Category: Georgia

Trump Widens Georgia Lead over Harris as More Voters Now Hold Positive View of Former President, Quinnipiac Poll Shows

Tom Pappert
Donald Trump and Kamala Harris

Former President Donald Trump has widened his lead in Georgia over Vice President Kamala Harris, according to data released by Quinnipiac pollsters on Wednesday that also shows more Georgians now hold a favorable view of the Republican than his Democratic opponent.

The Quinnipiac University Poll data for Georgia found Trump now leads with the support of 50 percent of likely voters in the Peach State, while Harris trailed at 44 percent, with an additional 3 percent supporting other candidates.

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Harris-Walz Court Georgia’s Black Farmers Months After Court Blocks Biden Ag Program Exclusively Aiding Minority Farms

Tom Pappert

The Harris-Walz campaign reportedly drew more than 100 black farmers and supporters in Byromville, Georgia on Sunday as it targets rural voters in the Peach State in a bid to repeat the party’s 2020 victory.

Huffington Post deputy editor Philip Lewis reported the Harris-Walz occurred at Jibb’s Vineyard, which he described as a black-owned vineyard, and said it focused “on rural Black farmers.”

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Judge Strikes Down Georgia’s Six-Week Abortion Ban as Unconstitutional

Daily Caller News Foundation
Judge McBurney

A county superior judge declared on Monday that Georgia’s six-week abortion ban is unconstitutional and unenforceable under the state’s constitution.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney ruled that the law breaches the Georgia Constitution, arguing that it’s protection of liberty includes allowing women to obtain an abortion up to the point the child is viable outside the womb, free from state interference, according to The Associated Press. The law, which had been effective since 2022, limited abortion access by prohibiting the procedure once fetal cardiac activity could be detected, often around six weeks into pregnancy.

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Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade Subpoenaed by House Panel Regarding Relationship with DA Fani Willis

Just the News

A GOP-led U.S. House panel subpoenaed former special prosecutor Nathan Wade as part of an investigation into his romantic relationship with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. 

The House Judiciary Committee was unable to find Wade for days, but on Thursday was able to subpoena him and require that he come to Washington, D.C., for a hearing, according to AJC Politics.

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Poll: Trump, Harris in Virtual Dead Heat in Georgia

The Center Square
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump

Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are virtually tied in a new poll of likely voters in Georgia.

According to the American Greatness/TIPP poll of 835 likely voters conducted from Sept. 16-18 in conjunction with TechnoMetrica Institute of Policy and Politics, Trump holds the slightest of leads, 47.9% to 47.6%, over Harris, well within the poll’s ±3.5% margin of error. An additional 3.6% of respondents said they were unsure and 0.8% said another candidate.

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Georgia Supreme Court Dismisses Catoosa County GOP Ballot Challenge

The Center Square
Larry Black

The Supreme Court of Georgia dismissed a challenge by the Catoosa County Republican Party to keep four candidates off the primary ballot, as the primary and the runoff election have already occurred.

Republicans challenged the candidacies of Steven M. Henry, Larry C. Black, Jeffrey K. Long and Vanita C. Hullander, saying their views did not align with the party.

The case was appealed to Georgia’s highest court.

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Alleged Apalachee High School Shooter Also Reportedly Sent Apology Text to Father Before Attack

Tom Pappert
Texting

The 14-year-old police say is responsible for killing four and injuring nine at Apalachee High School reportedly sent a text message to his father apologizing, a Friday report claimed emergency services dispatch records showed.

Existence of the the purported message from Colt Gray to his father, Colin Gray, was revealed by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, which reported the maternal aunt of the accused killer called law enforcement about an hour after the shooting.

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Fani Willis Defies Subpoena from State Investigative Committee to Attend Black Caucus Event in D.C.

Daily Caller News Foundation
Fani Willis

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis defied a subpoena Friday issued by a Georgia state senate committee investigating her alleged misconduct.

Rather than testify before the committee, Willis is scheduled to attend the annual legislative conference for the Congressional Black Caucus in Washington, D.C. An agenda for the Georgia Senate Special Committee on Investigations hearing stated Willis would provide “sworn testimony,” but state Republican Sen. Bill Cowsert began the meeting by announcing Willis would not appear.

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Accused Killer Colt Gray Missed Nine of 12 Possible School Days After Enrolling Two Weeks Late at Apalachee High School: GBI

Tom Pappert
Colt Gray

Colt Gray, who authorities say killed four at the Apalachee High School on September 4, missed nine days of school after enrolling two weeks after classes commenced for the 2024 school year, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) revealed on Friday.

