offered to buy the building and plow $130 million into it to convert the building into “a Smithsonian-quality museum,” as well as a restaurant and boutique hotel.
- A petition is circulated on Change.org protesting housing conditions and new parking permit rules at the Savannah School of Art and Design (SCAD).
- The City of Savannah’s Office of Management and Budget to field comments and questions on the city’s FY2026 budget at a second “speak out Savannah” town hall on Aug. 21 at 10 a.m. at the JA Colonial Group Discovery Center.
- State attorney general and GOP gubernatorial candidate Chris Carr joins a lawsuit against Savannah’s firearms ordinance. In reply, Savannah Mayor Van Johnson accuses Carr of politicizing public safety and a “lack of interest in helping cities like Savannah address the deadly impact of illegal and stolen firearms.”
- Registration to run for two of the Darien City Council’s four seats to be contested in November takes place Aug. 21-22 at the City Hall Annex on 702 North Way in Darien. Call 912-437-6605 for more information.
- State GOP chairman Josh McKoon lambastes former lieutenant governor and Republican, Geoff Duncan, for switching parties.
- Gov. Brian Kemp is throwing his federal political action committee, Hardworking Americans, Inc., behind Derek Dooley’s run for the U.S. Senate seat held by Democrat Jon Ossoff. Coastal Georgia Congressman Buddy Carter, also a Senate candidate, criticizes Dooley, an ex-football player and coach, telling Henry County Republicans, according to the AJC: “He wasn’t a star. He wasn’t a successful coach either.”
- U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock demands more answers on Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kristi Noem on whether FEMA is prepared for the storm season in the wake of the administration’s budget cuts.
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Vidalia state senator declares run for lieutenant governor
State Sen. Blake Tillery has announced his candidacy for lieutenant governor, joining four other Republicans and one Democrat in the race for the influential position.
State party leader rallies Glynn Democrats
Charlie Bailey, the recently elected chair of Georgia’s Democratic Party, visited Glynn County Democrats to emphasize that they matter and to ensure that the state party is organized in every county and precinct, and that their input is needed for the party’s messaging ahead of the midterm elections.
Richmond Hill airport plans cruise ahead despite questions about cost, transparency
The Richmond Hill City Council is considering building a new airport estimated to cost $128 million with the goal of increasing tax revenue and providing much-needed hangar space for local aviators. Residents have expressed concerns about the increased traffic, noise, and lack of transparency surrounding the project.
As school starts, lawmakers contend with ‘chronic’ absenteeism
Chronic absenteeism in Georgia schools has increased significantly since the pandemic, with nearly one in five students missing 10% or more of the school year, leading to lower academic achievement and potential long-term consequences.
Michael Thurmond enters Georgia governor race, focusing on education, healthcare
Michael Thurmond, a Democrat with a long history of winning statewide elections, has announced his bid for Georgia’s Governor’s office, running on a platform of competence and service to the people.
Georgia attorney general sues GOP primary opponent over campaign fundraising
Chris Carr, Georgia’s attorney general and a candidate for governor, has filed a lawsuit against his Republican primary opponent, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, over a campaign finance issue involving Jones’ use of a “leadership committee” to lend his campaign $10 million.
Georgia Milestones test: Students improve in math but struggle in English
Georgia students posted modest academic gains in most tested grades and subjects last school year, except in English Language Arts, where fifth and eighth graders posted the biggest drops in proficiency rates, and math, where eighth grade saw the biggest gain.
Trans people in Georgia prisons are being forced to detransition. Now they’re suing.
A group of incarcerated transgender women and men have sued Georgia corrections officials, challenging a new law that prevents them from receiving gender-affirming medical care, arguing that it violates the Eighth Amendment and will have “catastrophic consequences” for the nearly 300 other people in Georgia state prisons.
Georgia’s kindergarten vaccination rates decline as more parents claim exemptions
Georgia’s childhood vaccination rates are decreasing, with 86.8% of the state’s children fully up-to-date on their required vaccines and an exemption rate of 4.8%, raising concerns as the US sees the highest number of measles cases since the early 1990s.
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