Political Rewind

Monday on Political Rewind: Candidates in municipal elections across Georgia are getting one last day of campaigning in before voters head to the polls on Election Day tomorrow. We previewed key races. Tomorrow’s races are set to play out under new state laws governing election law passed following the 2020 election. The new rules could set the stage for state takeovers of local election boards th...

Friday on Political Rewind: Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan is viewed as an outsider by many in his own party. The Republican from Alpharetta, Ga., has been at odds with Republican leaders over the rhetoric of former President Donald Trump. Duncan publicly spoke out against the conspiracy theories and lies spread by Trump and his allies in the Republican party following defeats in the 2020 elections. In his...

Wednesday on Political Rewind: Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker gained the support of a an influential member of his party's national leadership when Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell announced his endorsement of the former University of Georgia football star turned-congressional-hopeful. McConnell is just the latest establishment figure to endorse Walker. Sen. John Thune from Sout...

Tuesday on Political Rewind: Democrats are insisting that Georgia should have an even partisan split of congressional districts as redistricting is set to start next week at the state capitol. The GOP majority will likely reject the argument. Our panel of experts broke down the different factors that go into redrawing Georgia's political maps. Meanwhile, Texas GOP legislators have shown how redist...

Monday on Political Rewind: Georgia Democrats are looking support from the national party in 2022 and 2024. Politico reported that Democrats in the Peach State worry that the national party is not paying enough attention to the new voting laws in Georgia, and that they may lose key races as a result. Plus, will Herschel Walker lay out clear policy positions soon? GPB News' Stephen Fowler discussed...

Friday on Political Rewind: Guest host Tamar Hallerman led discussion on the trial of the three men charged with murder in the shooting of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery. Nationwide attention has turned to Brunswick, Ga., this week as the trial began. Attorneys have spent the past couple days questioning a long list of potential jurors about their views on the case. With the first week of the trial alm...

Thursday on Political Rewind: The gap between the rich and poorer Americans continues to grow. We asked our panel crucial questions about the future of urban life. Will living in cities like Atlanta soon be out of reach for lower income families and individuals? As the Atlanta mayoral race unfolds, crime is by far the issue that voters said matters most to them. But assuring that Atlanta creates o...

Wednesday on Political Rewind: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says he will bring the federal voting rights bill to the floor for a vote today. In other news, the trial of Gregory McMichael, Travis McMichael, and William Bryant is undergoing jury selection. The men are charged with murder in the Ahmaud Arbery shooting, and the judge presiding over the trial is worried that jury selection is t...

Tuesday on Political Rewind: Opponents of the Buckhead City movement launched a counteroffensive yesterday. In a news conference at the state Capitol, Democratic legislators who represent the city cited economic and social hardships they say severing Buckhead from Atlanta would cause to both jurisdictions. Our panel looked at where the secession movement stands today. Also, the first day of jury s...

Monday on Political Rewind: The trial for the three men charged with the murder of Ahmaud Arbery gets underway in Brunswick, Ga., this week. Arbery’s killing led to changes in Georgia law, the indictment of a long-serving district attorney and an effort to clean up and diversify the Glynn County Police Department. We looked at what to expect as the trial gets underway and how the case reverberated...

Friday on Political Rewind: Republican candidates on Georgia’s 2022 ballot are remaining silent about President Donald Trump’s prediction that GOP voters will not go to the polls next year if the party does not push harder to uncover his already-disproven claims of election fraud in 2020 election. In other news, Georgia Board of Regents decided to make sweeping changes to the rules governing how t...

Thursday on Political Rewind, stories about climate change are rarely out of the headlines these days. This week, it’s news about wind farms. The Biden Administration has announced plans to develop seven major offshore wind farms on the east and west coasts and along the Gulf of Mexico. It’s part of a larger plan to generate enough alternative energy to power 10 million homes by 2030. In just over...

Wednesday on Political Rewind: A lawsuit accusing Georgia's presidential election of being rigged collapsed on Wednesday. Earlier in the week, state election investigators have told a Superior Court judge they found no evidence to back up claims by plaintiffs, who allege counterfeit ballots were counted in Fulton County last year. But on Wednesday, Henry County judge Judge Brian Amero dismissed th...

