By Jill Nolin | Editor
Several high-profile Republicans who have a hand in shaping education policy under the Gold Dome have lined up behind Fred “Bubba” Longgrear in this year’s race for state school superintendent. That’s remarkable because Longgrear isn’t the GOP incumbent who has held that office for a decade. There are also other notable GOP contenders, such as former Democratic-turned-Republican state Rep. Mesha Mainor. It’s all making this year’s superintendent’s primary race an unusually lively contest.
Superintendent Richard Woods watches a committee meeting in the Georgia Capitol in February. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder
EDUCATION
By Ross Williams
Fred “Bubba” Longgrear has big goals for Georgia’s public schools. Longgrear is president of the Georgia School Superintendents Association, and he’s running as a Republican for state school superintendent.
“I voted” stickers rest on a counter at the Pennington County Administration Building during early voting on Jan. 19, 2026, for a municipal election in Rapid City, South Dakota. (Photo by Seth Tupper/South Dakota Searchlight)
VOTING RIGHTS
By Jonathan Shorman
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision gutting the federal Voting Rights Act could upend American politics and trigger a new rush to redraw congressional districts. As the nation responds to the decision, here’s a States Newsroom look at the decision, what it means and what could happen next.
President Donald Trump gives a speech at the World Economic Forum on Jan. 21, 2026 in Davos, Switzerland. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
POLITICS
By Jonathan Shorman
President Donald Trump on Thursday moved to capitalize on a U.S. Supreme Court decision weakening the federal Voting Rights Act as he urged one governor to gerrymander his state and praised another for suspending an approaching primary.
ICE agents search the passenger of a truck as they arrest both him and the driver during a traffic stop in February in Robbinsdale, Minn. Almost a quarter of ICE arrests in recent months have been “collateral,” a category that has raised legal questions, rather than “targeted” arrests based on preexisting warrants or removal orders. (Photo by Nicole Neri/Minnesota Reformer)
IMMIGRATION
By Tim Henderson
A quarter of immigration arrests since August were labeled by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as “collateral,” a type of arrest and detention that’s been challenged in court as an end run around civil rights.
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