By Jill Nolin | Editor
Keisha Lance Bottoms squared off with an empty podium last night after her GOP opponent, Rick Jackson, became the first candidate for governor in a general election since 1994 to opt out of the Atlanta Press Club debate series.
And tonight, U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff and Congressman Mike Collins will meet again on the debate stage.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms stands next to an empty podium during the Atlanta Press Club Loudermilk-Young Governors Debate at the Georgia Public Broadcasting studio in Atlanta on Monday, Oct. 12, 2026. (Abbey Cutrer for the AJC)
2026 ELECTION
By Alander Rocha and Jill Nolin
Keisha Lance Bottoms, the Democratic nominee for governor, debated against an empty podium Monday night after GOP nominee Rick Jackson declined to participate in the Atlanta Press Club’s debates.
The Loudermilk-Young debate series, organized by Atlanta Press Club in partnership with Georgia Public Broadcasting, is a two-day event featuring statewide candidates on the ballot in the general election. Early voting for the Nov. 3 election starts Tuesday.
Jackson, a wealthy healthcare executive, instead spent the day flying around the state talking to reporters and supporters, with stops planned for Columbus, Macon and Savannah, and ended the day with a rally near Augusta.
President Donald Trump points into the crowd after headlining a midterms rally in Grand Island, Nebraska, on Oct. 5, 2026, at the Nebraska State Fairgrounds, with thousands in attendance. (Photo by Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)
2026 ELECTION
By Ariana Figueroa
President Donald Trump this week will journey out West in an effort to galvanize support for Republican candidates three weeks before the midterm elections and convince voters to support his party amid low presidential approval ratings.
As the deeply unpopular war in Iran enters month eight, resulting in spiking prices at the gas pump and skyrocketing fertilizer prices for the agriculture industry, Trump is scheduled to rally in Alaska on Tuesday and Arizona and Montana on Wednesday, following stops earlier this month in GOP-friendly states that kicked off the last weeks before the election. On Friday, Trump is expected to campaign in Georgia. Vice President JD Vance is also set to visit Georgia this week.
Gas and diesel prices in Indiana on Sept. 17, 2026. (Photo by Niki Kelly/Indiana Capital Chronicle)
ECONOMY
By Jacob Fischler
The Trump administration’s order to allow import of Russian diesel violates a 2022 law banning Russian energy imports while the country’s war with Ukraine is ongoing, according to a bipartisan group of U.S. senators.
Following an Oct. 9 call between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control lifted sanctions against the “import sale, delivery, offloading, or importation” of Russian diesel. Prices of diesel have skyrocketed in recent months during Trump’s war in Iran.
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ICYMI FROM THE RECORDER
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