The GBI confirmed Colt Gray was enrolled at the high school on August 14, indicating he began attending two weeks after the Barrow County School System calendar indicates classes began.

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Teacher Allowed Alleged Apalachee High School Killer Colt Gray to Leave Classroom with Belongings Ahead of Attack: GBI

Tom Pappert
Colt Gray

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) on Thursday revealed alleged Apalachee High School attacker Colt Gray, who is accused of killing four and injuring nine at the school on September 4, was allowed to leave his classroom by a teacher after he asked to speak with someone at the front office.

According to a GBI web page about the Apalachee High School attack, the teacher allowed Colt Gray to leave a classroom after he requested to “go to the front office and speak someone.”

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Police Say Rifle Used at Apalachee High School Concealed in Backpack as Mother of Accused Killer Declares Son ‘Not a Monster’

Tom Pappert
Colt Gray

Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith reportedly offered new details about how authorities believe accused Apalachee High School killer Colt Gray obtained the rifle used during the attack and managed to conceal it at the campus where he allegedly killed four and injured nine.

Smith reportedly told Fox 5 Atlanta the rifle used during the attack was purchased legally after a background check was completed by Colin Gray, the father of Colt Gray. The purchase was made at a gun store just miles away from Apalachee High School, which the outlet reported is now cooperating with law enforcement.

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Superintendent over Apalachee High School Last Worked in Neighboring School System That Opposed School Resource Officers

Tom Pappert
Dallas Leduff

Barrow County School System Superintendent Dr. Dallas LeDuff was previously the Associate Superintendent of the Oconee County School System, which last year rebuffed calls from parents to station School Resource Officers (SROs) at its schools.

LeDuff was working for the Oconee County School System during the April 2023 push for it to adopt SROs at it schools, which Oconee County Observations reported occurred during an Oconee County Board of Education meeting.

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Counselor Reportedly Claimed Colt Gray Made ‘References to School Shootings’ Ahead of Apalachee High School Attack

Tom Pappert
Colt Gray

Marcee Gray, the mother of accused Apalachee High School shooter Colt Gray, who allegedly killed four and injured nine last week, claimed in a Monday interview a school counselor emailed on the morning of the shooting to report her child made “references to school shootings,” prompting her hurried call to warn of an “extreme emergency” involving Colt Gray.

The mother revealed in a Tuesday interview with ABC News that she was contacted by an Apalachee High School “counselor” shortly before the attack, which helped prompt her decision to call the school in advance of the shooting, which police say her son confessed to committing.

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Tom Pappert Details Troubling Series of Events Leading Up to Georgia High School Shooting

Kaitlin Housler
Tom Pappert

Tom Pappert, reporter at The Georgia Star News, detailed the unfortunate series of events that reportedly transpired just minutes before 14-year-old Colt Gray allegedly killed four and injured nine more at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia last week, which, if acted upon, may have prevented the shooting.

Gray, who surrendered to law enforcement Wednesday after allegedly carrying out the shooting, was on the FBI’s radar last year, as the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office interviewed him and his father in May 2023 after the FBI received “several anonymous tips about online threats to commit a school shooting.”

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Grandfather of Colt Gray Claims Teen ‘Driven’ to Commit Attack on Apalachee High School by ‘Evil’ Father Colin Gray

Tom Pappert
Colin Gray (r) and Colt Gray (l)

The maternal grandfather of Colt Gray, who police say killed four and injured nine at the Apalachee High School in Georgia last Wednesday, said on Sunday the teen was “driven” to commit the attack due to a troubled childhood and “evil” father, Colin Gray, who was charged last week in relation to the attack.

Charlie Polhamus told the New York Post on Sunday that Colt Gray was subjected to constant “screaming and hollering” from his father, and suggested spending over a decade in that environment “can affect anybody.”

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Reporter Tom Pappert: ‘Incomprehensibly Stupid and Irresponsible’ for Father of 14-Year-Old Georgia School Shooter to Gift Rifle to Son

Kaitlin Housler
Tom Pappert

Tom Pappert, reporter at The Georgia Star News, said it seems “incomprehensibly stupid and irresponsible” and “difficult to comprehend” that the father of 14-year-old Colt Gray, who allegedly killed four and injured nine more at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia last week, gifted his son an AR-15-style rifle just months after an FBI tip prompted a visit from the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office in 2023.

