ATLANTA – Lin-Manuel Miranda, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of the hit musical “Hamilton,” called on Latino Georgians this week to support U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., in a race that could determine the balance of power in Washington.
Though Miranda is deeply rooted in the Washington Heights neighborhood in New York City, he has close ties to Atlanta.
Miranda premiered his musical “Bring it On” at the Alliance Theater in Atlanta in 2011.
“I’ve seen you guys freak out over half-an-inch of snow,” he teased the crowd at a rally Wednesday night.
“History has its eyes on you,” Miranda said, quoting “Hamilton.” “I see very starkly what the sides are and the stakes are in this election.”
“I believe women should have the right to do what they want with their bodies. …. Senator Warnock brought billions of dollars of aid to our communities, communities of color, and I’m on that team.”
“Latinos and Latinas are going to show up for Senator Warnock in this election and I’m proud to stand with you,” Miranda added. “I look forward to coming back here and having a beer with all y’all when [Warnock] wins again.”
The event had added meaning because the location, the Georgia Beer Garden, was the site of Warnock’s 2021 victory party.
The restaurant sits in the shadow of historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, the former church of Martin Luther King Jr., where Warnock has served as pastor since 2005.
Warnock, who is seeking his first full term in the Senate, said he continues to preach every Sunday because he wants to remain connected to ordinary people.
“I’ve translated my agitation into legislation, my protests into public policy,” said Warnock.
He pointed to his support for policies that would help the Latino community, chief among them immigration reform.
“We need comprehensive immigration reform – it’s past time,” Warnock said. “I do think especially about the Dreamers, the young folks right here in our community for whom this is the only country they’ve ever known,” he said, referring to children of illegal immigrants who grew up in the U.S. but lack citizenship.
“I’m not suggesting it’s easy, but it’s not as complicated as people are making it,” Warnock added.
Warnock also said he has brought federal funds to the Latino community in Georgia.
“I was able to secure for the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce $500,000 to strengthen small business because I understand that when Latino businesses thrive, that’s not only good for them, that’s good for the Georgia economy,” Warnock said to cheers from the crowd.
And Warnock touted his health-care reform successes. He strongly supported including a $35-per-month price cap on insulin as well as other health-care cost caps for Medicare enrollees included in the federal Inflation Reduction Act passed earlier this year.
Warnock said his Republican opponent, former University of Georgia football star Herschel Walker, is unprepared to hold a Senate seat.
“What I want you to do is get off the government health care,” Walker said about health care during a debate last week. “That’s what I’m trying to do, to make you independent rather than dependent.”
Walker linked Warnock to President Joe Biden and blamed current inflation on Democratic economic policies last week during what is likely to be the sole debate between the candidates prior to Election Day on Nov. 8.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
Democrat Jen Jordan and Republican Chris Carr. (Official Senate office and Attorney General office photos)
ATLANTA — Georgia’s three candidates for the state’s top lawyer job sparred over abortion, guns, crime and even oil pipelines during a Tuesday debate in Atlanta.
Much of the debate focused on how each would approach the state’s controversial “heartbeat” abortion law, which outlaws most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy.
Democratic state Sen. and lawyer Jen Jordan of Atlanta has been a vocal opponent of the law. She has previously indicated she would not enforce it if elected attorney general.
During Tuesday’s debate, Jordan said she believes the Georgia abortion law violates the state Constitution.
“I think specifically what we have to look to is the right of privacy under Georgia’s state Constitution, which was first identified in 1905,” she said.
“I have stood up for the women of this state, fighting to protect human trafficking victims, fighting to protect victims of gangs, fighting for those that are being taken advantage of from an elder abuse standpoint ” incumbent Republican Attorney General Chris Carr said in response.
The Georgia abortion law does not allow a pregnant woman to be prosecuted, Carr said, and Jordan’s claim is a scare tactic.
“If anyone, it’s the [medical] providers that are provided for in this law,” he said. “It would be up to the district attorneys to make that determination.”
Jordan hit back, pointing out that the Georgia abortion law specifies that an embryo is a person and this new legal definition could allow prosecution of pregnant women.
“When we think about the homicide statute, the manslaughter statute … the child abuse statute, all of that would actually apply … to a pregnant woman if she were to harm the embryo,” Jordan said. “It’s ridiculous to say that this law does not let a prosecutor go after a woman because it’s clear that it does.”
The candidates also sparred over crime. Carr pointed to his track record in prosecuting human trafficking and gang crimes. He also said Jordan missed many key votes – including on laws about crime – while she was in the state legislature.
Jordan said crime has increased over 60% in the state and that Carr had done nothing to address the issue.
She said she is a supporter of the Second Amendment but believes in gun control measures such as red-flag and safe-storage laws.
“As the next attorney general, I’m going to work with local police departments and agencies to get illegal guns off the streets and out of violent street gangs,” Jordan vowed.
Carr also decried the role of federal overreach and touted his support for free enterprise and competition in Georgia.
“Number one, I believe in the power of the free enterprise system,” he said. “I believe in the rule of law.”
