Morning Digest, sponsored by Ripple on Impact: Panicked Georgia Republicans turn to racism as key races loom

"This is not a dog whistle. This is a whistle," says GOP candidate attacking Black opponent

Georgia Republican Tim Echols is seeking reelection next week as a member of the state’s Public Service Commission. (credit: Tim Echols X)

Leading Off

GA Public Service Commission

Georgia Republicans are fretting that an energized Democratic electorate will cost them two seats on the Public Service Commission next week, leading one white GOP incumbent to say he’s responding by going beyond a “dog whistle” to attack his Black opponent.

Commissioner Tim Echols has dubbed healthcare administrator Alicia Johnson a “DEI specialist” who “wants to bring DEI and wokeness to the PSC.”

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Echols, whose job involves regulating public utilities, insists that, in the words of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Greg Bluestein, Johnson could compel “utilities to hold off on disconnecting power” and push them to waive bills “for struggling customers.”

Johnson responded earlier this month by calling the attack a “racist, MAGA dog-whistle” from a “scared” incumbent.

“I think it really speaks to Tim Echols’ character and his personal values, and that it’s a reflection of him, not me,” Johnson said in comments shared by the Georgia Recorder. “If he wants to point out that I’ve dedicated my career to helping people, communities and organizations grow stronger and healthier and more resilient, then way to go, Tim.”

Echols, though, says he’s not letting up on his line of attack.

“This is not a dog whistle. This is a whistle,” he told Bluestein. “I’m not being shy about it.”

Echols’ comments follow weeks of warnings from members of his party that conservative voters might not turn out next week to vote for him and fellow Commissioner Fitz Johnson. (The two Johnsons are not related.)

Johnson, the commission member, has a competitive battle of his own against Democrat Peter Hubbard, who heads a clean energy nonprofit. Hubbard, like his fellow Democrat on the ballot, has emphasized rising energy costs and argued that Democrats “can put money back in your pocket, not the pockets of utility executives.”

Both posts are elected statewide, even though each commissioner only officially represents one-fifth of the state.

While the GOP, which controls all five seats, will maintain control of the panel no matter how this year’s elections unfold, a sweep by Democrats would position them to change that soon. Commissioner Tricia Pridemore is up for reelection in November of next year, while the final two incumbents, Jason Shaw and Lauren “Bubba” McDonald, will next be up in 2028.

Elections for the commission are usually conducted in even-numbered years, but contests in both 2022 and 2024 were canceled due to a lengthy court battle in which voting rights advocates unsuccessfully sought to institute district-based elections in place of the existing system.

Morning Digest: Swingy Georgia is holding two statewide special elections this fall

That long delay allowed all five commissioners to remain in office years after their six-year terms were supposed to have expired, but Echols and Johnson now need to prevail in odd-year special elections.

Republicans are counting on a well-funded effort to turn out conservatives who may not otherwise know there’s an election they need to care about. Bluestein writes that Republicans anticipate that term-limited Gov. Brian Kemp and his allies will spend a total of $4 million to help the two incumbents.

The Democratic challengers, by contrast, have received over $2 million in support from Georgia Conservation Voters Action Fund. A win in either race would give Democrats a breakthrough in a swing state where they last won a non-federal statewide election in 2006.

Democrats are also hoping that success this year will set them up for more victories in 2026 as Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff seeks reelection and both parties compete to replace Kemp as governor.

“We want muscle memory for next year,” Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said at a recent Democratic event. Dickens, who faces minimal opposition next week in his own reelection campaign, added, “It’s important for us to get that energy around voting now so it carries over until next year.”

Echols, for his part, has expressed his fear that, because Atlanta and other loyally blue communities are holding their regularly scheduled municipal elections this year, Democrats will turn out in disproportionate numbers.

The commissioner told Politico last month that, while he appreciated Kemp’s financial assistance, he also wants something on Nov. 4 that no amount of money can buy.

“I am also praying for torrential rain that day,” Echols said. “Hail would be even better.”

