Tuesday, May 26, 2026
Good Morning! In the news today: Runoff races are on, tightening GOP grip in Georgia, and Memorial Day weekend gas prices.
Questions, comments, or story ideas? You can reach me at craig.thecurrent@gmail.com.
NEWS: ELECTIONS
Right around the corner
Here’s hoping you enjoyed the Memorial Day weekend. Don’t look now, though: Coming your way just three weeks (gulp) from today are primary runoff elections.
With so little time, the candidates will focus less on winning over undecided or unpersuaded voters than on just getting their supporters to the polls June 16. Here are the races to watch:
• In the contest for Coastal Georgia’s seat in U.S. Congress, the region’s Democrats will decide between Joyce Griggs and Amanda Hollowell on the party’s nominee to face Republican Jim Kingston in November. Whoever wins will be a decided underdog in November.
• Coastal Georgia Congressman Buddy Carter prevailed in his home district in the Republican race to meet Democrat Jon Ossoff in the general election. But he didn’t do so anywhere else in the state, which is why Coastal Georgia Republicans will choose between Mike Collins and Derek Dooley in the runoff next month.
• Finally, there’s the GOP primary runoff to decide who will be on the ballot opposite Keisha Lance Bottoms, the former Atlanta mayor, in the contest for governor in November. It pits Lt. Gov. Burt Jones against maverick Rick Jackson. Aided by Donald Trump’s endorsement, Jones came out ahead of Jackson by 5.8% of the vote in the first round of primary voting. But Jackson is fighting for the Trump mantle. “I’ll be Trump with a Southern tone,” the healthcare executive said at his election night party.
NEWS: POLITICS
Tighter than ever
If Tuesday’s first round of primary voting showed anything, it’s that President Donald Trump’s grip on the GOP is tighter than ever, even though his influence over Congress is slipping and his popularity nationwide has plummeted to new lows. MAGA’s grip is especially strong in Georgia.
Gone from the gubernatorial race after Tuesday’s primaries were Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and Attorney General Chris Carr, both of whom rejected Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Gone, too, was Gabriel Sterling, a top official in Raffensperger’s office who was running to succeed his boss as secretary of state. He came in fourth on Tuesday.
The perils of running afoul of Trump will now shift to the race between Collins and Dooley for the U.S. Senate nomination, which is expected to become a proxy battle between the president, who is a close ally of Collins, and Gov. Brian Kemp, who supported Dooley for the nomination. Collins defeated Dooley on Tuesday by more than 10% of the vote.
Within hours of Tuesday evening’s results, both campaigns were reportedly in touch with the White House, seeking the president’s endorsement and his estimated $300 million campaign war chest. And within days, the brash Collins was embroiled in controversy.
He announced Friday he was severing ties with campaign adviser consultant and longtime aide Brandon Phillips after Collins’ campaign account posted a crude tweet about a Dooley operative whose wife attempted suicide after accusing former NBC host Matt Lauer of rape. It wasn’t the first time Collins had faced criticism over Phillips, who oversaw Trump’s campaign operations in Georgia in 2016 and 2024.
NEWS: POLITICS
Not soon enough
The U.S. and Iran on Monday were reportedly close to reaching, if not a deal, then a memorandum of understanding with Iran that would, among other things, reopen the Strait of Hormuz to the regular flow of shipping.
For summer travelers, in general — and Republican candidates, in particular — some agreement to open the vital oil route can’t come soon enough.
In Georgia, the statewide average for regular gas is $3.99 a gallon, about 50 cents below Georgia’s record high we saw in 2022, Montrae Waiters, a spokeswoman for AAA – The Auto Club Group, said last week.
Nationwide, the average price for a gallon of regular gas was $4.56 on Thursday compared to $3.18 a year ago, according to motor club AAA.
Other travel expenses reportedly have gone up, too. The latest consumer price index showed airfares were 20.7% higher in April from a year earlier, the cost of intracity transit such as buses and subways rose 5.6%, lodging cost 4.3% more, and eating out got 3.6% pricier.
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Georgia Supreme Court candidates turn to U.S. Supreme Court for help in dispute over campaign speech
By Maya Homan/Georgia Recorder
Two Democratic-backed candidates for the state Supreme Court have filed an emergency appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court to protect their right to free speech after a state judicial ethics agency issued public statements about their campaign rhetoric.
Democrats outdraw GOP in Georgia primary as turnout flips from 2022
By Ty Tagami/Capitol Beat News Service
Democrats had a strong showing in Tuesday’s primary election in Georgia, with turnout up by half from the 2022 primary, while Republican turnout fell by a quarter.
Georgia Public Service Commission race heads to June runoff
By Alander Rocha/Georgia Recorder
After the primary elections, the field of candidates to fill an open seat on the state Public Service Commission has narrowed, with a rematch of last year’s District 3 race between a current commissioner and a former commissioner likely, and a runoff in the District 5 Republican primary.
Collins will face Dooley in runoff for Georgia U.S. Senate race
By Ty Tagami/Capitol Beat News Service
Republican voters in Georgia narrowed their field of candidates for U.S. Senate to two, U.S. Rep. Mike Collins and former college football coach Derek Dooley, who will face each other in a runoff election on June 16.
Victorious Jim Kingston awaits November opponent
By Craig Nelson
Jim Kingston won the Republican primary for Coastal Georgia’s 1st District Congressional seat with 52.7% of the vote, and will face either Joyce Griggs or Amanda Hollowell in the general election in November.
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