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Apalachee High School Shooting Suspect’s Family Claim He Experienced ‘Homicidal and Suicidal Thoughts’ Week Before Attack

Tom Pappert
Colt Gray, Marcee Gray

Family members of Colt Gray, who police say killed four and injured nine at Apalachee High School last Wednesday, have reportedly claimed they tried to warn school officials after the teen reported “homicidal and suicidal thoughts” in the weeks prior to the attack.

The Washington Post reported on Saturday it obtained text messages between Marcee Gray, the mother of Colt Gray, Annie Polhamus Brown, the biological sister of Marcee Gray and aunt of Colt Gray, as well as other family members, which suggest the school was advised Colt Gray experienced such thoughts in the week prior to the attack.

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Georgia Court: Wholesale Prescription Medication Distributors Not Liable

The Center Square

The Supreme Court of Georgia has upheld a Glynn County jury’s verdict that found wholesale prescription medication distributors are not liable for damages under the state’s Drug Dealer Liability Act.

A group of 21 family members of drug abusers sued wholesale distributors of prescription medications for damages, arguing that “drug abusers who injured” them were addicted to prescription opioids. The family members accused wholesale distributors of not reporting suspicious orders to Glynn County area pharmacies or stopping the orders’ shipments.

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Alleged Apalachee High Killer Colt Gray Transferred to School Weeks Prior to Attack, Reportedly Spent Two Days on Campus

Tom Pappert
Colt Gray

Accused Apalachee High School killer Colt Gray reportedly only enrolled at the school two weeks prior to the shooting, Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith reportedly said Thursday, also noting the shooting occurred during Colt Gray’s second day on the school campus.

Smith revealed the information about the teen’s academic history to NBC News on Thursday.

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Colt Gray Reportedly Was Gifted Gun Used at Apalachee High School by Father, Colin Gray, Months After FBI Tip Prompted Intervention

Tom Pappert
GBI

Colt Gray, who allegedly killed four and injured nine more at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia on Wednesday, reportedly received the weapon used in the attack as a Christmas gift from his father, Colin Gray, who was arrested on Thursday.

It was reported Thursday by The New York Post that Colin Gray admitted to law enforcement he gave his son the rifle used during the attack as a Christmas gift in December last year. The gift occurred just seven months after an FBI tip prompted a visit from the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office in 2023.

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Mother of Alleged Georgia High School Shooter Colt Gray Claimed to Relocate After Years of ‘Almost Constant Domestic Abuse,’ Social Media Suggests

Tom Pappert
Marcee Gray

The woman who appears to be the mother of 14-year-old Colt Gray, who police say committed the shooting at Apalachee High School on Wednesday, claimed in a post to social media that she left her husband last year after 14 years of “almost constant domestic abuse.”

Colt Gray was accused by law enforcement of killing four, including two students and two teachers, and injuring nine during an attack at the Winder, Georgia high school.

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Fani Willis Shows Up with Nathan Wade During Daughter’s Arrest Months After Pair Said They Split

Just the News
Kinaya Willis

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who’s leading the Georgia election interference case against former President Donald Trump, showed up with her supposed ex-boyfriend, former prosecutor Nathan Wade, at the scene of her daughter’s arrest last week, according to bodycam footage published Wednesday.

Willis and Wade separately testified that the affair ended in the summer last year.

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Suspect Reportedly in Custody After Casualties Reported in Shooting at Georgia High School

Tom Pappert
Apalachee High School

Law enforcement reportedly arrested the person responsible for committing a shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, which is part of Barrow County and about an hour away from downtown Atlanta.

Early police reports do not contain an estimate for the number of casualties from the shooting, nor do they reveal the identity of the shooter, but instead advise to avoid the area during the emergency response.

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Georgia Public Service Commission Could Issue Ruling This Week in Railroad Case

The Center Square
Sandersville Railroad

The Georgia Public Service Commission could decide a high-profile case this week that pits long-time property owners against a railroad looking to seize land for a new rail spur.

The Sandersville Railroad, a Class III short-line railroad, petitioned the PSC to condemn land for a 4.5-mile-long spur. Regardless of how the PSC rules, its decision will likely be appealed to Fulton County Superior Court and beyond, possibly even to the U.S. Supreme Court.

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Georgia Officials Tout Enhanced Election Security for 2024 Amid Ongoing 2020 Controversies

The Center Square
Georgia Sec State Brad Raffensperger

As Georgia gears up for the critical 2024 presidential election in November, state officials within the Legislature and Georgia’s State Election Board say they are enhancing security measures at polling stations in response to ongoing concerns stemming from the 2020 election.

