by Dave Williams | May 5, 2025 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – Gov. Brian Kemp announced Monday that he will not run for the U.S. Senate next year, turning down a Republican nomination that was his for the taking and throwing the race against Democratic incumbent Sen. Jon Ossoff wide open.
In a post on social media, the two-term GOP governor said friends, supporters, and Republican leaders across the country have encouraged him in recent weeks to challenge Ossoff.
“After those discussions, I have decided that being on the ballot next year is not the right decision for me and my family,” Kemp wrote. “I spoke with President Trump and Senate leadership earlier today and expressed my commitment to work alongside them to ensure we have a strong Republican nominee who can win next November, and ultimately be a conservative voice in the U.S. Senate who will put hardworking Georgians first.”
Kemp has been widely considered the potential Republican nominee with by far the best chance of defeating Ossoff. Other possible GOP hopefuls have been waiting in the wings to see what Kemp will do before deciding whether to enter the race.
Ossoff was elected to a six-year term in the Senate in a January 2021 runoff, defeating incumbent Republican Sen. David Perdue. In light of Kemp’s reelection win in 2022 and Trump’s victory in Georgia last year, Ossoff has been considered the most vulnerable Democrat in the Senate this election cycle.
Democrats jumped on the news as a major setback for the Republican Party.
“Brian Kemp’s decision to not run for Senate in 2026 is yet another embarrassing Republican Senate recruitment failure as they face a building midterm backlash where every GOP candidate will be forced to answer for Trump’s harmful agenda,” said Maeve Coyle, spokesperson for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. “Senate Republicans’ toxic agenda and recruitment failures put their majority at risk in 2026.”
Republicans had been counting on a Kemp victory in Georgia to help build the party’s majority in the Senate, where the GOP holds 53 of the 100 seats.
Without Kemp in the race, Ossoff looks like a strong candidate for a second term. The Democrat’s campaign raised more than $11 million during the first quarter of this year, the most ever raised by a Senate incumbent in the first three months of an off-year.
by Dave Williams | May 5, 2025 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – Georgia’s rural hospitals tax credit program is continuing to prove popular with Georgians who want to help financially struggling hospitals across the state in return for a tax break.
Taxpayers contributed $74.3 million to eligible rural hospitals last year, nearly reaching the $75 million statewide cap on the program, the Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts reported Monday. Thirty-four of the 54 eligible hospitals received more than $1 million each, while 11 took in less than $500,000.
The General Assembly launched the tax credit program in 2017, allowing taxpayers to reduce their state income tax liability by the amounts they donate. The money goes to hospitals in counties with populations of 50,000 or fewer.
Taxpayers can designate a specific hospital to receive their contribution or, if one is not designated, a hospital is selected based on a ranking of need. Last year, the neediest hospital was Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Dahlonega.
Hospitals reported that most of the money they received in 2023 through the program was spent on capital projects or regular operating expenses.
The legislature originally funded the program with an annual statewide cap of $60 million, which was increased to $75 million in 2023. Lawmakers raised the cap again this year to $100 million, effective with the tax year beginning next January.
However, the cap on individual hospitals remains at $4 million.
The audit concluded that the Georgia Department of Community Health and state Department of Revenue have improved the process for administering the program over the years and generally complied with state law.
by Dave Williams | May 5, 2025 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – State Sen. Josh McLaurin, D-Sandy Springs, announced Monday that he will run for lieutenant governor next year, promising a campaign focused on fighting President Donald Trump’s agenda.
McLaurin, a lawyer, was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 2018 before moving over to the state Senate in 2022. This year, he has railed on the Senate floor almost daily against Trump’s economic policies and defiance of the rule of law.
“One hundred days in, the Trump administration is tanking the economy and ignoring court orders,” McLaurin said. “But the Republicans running the state of Georgia are silent about Trump’s needless tariffs and his violations of Americans’ basic legal rights. Instead, Georgia Republicans spent the 2025 legislative session sucking up to Trump and trying to copy his destructive ‘DOGE’ approach to government.
“Georgia should be putting up every obstacle possible to Trump’s authoritarian agenda at the state level. And while we’re at it, the Georgia legislative should be passing widely popular policies that Republicans have been blocking for years: Medicaid expansion, restorative of reproductive freedom, common-sense gun safety legislation, and more.”
McLaurin scheduled a 3 p.m. news conference Monday at the Port of Savannah to announce his candidacy and highlight the expected impacts of Trump’s tariffs on supply chains.
He also released a list of endorsements he has received, including the names of seven state senators, 15 members of the Georgia House of Representatives, and several local elected officials.
McLaurin is the only Democratic candidate thus far to enter the race to succeed Republican Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who is widely expected to run for governor.
by Dave Williams | May 5, 2025 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – The Democratic Party of Georgia’s State Committee elected Atlanta lawyer Charlie Bailey during the weekend to serve as the party’s chair.
Bailey, a native of Harris County, has run for state attorney general twice but came up short to the Republican candidate both times.
He will succeed U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, D-Atlanta, who gave up the chairmanship earlier this year after the committee amended the party bylaws to require the party chair to serve in that position full time.
In a prepared statement, Bailey vowed to lead Georgia Democrats in an aggressive campaign.
“Republicans have controlled this state for 22 years, and in that time, 12 rural hospitals have closed and 18 more are at risk of closing because they refuse to expand Medicaid,” he wrote.
“We’ll make sure all voters know that electing more Republicans in Georgia means more billionaire tax cuts, corporate giveaways, and a host of other distractions that will not reduce prices for Georgians, and we’re going to hold them accountable.”
Bailey will take over the post immediately from Interim Chair Matthew Wilson, a former state representative from Brookhaven.
by Dave Williams | May 2, 2025 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – University of Georgia officials broke ground Friday on a research farm next to the Georgia National Fairgrounds in Perry.
The 250-acre Grand Farm will serve as a hub for research, education, and sustainable farming practices. Innovative technology including precision agriculture, robotics and data analysis will be used to increase productivity while conserving resources.
Grand Farm will partner with UGA’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences on the project.
“This collaboration represents the perfect marriage of tradition and innovation,” said Nick T. Place, the college’s dean and director. “By bringing together the college’s world-class researchers and the UGA Institute for Integrative Precision Agriculture with Grand Farms’ cutting-edge technologies, we will revolutionize the way we feed and clothe the world’s population.”
The roots of the partnership go back five years, when University System of Georgia Chancellor Sonny Perdue helped launch a Grand Farm project in North Dakota while serving as U.S. secretary of agriculture.
“This partnership is a great example of how Grand Farm works to advance agriculture technology and solve grower pain points across varied geographies,” Grand Farm Executive Director William Aderholt said.
“Collaborating with the University of Georgia allows us to leverage their extensive research capabilities and expertise in agricultural sciences, enhancing our ability to innovate and implement solutions that are tailored to diverse agricultural environments.”
The farm’s first field projects are expected to roll out this year.