Carr pointed to his decision to join other states in a lawsuit over an executive order issued by President Joe Biden to stop construction on the Keystone Pipeline.
“I’ve tried to protect lives, livelihoods and liberty over the past six years,” Carr said. “In fighting for the Constitution, I’m fighting for American jobs, lower gas prices, and less reliance on evil regimes that hate us.”
In response, Jordan accused Carr of focusing more on filing lawsuits against the federal government than prosecuting crime.
“People in this state do not feel safe,” she said. “He’s actually sued the Biden administration more than he’s gone after gangs or sex traffickers.”
Libertarian Martin Cowen also weighed in, taking Carr’s position against federal overreach but agreeing with Jordan’s stance on protecting abortion rights.
Cowen, like Jordan and Carr, graduated from the University of Georgia School of Law.
“The next attorney general for the state of Georgia shall be a graduate of the University of Georgia law school,” Cowen said. “Go Dawgs!”
Early voting in Georgia continues through Nov. 4, the last Friday before Election Day Nov. 8.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
ATLANTA – Georgia’s secretary of state candidates each sought to portray themselves Tuesday as the best protectors of democracy and elections – past, present, and future – during a debate in Atlanta.
The three candidates emphasized their strong support for free and fair elections but disagreed over details.
“I’ve had to stand up to incredible pressure,” incumbent Republican Brad Raffensperger said, referring to threats and pressure he faced following the 2020 election in Georgia. “I’m standing up for you, the voter. I’m standing up for the Constitution, and I’m standing up for the rule of law.”
Democratic state Rep. Bee Nguyen of Atlanta grounded her claim to the job in a lifelong commitment to civil rights.
“My parents fled their country (Vietnam) in the middle of the night on a boat in search of basic civil liberties, including the freedom of speech, the freedom of press, and the right to free and fair elections,” Nguyen said. “And right now our basic rights are under attack, including the freedom to choose and the freedom to vote.”
And Libertarian Ted Metz argued Georgia voters should vote “principle over party for the preservation of our republic.”
Much of the debate focused on Georgia’s Senate Bill (SB) 202, a lengthy and often controversial state election reform bill the General Assembly passed last year.
“I oppose laws that make it harder for Georgians to vote, including the 98-page bill that criminalizes handing out a bottle of water to voters waiting in line,” Nguyen said.
She also argued that the law increased the burdens on local county election boards without increasing funding.
“More and more people are leaving [local elections offices] because they don’t have the adequate resources to administer free and fair elections in all 159 counties and poll workers are being threatened and harassed,” said Nguyen. “We need a comprehensive plan to make sure that our local boards are well resourced and well equipped.”
Georgia should repeal the provisions of SB 202 that allowed the voter registrations of 65,000 Georgians to be challenged, Nguyen said.
Raffensperger agreed that reform is needed and said he would support changes to the law to address the recent mass challenges to voter registrations.
“I think everyone would share that same interest that we have accurate voter rolls,” Raffensperger said. “But, that said, frivolous challenges just gum up the works.”
Raffensperger pointed out that in today’s Georgia, people move frequently, both within the state and across state lines. The state has joined an online system to help update the voter rolls.
“I also think we should do annual list maintenance for the counties,” Raffensperger added.
And non-citizens should not vote, Raffensperger said. He pointed to his effort to clean the voter rolls and said he found around 1,600 cases of non-citizens who attempted to register.
Nguyen hit back, noting that Raffensperger did not find any instances of non-citizens actually voting.
Nguyen also criticized Raffensperger’s handling of allegations about breaches to the voting system in Coffee County. She said his office took too long to open an investigation and didn’t keep the public informed.
“People who broke the law should be investigated, held accountable and go to jail,” Raffensperger responded, adding that an investigation is ongoing.
Libertarian Metz contended that Georgia should hand-count its ballots and that there are still lingering questions about the 2020 count.
But Raffensperger said the 2020 election results are valid, and the votes were counted several times.
“Every single ballot that was counted through the scanners was then hand counted,” he said. “We did a 100% hand recount to verify the results. And I’ll stand by those results.”
Raffensperger said he has made a strong effort to be transparent with the public by traveling around the state and addressing election misinformation.
“I’ve said I’ll talk to any group to give them the facts and the information because we’ve been pushing back on election deniers since the election of 2018,” he said.
Raffensperger asked Nguyen about Georgia’s 2018 gubernatorial election, in which Democrat Stacey Abrams was narrowly defeated by Republican Brian Kemp. Nguyen confirmed that she stands by the results of past elections.
Around 130,000 Georgians voted on Monday, the first day of early voting in the state, which Raffensperger said proved that Georgia’s elections are working well.
During a part of the debate where candidates were allowed to ask each other questions, Nguyen asked Raffensperger about prior statements about his pro-life stance.
Raffensperger said the secretary of state has little to do with the abortion question, adding that Nguyen’s question indicated she doesn’t understand the job.
“Job one is to know the job, and you don’t know the job,” he said.
Nguyen countered by saying the secretary of state is in charge of professional licensing, including the Georgia Board of Nursing.