Cobb County’s Board of Elections & Registration Director Tate Fall announced new safety protocols – including more instruction on conflict resolution for poll workers and discreet alert badges for managers – aimed at addressing potential threats and ensuring a secure voting environment. This heightened focus on election security comes amid a backdrop of intensified political rhetoric and unrest, underscoring Georgia’s pivotal role in the upcoming election.

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Georgia Lawmakers Could Set Transgender Athlete Policy

The Center Square
Georgia Softball

Georgia lawmakers could take control of the power to set policy for transgender athletes competing in women’s sports at Georgia high schools, removing the authority from a statewide association.

The revelation, which could potentially extend to publicly funded colleges and universities, came during the first hearing of the Senate Special Committee on Protecting Women’s Sports.

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Sen. JD Vance Says End of Trump-Kemp Feud, RFK Jr. Endorsement Prove Republicans Now ‘Big Tent’ Party

Tom Pappert
Donald Trump, Brian Kemp, JD Vance

Senator JD Vance (R-OH) on Wednesday told reporters gathered at his rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, that the end of the feud between former President Donald Trump and Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, as well as Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s and former Representative Tulsi Gabbard’s recent endorsements of the Trump-Vance ticket, prove Republicans are now the “big tent party.”

Vance’s remarks come after Kemp endorsed Trump earlier this month, despite the former president describing him as “disloyal” in a recent rally. The relationship between the former president and Georgia’s governor first deteriorated publicly as Trump contested the state’s election results in 2020.

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Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp to Attend Atlanta Fundraiser for Trump as Harris-Walz Rally in Savannah

Tom Pappert
Brian Kemp and Donald Trump

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp will reportedly be in Atlanta on Thursday to attend a fundraiser benefiting former President Donald Trump and Senator JD Vance (R-OH) in their campaign to recapture the White House for the Republican Party.

Kemp’s appearance at the Atlanta fundraiser, revealed on Tuesday, will be the first since he and Trump publicly set aside their feud. It will occur as a Democratic bus tour featuring Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz reaches Savannah.

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Trump Asks Georgia Appeals Court to Toss Election Case in ‘Death Knell’ for D.A. Fani Willis

Tom Pappert
Donald Trump and Fani Willis in a courtroom (composite image)

The attorney representing former President Donald Trump in the Georgia election case brought by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis asked a Georgia appeals court, which is currently considering whether Willis should be disqualified due to her affair with former special counsel Nathan Wade, asked the court to toss the case with a new legal filing he argues contains the “death knell” for the prosecution.

Trump attorney Steve Sadow on Monday submitted a 22-page filing which asks the Georgia Court of Appeals to toss Willis’ case against Trump because the former president was “aggrieved” by Willis’ “letter to God” speech from the pulpit of a Baptist church in Atlanta.

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Fulton County Jail Subcommittee Issues Seventeen Recommendations

The Center Square
Inmates talking with corrections officer

A Georgia Senate subcommittee looking into the Fulton County Jail has issued a report with 17 recommendations for improving the facility’s conditions, including a suggestion that Fulton County Superior Court judges should carry full dockets.

The report caps a months-long review by the Senate Public Safety Subcommittee on the Fulton County Jail. The recommendations could guide legislative action when lawmakers return to Atlanta next year.

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Kemp and Trump End Feud with Full Throated Embrace and Upstaging Harris Coronation Night

Just the News
Brian Kemp and Donald Trump

Former President Donald Trump and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp found the perfect narrative Thursday night to upstage Vice President Kamala Harris’s nomination acceptance speech, ending their feud dating to the 2020 election with a full-throated embrace that played out on national television.

The mutual endorsement reunited two of the GOP’s most powerful figures heading into the November election, and made the road for Democrats to score a win in Georgia more difficult.

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Georgia’s Raffensperger Announces Indictment of Alleged Double Voter in 2022 Election

Just the News
Brad Raffensperger

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) announced the indictment of a voter who cast ballots in both Georgia and Arizona in the November 2022 election.

The secretary of state’s office conducted an investigation into double-voting following the 2022 general election and referred the case to the Forsyth County district attorney’s office, according to a press releaseWednesday.

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RNC Co-Chair Predicts ‘Softening’ in Trump, Kemp Feud After Governor Reportedly Offers Georgia ‘Political Machine’ to Former President

Tom Pappert
Donald Trump and Brian Kemp

Lara Trump, the daughter-in-law of former President Donald Trump and co-chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC), on Tuesday predicted softening in the feud between former President Donald Trump and Governor Brian Kemp after the Georgia leader reportedly offered his “political machine” to the Trump-Vance ticket.

