Where to See Candidates

Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026

Good Morning! In the news today: The start of early voting approaches, party luminaries stump for candidates, and disparaging chalk messages aimed at a data-center defender lead to criminal charges in Effingham County. Finally, we note some things for your radar. Questions, comments, or story ideas? You can reach me at craig.thecurrent@gmail.com.

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NEWS: ELECTIONS

Making choices

Most campaign operatives, election experts and politics reporters agree that voters don’t tune in to elections and begin honing their choices until shortly before balloting begins. With early in-person voting for midterm elections starting a week from today, that moment is fast approaching.

Undecided voters — and even those who have made up their minds — will have a chance this evening to see gubernatorial candidates Keisha Lance Bottoms, a Democrat, and Rick Jackson, a Republican, participate in a town hall in Atlanta in what will probably be their only face-to-face exchange of the campaign. Gray Media is sponsoring the event and will be televised by its Coastal Georgia affiliate, WTOC, starting at 8 p.m. The debate will also be available to stream live and on demand. Here is what to watch for.

Also, this evening, the Divine 9 and Savannah State Honors Program will co-host a virtual forum from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., bringing together candidates, community leaders, Savannah State University students, Divine Nine members, and residents throughout Coastal Georgia. The list of candidates participating so far, all Democrats, includes 1st Congressional District candidate Amanda Hollowell; Josh McLaurin, candidate for lieutenant governor; Judge Penny Brown Reynolds, candidate for secretary of state; Keisha Sean Waites, candidate for insurance commissioner; Corey Foreman, candidate for state Senate District 1; and Stephanie Burgess, candidate for House District 164. To register, click here.

As of late Monday, there was no word on whether 1st District congressional candidates, Hollowell and Jim Kingston, a Republican, had agreed to a televised debate or forum.

Kingston told reporters last week that he was “happy to” participate in one and that it was under discussion. In an interview with The Current on Friday, Hollowell repeated her willingness to meet in a debate or forum “anytime and anywhere.” Stay tuned.

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NEWS: POLITICS

Stumping

Showing the pull he has in the Democratic Party, U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock will be stumping for Democratic candidates in New Hampshire today before heading to Nevada tomorrow. He’ll also be barnstorming in South Carolina, Mississippi, North Carolina, Michigan, Wisconsin and Ohio this month.

In between, Warnock will be holding down his regular preaching schedule at Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church where he is the senior pastor, and be campaigning for Democratic candidates in Georgia. His staff tells The Current, adding that details will be forthcoming.

Meanwhile, President Trump will reportedly travel to Georgia twice this month to campaign for Republican candidates. There was no indication where he would hold rallies. The president is also scheduled to attend the Georgia-Alabama football game in Tuscaloosa on Saturday.

At a news conference with state Rep. Anne Allen Westbrook on Monday, Chatham County Commissioner Aaron “Adot” Whitely, chairman of the Chatham County Democratic Party, said discussions were taking place among party officials over hosting rallies with Bottoms, Warnock, and U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff.

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NEWS: DATA CENTERS

Booked

Two Effingham County residents were booked into jail on charges of criminal trespassing over disparaging chalk messages written on the parking lot of a county building. The messages were aimed towards at least one elected official who has championed a recent deal to build a $20 billion data center in the county, The Current’s Maggie Lee reports.

The case is the latest example of public anger over the flourishing of data centers, much of it aimed — especially in the case of Effingham County — at the secrecy shrouding the negotiations between the county and Open AI to build the center and fears among some over what the sprawling complex portends for the community’s future.

Ivy Gibbins and Evan Karp both face charges of misdemeanor criminal trespass, according to the Springfield Police Department. Each was booked into the county jail for a few hours Thursday and left on bonds of $1,300 apiece, according to jail records. 

Chalk messages, including one laced with profanity, were captured on a surveillance video at the government center in Springfield on Aug. 29, as county commissioners met inside. One message referred to County Commissioner Roger Burdette with the epithet, “pussy b***h.”

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NEWS: UPDATES

9 things for your radar

• The Current’s Jabari Gibbs reports on the Glynn County Commission race for District 4 between the incumbent, David Sweat, a Republican, and his Democratic challenger, Cornell Harvey, Brunswick’s first Black mayor. Sweat says he merits reelection because of the improvements he’s helped usher in as commissioner. Harvey, meanwhile, is touting the need for more infrastructure to better the lives of district residents.
• As midterm election campaigning enters the home stretch, Republican congressional candidates, especially those in swing districts and tight races, are distancing themselves from President Trump. Not Jim Kingston, The Current’s Craig Nelson reports.
• Ahead of midterm elections, Chatham, Glynn and Liberty County election officials will gather at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 7, at Memorial Stadium’s conference room at 101 John J. Scott Dr. in Savannah to discuss what voters should know about the voting system and election security in the runup to the November elections.
• The “I voted” peach sticker gets canned. Controversy ensues. What do you think? Take our poll.
• Savannah MOVES holds a town hall from 6-7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 7, at the Pennsylvania Avenue Resource Center to discuss the city’s transportation and mobility strategy. It is the second of eight such community meetings. The center’s located at 425 Pennsylvania Ave. in Savannah.
• One year after federal agents raided the Hyundai megasite in Bryan County and arrested 475 workers, no charges have been filed in connection with the case, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, WTOC reports.
• A federal judge in Oklahoma rules that a Flock search was “indiscriminate mass surveillance” and unconstitutional.
• “Political leaders across the U.S. and Europe are pushing for more transparency from data center developers — particularly when it comes to energy and water use,” including bans on non-disclosure agreements in in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Virginia, Politico reports.
• U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter’s longtime chief of staff, Chris Crawford, is joining the Washington lobbying firm, Squire Patton Boggs. Before going to work for Carter in 2014, Crawford worked in various capacities for Carter’s predecessor, Jack Kingston, who is currently employed by the firm.

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