“Given the close ties to the nursing board, it is important that nurses and other health-care workers decide if they want to trust a staunch anti-choice secretary of state, and that women in Georgia should decide if they want to trust a staunch anti-choice secretary of state,” Nguyen said.
Early voting in Georgia continues through Nov. 4, the last Friday before Election Day Nov. 8.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock (left) and challenger Republican Herschel Walker (right) debated in Savannah on Friday night.
ATLANTA – U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., and Republican challenger Herschel Walker traded policy positions and took jabs at each other’s personal histories Friday night during what likely will be their sole debate before Georgia voters decide who to send to Washington.
Recent allegations that former University of Georgia football star Walker paid for an ex-girlfriend’s abortion despite his public pro-life stance put questions of character and reputation center stage.
Walker is seeking to unseat Warnock, the pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. The race has drawn national attention – and dollars – because its outcome could determine the party balance of the currently 50-50 Senate.
Warnock repeatedly criticized Walker’s honesty.
“My opponent has a problem with the truth,” he said.
Walker tied Warnock to President Joe Biden over and over, blaming inflation and a host of other problems on the Democratic duo.
“You have to blame this administration and Senator Warnock because within two years, this inflation has gotten worse,” Walker said. “They cut out energy independence. They also raised taxes.”
Walker said he would focus on boosting U.S. energy independence to address inflation.
Warnock rebutted the claim that he had raised taxes, pointing to his support for the Child Tax Credit and his work to include caps on the costs of prescription drugs and insulin in the Inflation Reduction Act recently passed by Congress.
Warnock also praised Biden’s recent decision to forgive some student loan debt and said more help is needed. Walker called the loan forgiveness “unfair” and said people should not have to pay for someone else’s loan.
“That was a lie and I’m not backing down,” Walker said when asked about the recent allegations that he paid for an ex-girlfriend’s abortion.
Walker added that he supported Georgia’s heartbeat law, which bans most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy, but evaded answering a question about whether he would support a nationwide total ban on abortions.
Warnock grounded his pro-choice stance in his belief in women’s privacy and theology.
“A patient’s room is too narrow and small and cramped a space for a woman, her doctor and the United States government,” Warnock said. “I’m a man of faith and I have a profound reverence for life and a deep respect for choice.”
Georgia should also expand Medicaid, Warnock said. Doing so would save the state money and help people access health care, he said.
“Georgia needs a senator who believes like I do that health care is a human right,” he said.
“What I want you to do is get off the government health care,” Walker shot back. “That’s what I’m trying to do, to make you independent rather than dependent.”
On crime, Warnock pointed to his support for increased funding and resources for local law enforcement departments. And he said he is pleased about a new gun safety law Congress passed in June.
In contrast, Walker emphasized his strong support for the Second Amendment right to bear arms and painted Warnock as soft on crime.
“He’s empowered criminals to think they’re better than the police, and he believes in no-cash bail and releasing prisoners,” Walker said. “He don’t protect the border. Fentanyl is coming into this country and also Atlanta.”
The debate took an unusual turn when Warnock criticized Walker’s claims to have worked for the FBI and other law enforcement departments in the past.
“I’ve never pretended to be a police officer, and I have never threatened a shootout with the police,” Warnock said, referring to an incident when Walker allegedly threatened his ex-wife with a gun.
In response, Walker pulled out a badge that he said proved he had served on a police force, leading one of the debate hosts to chide him for breaking a debate rule against bringing props on stage.
Both candidates said they would accept the results of the next election. Walker said he would support another Donald Trump run for the presidency, while Warnock did not directly answer whether he would support a Biden run in 2024.
The race is in a dead heat, according to a Capitol Beat/Georgia News Collaborative poll of 1,030 likely general election voters released this week.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
DBHDD Commissioner Judy Fitzgerald announced her retirement this week.
ATLANTA – Georgia’s main behavioral health agency will soon be getting a new leader to replace Commissioner Judy Fitzgerald, who announced this week that she will retire from the role.
Fitzgerald was first appointed commissioner of the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD) by then-Gov. Nathan Deal in 2016. Prior to that, she served as the chief of staff and deputy commissioner at DBHDD.
DBHDD is one of the main state agencies responsible for providing social supports and care to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Georgia.
The department also plays an important role in coordinating and providing mental health services. For example, DBHDD oversaw the recent launch of the new 9-8-8 mental health crisis hotline in Georgia. And it operates five psychiatric hospitals across the state as well as community-service boards to provide local mental health services.
“With gratitude for our progress … I have decided to retire from state service at the end of the year,” Fitzgerald wrote in a note to colleagues.
Fitzgerald described some of the key changes she has seen in her decade at the agency.
“It is hard to image that a little more than 10 years ago, the state was almost exclusively reliant on institutional settings to serve individuals with mental illness or with intellectual and developmental disabilities,” she wrote.
“We have overhauled our hospital services; we have made significant investments in a community-based system of crisis services … and we have led the country with our commitment to peer-led recovery.”
Gov. Brian Kemp will nominate a new commissioner. Kemp’s pick will have to be approved by the agency’s nine-member board, which is next scheduled to meet on Dec. 8.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
