Political Breakfast from WABE

Republican strategist Brian Robinson, Democratic strategist Tharon Johnson and host Lisa Rayam talk about the startling social media comments that emerged after the execution-style murder of United Healthcare CEO, Brian Thompson. Some of the comments were so shocking, they sparked both Brian and Tharon to ponder the current state of America. (Note: Since the taping of this podcast, authorities hav...

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has a lot of ideas about how to reshape healthcare in America. He's President-Elect Donald Trump's pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, which includes the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Potential changes are worrying public health experts. Policy shifts are also expected at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. In thi...

A lot transpired over the Thanksgiving holiday. Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr slipped in the announcement that he's running for Governor. Strategists Tharon Johnson and Brian Robinson, along with host Lisa Rayam, discuss the strategic timing of his announcement.  Plus, will this news mobilize the Democratic Party and dredge-up familiar names like Stacey Abrams? Plus, the presidential pardon...

President-elect Donald Trump has picked several immigration hard-liners for top posts and he plans to fill key energy and environment roles with oil and gas supporters who have pledged to slash regulations. On this week’s episode of "Plugged In: A WABE Politics Podcast," hosts Sam Gringlas and Rahul Bali speak with immigration reporter Emily Wu Pearson and environment reporter Marisa Mecke about h...

Hefty pay raises are being proposed for all city council members come 2026, including for the Mayoral position.  The Mayor could see a salary increase from $202K to $271K, and city council members would go from roughly $72K to $127K.  Republican strategist Brian Robinson, the Atlanta Civic Circle's Saba Long and host Lisa Rayam share their thoughts on those raises, and reforms that should come wit...

On this edition of Political Breakfast, the team discusses strategy on the part of the chair of the Georgia Democratic Party as she prepares to leave the post.   There was a concerted call for U.S. Representative Nikema Williams to resign after Democrats showed up poorly on November 5th. Leading the charge is U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff who is up for reelection in 2026. The Atlanta Civic Circle's Saba...

Every Georgia county has now certified the results of the 2024 election. Historically, this has been a relatively uncontroversial procedural step. Since 2020, that hasn't been the case. But with Donald Trump's victory in Georgia, talk of election fraud has died down. In this week's edition of "Plugged In: A WABE Politics Podcast," reporters Sam Gringlas and Rahul Bali describe how the state is gra...

The General election is over and the dust has settled. Georgia Democrats are left wondering: What happened?   As they look inward and search for clarity, Democratic strategist Tharon Johnson and Republican strategist Brian Robinson and host Lisa Rayam take a hard look at Democratic voter turnout in Georgia. What does the November 5th voter turnout mean for state Democrats moving forward? Plus, Ful...

On this edition of Political Breakfast, the team sorts through new developments in Georgia after the November 5th election. There are now calls for the chair of the state Democratic Party to step down after sweeping losses in the House.  U.S. Representative Nikema Williams insists she can handle the job even while running for reelection. But, a major push for change is reportedly coming from U.S....

Former President Donald Trump will be the 47th president of the United States. Nearly 5.3 million Georgians voted, breaking the turnout record set during the 2020 election. Trump received 50.7% of Georgia's vote, turning the swing state red after President Joe Biden's victory four years ago. On this week's episode of "Plugged In: A WABE Politics Podcast," politics reporters Sam Gringlas and Rahul...

Political Breakfast goes live with Democratic strategist Tharon Johnson, Republican strategist Brian Robinson and host Lisa Rayam just hours after the Associated Press called a presidential victory for Donald Trump. Analysts call the victory an extraordinary political comeback for Trump, a convicted felon who still stands accused of election interference in Georgia back in 2020 and for sparking th...

Heading into November 5th Election Day, Georgia is already on-record with over 4 million voters casting early ballots in a highly contested presidential race. However, that's not the only important contest on the ballot in Georgia. There are city, state and county offices at stake too. Democratic strategist Tharon Johnson, Republican strategist Brian Robinson and host Lisa Rayam sort through some...

Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are making their closing arguments with election day less than a week away. On this week's episode of "Plugged In: A WABE Politics Podcast," politics reporters Sam Gringlas and Rahul Bali preview what to expect on election night. Plus, a look at some of the competitive state legislative races in Metro Atlanta, an examination of Trump's...

On this week's Political Breakfast, we're roughly a week away from Election Day, and Georgians are early-voting in record numbers according to the Secretary of State's office.  Polls still indicate a tight race between Vice President Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. The team wanted to engage with WABE listeners and voters in-person ahead of election day. Democratic strategist Tharon Johns...

On this edition of Political Breakfast, Host Lisa Rayam asks Republican Strategist Brian Robinson and Democratic Strategist Tharon Johnson to share thoughts on the 11th hour of presidential campaigning in Georgia. A small swath of undecideds are at stake. Both flesh out their respective party's strategies to get those still "up in the air" to the polls. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy info...

The FBI is warning that extremists with concerns about the election could turn to violence in the coming weeks. In this week's episode of "Plugged In: A WABE Politics Podcast," politics reporters Sam Gringlas and Rahul Bali take the political temperature in Georgia. Plus, former Presidents Donald Trump and Barack Obama return to Atlanta and an explanation of those wordy and confusing ballot measur...

On this episode of Political Breakfast, we talk about Campaign ads. The GOP ads on transgender rights seem to be dominating the airwaves leading up to the November 5th election.  While the the Democratic Party continues to focus on reproductive rights.....how is all of this factoring into a very tight race in Georgia? The Political Breakfast team talks about how the strategy plays out as Geor...

Early voting is now underway in Georgia and over 300,000 voters showed up on the first day, more than doubling the previous record set in 2020. With less than three weeks to go until election day, WABE politics reporters Sam Gringlas and Rahul Bali discuss the latest election news in this week's episode of "Plugged In: A WABE Politics Podcast." Plus, two Georgia judges have undercut a series of co...

Early voting is underway in Georgia and former president Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are doing 11th-hour stumping here. Are their strategies turning-out voters and packing the polls?  Trump is hitting the Peach State a little more aggressively in these next three weeks ahead of Election Day on November 5th.  At the time of this Political Breakfast taping, Trump has thre...

Georgia's growing Indian-American community is getting more politically involved, both as voters and as candidates. On this week's episode of "Plugged In: A WABE Politics Podcast," politics reporters Sam Gringlas and Rahul Bali take listeners to the Festival of India in Atlanta and discuss how this community could shape local and presidential races in Georgia. Plus, more drama with the State Elect...

Donald Trump is coming to a rally at Gas South Arena in Duluth on October 23rd, roughly 25 miles north of Atlanta. But opponent Vice President Kamala Harris already challenged the former president to another CNN debate that same night, taking place just miles away in Atlanta.  Trump has argued it's “too late” to have another presidential debate, because Americans have already started casting...

Both Republicans and Democrats are crossing political lines and banding together to help those devastated by Hurricane Helene.  That's as another powerful Hurricane Milton already barrels towards the Florida coast, less than two weeks after Helene. Governor Brian Kemp and Donald Trump made an appearance together last week outside Augusta.  Host Lisa Rayam, Democratic strategist Tharon Jo...

On this week's Political Breakfast, we discuss President Joe Biden traveling to Georgia Thursday to tour areas impacted by Hurricane Helene. Vice President Kamala Harris was in Augusta Wednesday to survey damage from the storm and former President Donald Trump made a stop in Valdosta earlier this week.  Thousands across the southeast are unaccounted for, and remain without power and water.&nb...

Hurricane Helene left a path of devastation across the Southeast, killing more than 200 people since making landfall in Florida. Hundreds are still missing. On this week's episode of "Plugged In: A WABE Politics Podcast," climate reporter Emily Jones and environment reporter Marisa Mecke discuss the historic storm, how climate change is making extreme weather worse and what we can learn from the d...

On this week's Political Breakfast, both presidential candidates Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are being criticized by their response to Hurricane Helene.  Harris and President Joe Biden approved emergency declarations for southeastern states including Georgia. But Republicans claim Harris should've cut her West Coast stumping schedule earlier and flown immediately back to Was...