Welcome to The Georgia Politics Podcast! Fulton County may have reached a tipping point as Democratic commissioners resist a court order requiring the appointment of two Republicans to the elections board.
A judge has ruled that Fulton County Commissioners must appoint Julie Adams and Jason Frazier to its Board of Elections, as the law mandates no discretion for the commissioners to reject them. When the Democratic-majority Board of Commissioners declined, the court held them in contempt and imposed a $10,000-per-day fine. That penalty is now paused because the commissioners have appealed.
Also, we got an early start to election season this year in Georgia as Debra Shigley and Jason Dickerson are headed to a September 23 runoff after finishing 1/2 in the August primary to replace Brandon Beach in a special election for SD21. Shigley, the lone Democrat in a seven-candidate special election led the primary with about 40% of the vote and Republican Jason Dickerson finished second with 17.4%, edging out Cherokee County Commissioner Steve West (17.1%).
We also touch on some updates to the Lieutenant Governor's race, as there are not 4 declared Republican candidates including Senate leaders Steve Gooch, John Kennedy, Blake Tillery, and Rep. David Clark. Sen. Greg Dolezal may also enter. On the Democratic side, state Sen. Josh McLaurin is the only announced candidate so far. The campaign is shaping up around high-stakes policy debates, particularly GOP efforts to eliminate Georgia's state income tax.
Overhyped/Underhyped, Play-Along-At-Home and much more on today's jam packed episode!
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