By Jill Nolin | Editor
Happy Saturday! Here’s some of what we learned this week.
Thune drop-in: Once a top target, Georgia’s U.S. Senate seat appeared to be drifting further away from Republicans, but the Senate’s top Republican, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, appeared alongside U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, the GOP nominee, this week to show national Republicans haven’t given up on the seat.
Is the state House in play? Georgia’s state House of Representatives isn’t seen as one of the legislative chamber poised for a flip this November, but Georgia Democrats say they see a path to victory.
Did Georgia’s child welfare agency overstep? Georgia’s justices seemed skeptical of the agency’s claims that it was justified in removing two children after their sibling died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound — a month after the child’s death and when even the agency says the children were in no immediate danger.
A bipartisan push for federal oversight over automated license plate readers: U.S. Raphael Warnock teamed up with Alabama Republican U.S. Sen. Katie Britt this week to call on the DOJ to provide federal guidelines on the use of automated license plate readers, such as the ones made by Atlanta-based Flock.
Campaigns for ballot measures rev up: A bipartisan group of leaders released a letter this week making the case for a constitutional amendment on the November ballot that would make all county probate judgeships nonpartisan. But as one opponent told us, the proposal makes “my skin go crawling and my hair stand up.”
That’s all for now. Hope you enjoy your weekend. And if you like what you see here, we’d love it if you shared this newsletter with a pal.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune speaks at a Mike Collins event in Atlanta on Sept. 25, 2026. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder
2026 ELECTION
By Ross Williams
U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune came to Atlanta to keep hope alive for the Mike Collins campaign as Collins challenges Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff in the Nov. 3 midterm election.
Thune’s visit came amid reports that national Republicans are deprioritizing Georgia’s Senate race in favor of states they feel they have a better shot of winning, like Texas, Maine, Alaska, Ohio, Michigan and New Hampshire.
Georgia House Minority Leader Carolyn Hugley says her party will win control of the state House after November's election. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder
2026 ELECTION
By Ross Williams
Georgia House Democrats say 2026 is the year they’re going to take control of the state House, ending more than two decades of Republican rule.
“We are 10 winnable seats away from a majority for the first time since 2004.” said House Minority Leader Carolyn Hugley of Columbus during a press conference Wednesday. “The state House decides what happens to Georgia families on the issues that matter most: property taxes, how schools are funded, whether their votes are protected.”
Republicans say they’re not worried.
U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock called for greater federal guidance around the use of automatic license plate readers. Alander Rocha/Georgia Recorder
SURVEILLANCE
By Maya Homan
U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock is calling for federal guardrails around the use of automatic license plate readers, citing multiple cases of law enforcement misusing the cameras to stalk and harass U.S. citizens.
Warnock, a Democrat, is teaming up with U.S. Sen. Katie Britt, an Alabama Republican, to urge the U.S. Department of Justice to issue guidance on the subject. Earlier this week, the two sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche urging the department to issue guidelines for state and local law enforcement and disclose how much federal funding has gone toward purchasing license plate readers. The Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“We are deeply concerned about the misuse of ALPR systems and believe that appropriate safeguards are necessary to protect against unauthorized access and abuse,” the letter states.
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ICYMI FROM THE RECORDER
OTHER GEORGIA NEWS
In Georgia’s race for governor, focus shifts to farms | Capitol Beat
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