Tuesday on Political Rewind: Early voting in municipal elections across the state started today. In Atlanta, candidates for mayor will feature in a series of debates that are becoming increasingly contentious. Meanwhile, news broke yesterday that two election workers in Fulton County were fired for allegedly shredding 300 paper voter registration applications instead of processing them. Fulton Cou...

Friday on Political Rewind, a newly released transcript of former Georgia U.S. Attorney Bjay Pak’s testimony before a senate committee reveals what many already suspected. Pak’s abrupt resignation early this year came after he was told that former President Donald Trump was pushing to have him fired. Pak failed to support Trump's claim that massive fraud gave President Joe Biden a victory in Georg...

Thursday on Political Rewind: DeKalb County conducts a successful COVID-19 vaccination drive thanks to a gift card giveaway to those who take the shots. Those who got a shot in the arm during the drive also received a $100 gift card. DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond said that leaders should take politics out of COVID-19 decisions and focus on saving lives.  "When I know close to 1,100 DeKalb Cou...

Wednesday on Political Rewind: Gov. Brian Kemp is taking a trip to Texas. He and nine other GOP governors visit the U.S.-Mexico border today. They will also hold a news conference, blaming President Joe Biden for failing to stop an escalating number of illegal border crossings. This trip is Kemp's third visit to the southern border since becoming governor. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland has...

Tuesday on Political Rewind: Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker responded to allegations of domestic violence during an interview with a conservative radio host this week — sort of. Walker shrugged off the allegations and insisted questions from journalists about his past were illegitimate. Multiple women have alleged Walker violently threatened them. His former wife obtained a protective...

Monday on Political Rewind: It is the first day of a new session for the United States Supreme Court and justices will hear a raft of significant cases that hold consequences for Georgia law. A New York gun rights case could decide Georgians’ right to carry concealed weapons without a permit, while another case concerning religious liberty could allow state funds to be sent to religious schools. M...

Friday on Political Rewind: Georgia will follow CDC guidelines on who can receive the COVID-19 booster shot. Gov. Brian Kemp and state health director Kathleen Toomey announced health department vaccination sites have begun giving booster shots to eligible residents this week. The news comes even as Georgia remains in the lowest tier of states with fully vaccinated people. In news from the U.S. Ca...

Thursday on Political Rewind: Supporters of the creation of a new city of Buckhead are moving forward with efforts to see the issues brought before the state legislature. Lawmakers in favor of the proposal announced they will hold state senate hearings on the controversial measure during the November special legislative session. So far, no lawmakers representing Buckhead have signed on to the effo...

Wednesday on Political Rewind: An early draft of new congressional district maps in Georgia drew renewed attention to the upcoming redistricting process that begins in November. The draft will likely undergo changes when lawmakers meet in the state Capitol on Nov. 3 for a legislative special session. Republican lawmakers appeared to target Democratic U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath’s 6th District seat for t...

Tuesday on Political Rewind: State Republican legislators released a first draft of Georgia's new congressional districts. Although still in an early stage, the map reveals Republicans may target U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath’s 6th District seat for a Republican takeover. Meanwhile, the preliminary lines could strengthen Democratic control of the neighboring 7th District. Also, a new federal effort aims t...

Monday on Political Rewind: Former President Donald Trump’s rally in Perry over the weekend drew big names on the 2022 ballot for Republicans. The event also stirred up controversy: Trump continued his attacks on Gov. Brian Kemp, exasperating the schism between loyalists to the former president and the main figures behind the state Republican Party. Former Atlanta Journal-Constitution columnist Ji...

Friday on Political Rewind: A federal appeals court took up the question of Georgia's controversial abortion statute, HB 481. The law, which would effectively outlaw abortion, has yet to go into effect because of a lower court's ruling. Our panel discussed the potential consequences of restrictive abortion law. Georgia's law is one of a number of legislation involving abortion access across the co...