We’re barely past the 2024 elections but already a pair ofGeorgia political heavyweights are gearing up for a potential 2026 GOP gubernatorial primary showdown. (Gov.Brian Kemp is term limited.) Attorney General ChrisCarr was the first to throw his hat into the ring and hasraised nearly $2.2 million since doing so. Meanwhile Lt.Gov. Burt Jones, who is planning to join the GOP primary race later, has raised more than $3 million in recentmonths. The race hasn’t even officially begun but theearly maneuvering has fundraising totals RISING . . .President Donald Trump signed into law the Laken Riley Act requiring Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain illegal immigrants who are arrestedor who have been convicted of burglary, theft, larcenyor shoplifting. That greatly helps his alien deportationeffort. Laken Riley was an Augusta University nursingstudent murdered by an illegal alien in Athens, and thepresident acknowledged Georgia’s leadership in endingthe Biden administration’s open borders policy. U.S. Rep.Mike Collins, R-Ga., sponsored the Act, resulting in hispolitical stature RISING . . . The main “no” vote in Congress was U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, D-Ga.— also thestate Democratic Party chair. She’s Sinking . . .Atlanta’s Bobby Jones Golf Course has been named the2025 Jemsek National Course of the Year at the NationalGolf Course Owners Association’s Golf Business Conference in Orlando. The unique nine-hole municipal courseunderwent a major $33 million redevelopment a decadeago and emerged as a fixture in a local golf communitythat has no shortage of fine courses. Its clubhouse, theMurray Golf House, hosts the Georgia State Golf Association and the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame. The well-deserved honor has Bobby Jones RISING . . .The New Georgia Project, an activist group founded byfailed gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, was slappedwith a $300,000 fine for illegally supporting her 2018campaign— the largest penalty ever given for violatingstate campaign finance laws. The State Ethics Commission found that the group— led at the time by now-U.S.Sen. Raphael Warnock— poured millions of dollars intoAbrams’ unsuccessful governor’s race (and those of otherDemocrats) but never registered as an independent political committee or disclosed its activities. Sinking . . .Have you ever heard the word “semiquincentennial?”Probably not but expect to hear it leading up to 2026,when the U.S. celebrates its 250th anniversary, “TheUnited States Semiquincentennial.” To prepare for the fullcalendar of events Gov. Brian Kemp is forming the Georgia US250 Commission, which will work with state andlocal leaders to develop a program to celebrate the nation’shistory. Included in it are Department of Economic Development Commissioner Pat Wilson and Georgia HistoricalSociety President Todd Groce, among others. Expect theirwork to promote the celebration to have 2026 RISING . . .A pair of Georgia judges resigned amid ethics investigations from the Judicial Qualifications Commission.Haralson County’s Jason Blackmon and Heard County’s Brenda Jennings won new four-year terms inNovember, but now both are stepping down and pledgingnot to seek any judicial position going forward. A JQC report shows Jennings was routinely late for work, engagedin prohibited communications about cases and more.Both resigned before formal charges could be brought upby the JQC, so their judgeship careers Sank . . .Downtown Atlanta is slated to receive more than $8.4billion of investment in new development. The smallneighborhood has struggled in years past, but major projects are changing that trajectory. Ten blocks of historicbuildings purchased by David Cummings and AtlantaVentures are being rapidly redeveloped in South Downtown; Centennial Yards is lining up tenants for its 10-acrerevitalization project in the shadow of Mercedes-BenzStadium; and Georgia State University has launched a$107 million campus transformation downtown. Theseefforts and more have the neighborhood RISING . . .A Cobb County legal battle resulted in County Commissioner Jerica Richardson getting ousted. It began overwhether the state legislature or county officials are theones who get to draw commission districts. The courtssided with the legislature, whose map drew Richardsonout of her seat. After a lengthy process the Georgia Courtof Appeals ruled that Richardson’s seat be left vacantuntil a special election could fill that seat and another vacant position on the commission. The result leftDemocrat Richardson and the rest of the Cobb Board ofCommissioners Drifting . . .M A RC H //A PRIL 20257
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