By Jill Nolin | Editor
Next week is poised to be a consequential one in Georgia politics. Tuesday’s runoff election will answer some big questions: Will Republican voters choose a MAGA congressman or a Kemp-backed political newcomer to face U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff in November? And will a billionaire healthcare executive’s surprise campaign succeed in taking down the longtime favorite to win the GOP primary for governor, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones?
Voters will also be choosing nominees to preside over the state Senate, serve as the state’s top election official and sit on a panel that regulates powerful utilities, among other statewide races.
And that’s just the start of it. Georgia lawmakers will turn around the next day and kick off a special session that was called partly to redraw the state’s political maps after the U.S. Supreme Court diluted a key provision of the Voting Rights Act. Unlike some other Southern states, Georgia intends to redraw its boundary lines for the 2028 election. We’re hustling to find out how far Republicans aim to go when it comes to dismantling court-ordered Black majority districts in Congress and the Legislature.
Stick with us throughout next week for updates. If you don’t want to wait for the newsletter, there’s always our site but we’re also on Bluesky, Instagram and Facebook.
Till then, hope you all enjoy the weekend.
2026 ELECTION
By Georgia Recorder staff
A lot was decided during May 19’s primary election, but plenty of important races are still up in the air, including the Republican primaries for U.S. Senate and governor. Democratic voters have several of their own races to settle, including a hotly contested race for lieutenant governor.
Atlanta’s public transit system, MARTA, is under increased scrutiny after a series of violent incidents. Jill Nolin/Georgia Recorder
COMMENTARY
By Jay Bookman
Maybe MARTA has been a victim of unfortunate timing, with several random, high-profile shootings and stabbings occurring just as thousands of World Cup visitors are scheduled to come to town, setting off a federal investigation into the agency’s security performance.
Maybe.
However, longtime riders of the system can attest to the fact that conditions on MARTA rail have deteriorated significantly. To explain that away as something other than serious bureaucratic failure, you’d also have to ignore other major warning signs of incompetence and neglect.
Sen. John Kennedy, who chaired the Senate Redistricting Committee, argued during a 2021 special session that the GOP-drawn maps are fair to all Georgians. In 2023, state lawmakers were directed by a federal judge to draw new maps. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder
REDISTRICTING
Georgia lawmakers plan to redraw district lines, even as dispute over current maps remains unsettled
By Maya Homan
Georgia is just days away from the start of another special session — the third during this decade that will center around redrawing district lines for Congress and the General Assembly.
But unlike the last round of redistricting, in which state lawmakers were tasked with creating additional districts to protect the voting power of Black Georgians, this time the Republican-controlled Legislature may choose to strip electoral power away from minority voters to gain a partisan advantage.
ICYMI FROM THE RECORDER
OTHER GEORGIA NEWS
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