The prediction came after the former president described Kemp as “disloyal” during an August 3 rally in Atlanta, which prompted questions about whether the terse relationship between the men that developed after the 2020 election results would impact the Trump campaign in November.

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Atlanta Area Continues to Have High Inflation

The Center Square
Atlanta

Inflation continues to plague Georgia businesses, and the Atlanta area continues to grapple with inflation, though it may be faring better than other cities in the country, a new analysis revealed.

According to personal finance site WalletHub, the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metropolitan statistical area ranks 11th out of 23 major MSAs for its change in inflation. An analyst with the site said the ranking highlights some positive and concerning aspects policymakers should consider.

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Trump-Aligned Lawyer Who Exposed Fani Willis Affair and Stalled Georgia Election Case Says D.A. Caused Downfall: ‘She’s the One to Blame’

Tom Pappert
Ashleigh Merchant and Fani Willis in a courtroom (composite image)

The Georgia election case against former President Donald Trump and those who helped him contest the 2020 election results in the Peach State is almost certain to remain ongoing on Election Day, and the attorney who first surfaced evidence Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was engaged in a romantic affair with her special counsel said on Sunday that Willis is “the one to blame” for the current state of the case.

Willis’ case against Trump is currently before the Georgia Court of Appeals, which will determine whether Judge Scott McAfee erred when he ruled that Willis’ relationship with Wade, a private defense attorney paid more than $650,000 for his work on the case, was not sufficient reason to disqualify her as the prosecutor in the case against the former president.

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Georgia Reports Increased Revenues to Start Fiscal 2025

The Center Square
Georgia Capitol Money

With one month in the books, Georgia’s tax collections seemingly started the year on a positive note after ending last fiscal year with decreased collections.

Peach State officials said this week that total General Fund receipts for July, the first month of fiscal 2025, surpassed $2.5 billion. According to state numbers, that is an increase of 2.7%, or $66.3 million, over July 2023 in fiscal 2024, when net tax collections totaled nearly $2.5 billion.

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Feds Give Georgia $14.3 Million for Airport Block Grants

The Center Square
Georgia Airport

The Federal Aviation Administration has awarded Georgia nearly $14.3 million to help rehabilitate nonprimary airports statewide, officials said.

The money, part of $636 million for 320 grants in 46 states and American Samoa, ostensibly aims to improve airport infrastructure. It was awarded as part of the 2024 Airport Improvement Program’s fourth round of grants, and the Georgia award includes more than $13.3 million in entitlement spending and $924,275 in discretionary spending.

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Trump Campaign Spends Nearly $40 Million Ad Blitz in Primary States, Including Almost $24 Million in Georgia

Tom Pappert

Former President Donald Trump on Monday reportedly placed nearly $40 million in seven battleground states, including $23.8 million in Georgia, as polling shows him statistically tied with Vice President Kamala Harris in the state that helped propel President Joe Biden to the White House in 2024.

Trump’s campaign placed a $37.2 million television ad buy across Georgia, Arizona, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Michigan, Wisconsin and Nevada, according to AdImpact, which reported it is “the most he’s reserved on TV ads in a single day this cycle.”

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Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars Pour Into Georgia’s House District 53 Race

The Center Square
Susie Greenberg and Deborah Silcox in front of the Georgia State Capitol Building (composite image)

While many of Georgia’s 180 state House of Representative seats are not competitive, District 53 is where Democrat Susie Greenberg hopes to flip the “most flippable” seat back blue.

Incumbent Republican Rep. Deborah Silcox was first elected in 2022 by a margin of less than 1,500 votes, after many years of Democrat representatives. She previously was a representative in District 52, before losing that seat in 2020.

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Former Trump DOJ Official Jeffrey Clark Appeals D.C. Disciplinary Panel’s Recommendation to Suspend His Law License for Two Years

Rachel Alexander
Jeffery Clark

Donald Trump’s former DOJ official Jeffrey Clark is appealing the recommendation of a disciplinary panel to suspend his law license for two years over his role assisting Trump in dealing with 2020 election irregularities. A three-member committee of the District of Columbia Board on Professional Responsibility found on August 1 that he breached broad and vague attorneys ethics rules by drafting a letter that was never sent to Georgia officials advising them of their options for handling the 2020 election problems. 

In response, Clark filed a Petition for Review with the District of Columbia Court of Appeals on August 7, requesting consideration of his interlocutory appeals. Interlocutory appeals are appeals conducted while other proceedings are still ongoing. 

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