Tag: politics

The District Attorneys Oversight Commission is in, school vouchers are out. Here’s a look at which laws passed, which didn’t, and who’s salty about it

The Okefenokee Swamp, the largest blackwater swamp in North America and one of Georgia’s seven natural wonders, is a rare ecological treasure. Home to thousands of native plants and animals—including at least 15,000 alligators—it also supports a thriving tourist economy in Southeast Georgia, employing over 700 people and bringing in $64.7 million of revenue a year. But the Okefenokee’s delicate ecology is frequently threatened by mining interests: an ancient sand dune that borders the swamp is full of valuable heavy minerals, buy hydrology experts say extracting them would cause significant water loss in the Okefenokee, leading to more frequent drought and fires.

These are Atlanta's 500 most powerful leaders. We spent months consulting experts and sorting through nominations to get a list of the city's most influential people—from artists to chefs to philanthropists to sports coaches and corporate CEOs. In this section, we focus on civic leaders, government and politics, transportation, and utilities.

It was a busy first week back for Georgia’s elected officials. Freshmen lawmakers were sworn in, new congressional leadership was elected, and Governor Brian Kemp was inaugurated for his second term. Now, with the 2023 legislative session in full swing, here are five new developments that will likely shape this year’s lawmaking agenda.

The Great Speckled Bird was born in controversy. The front page of its first issue, in March 1968, featured an illustration of then-publisher of the Atlanta Constitution Ralph McGill, alongside Lyndon B. Johnson and Jesus, emerging from a cracked egg.

Despite a high-profile challenge from Stacey Abrams, Brian Kemp won re-election by seven points, a wider margin than in 2018. The rest of the Republican ticket rode his coattails to victory—everyone but Senate candidate Herschel Walker, who’ll head to a runoff against incumbent Senator Raphael Warnock, in a race that could, once again, decide party control of the Senate.

Tuesday night marked the second time Stacey Abrams had come up short in a bid to claim the state’s top job, after losing to Brian Kemp in 2018, and she lost this year’s election by a wider margin. Speaking to voters at her watch party, Abrams said, “While I may not have crossed the finish line, it does not mean we will ever stop running for a better Georgia.”

One of the first things my mom had me do when I graduated from college was get registered to vote and sign up to work the election polls. I remember always going with her to vote. She made sure all her children—all nine of us—were exposed to the process.

As Georgia's Election Day nears, voters are bombarded with political ads making claims about why any given candidate's opponent is the enemy. We fact-checked some of the biggest claims making the rounds in these ads, including the claim that Raphael Warnock gave money to felons, Brian Kemp's official position on contraception access, and who's getting rich.

There are, at last count, more than 7 million registered voters in Georgia; roughly an eighth of them—more than 800,000—are between the ages of 18 and 24. The state’s youngest voting cohort, all members of Generation Z, is distinct from the rest of the electorate by several measures.