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Justin Kanew’s inside scoop on TN’s big special election

Redistricting Roundup

CO Redistricting

Attorney General Phil Weiser wants Colorado to respond to new Republican gerrymanders by amending its Constitution to allow its congressional map to be redrawn, making him the most prominent Democrat in the state to issue such a call.

“I’d like to see us, and we have to change our Constitution to do this, a break glass in case of emergency, if you see states breaking the norm doing mid-decade redistricting, give a mechanism so that we can match it,” Weiser, who is running for governor, told 9News’ Kyle Clark in a new interview on Thursday.

In 2018, Colorado voters approved an amendment in a landslide that gave control over congressional redistricting to an independent commission. That resulted in a map that elected four Democrats and four Republicans in last year’s elections despite Colorado’s blue lean. (Republicans last won a statewide election in 2016.)

Like in other states with similar commissions embedded in their constitutions, it would take another amendment to enable Colorado to revisit its map before the next census. One group of grassroots activists has proposed just such an amendment, which would allow the governor to order a new round of redistricting if other states engage in partisan gerrymandering.

NH Redistricting

Republican state Sen. Dan Innis, who recently dropped his bid for the U.S. Senate, has also dropped his push to redraw New Hampshire’s congressional map, Politico reports.

Over the summer, Innis said he’d introduce legislation to presumably make one of the state’s two districts more favorable to the GOP. The proposal may have been as much about boosting his standing in the Senate race as about maximizing Republican power in Congress, but last month, the former motivation vanished when Innis abandoned his campaign.

The latter goal, meanwhile, ran aground against steadfast opposition from Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte, who has flat-out said she does not support a redraw. Trumpworld has floated the idea of challenging Ayotte in next year’s primary to get her to fall in line, but so far, everyone has said no—including Innis.

Governors

OR-Gov

Republican state Rep. Christine Drazan was just appointed to fill a vacant seat in the state Senate, but despite her promotion, Oregon Public Broadcasting reports that she’s “expected to announce another bid for governor in the near future.” The Oregonian says that such an announcement could take place on Monday.

Drazan narrowly lost her previous campaign for governor to Democrat Tina Kotek in 2022, falling short by a 47-44 margin. When asked by the county commissioners responsible for filling the empty Senate post whether she might run for statewide office, Drazan dodged the question.

OPB notes that her new job as a senator comes with a distinct advantage, though, should she pursue higher office: Unlike their counterparts in the state House, members of the upper chamber are permitted to raise money while the legislature is in session.

House

NY-04

Former Republican Rep. Anthony D’Esposito declined to rule out a campaign for Congress on Thursday—even though the questions about his intentions came at a Senate confirmation hearing for the position of inspector general at the Department of Labor.

D’Esposito was repeatedly grilled by Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal about his plan but kept evading, ultimately saying, “Having discussions about the future are questions that I can’t answer.”

While normally accepting a job like this would take someone out of the running for a congressional race, some unnamed Republicans told Newsday they think that “gaining the Labor Department post could put D’Esposito in a better position for a bid to win back his former congressional seat next year.”

Even if he receives a speedy confirmation vote, though, D’Esposito would only be able to serve for about half a year until the candidate filing period rolls around. And if he puts off campaigning that long, that would leave him with little time to challenge Democratic Rep. Lauren Gillen, who narrowly ousted him from New York’s 4th swingy District last year.

WI-07

Former Republican state Sen. Duey Stroebel is reportedly considering a bid for Wisconsin’s open 7th Congressional District, a conservative constituency in the northwestern corner of the state that GOP Rep. Tom Tiffany is leaving behind to run for governor.

In 2014, Stroebel ran for the 6th District but finished third in the primary. That district, like Stroebel’s hometown of Cedarburg, is in the eastern part of the state, but WisPolitics’ JR Ross says the ex-lawmaker has a vacation home in the 7th.

Ballot Measures

ME Ballot

A rare poll of next week’s elections in Maine finds tight races for a pair of ballot measures that would, respectively, make it much tougher to vote by mail and institute a red flag law.

The University of New Hampshire shows a tiny 49-48 plurality rejecting Question 1, a Republican-backed plan that, among other things, would forbid the state from automatically mailing absentee ballots every year to voters who request to be on such a list. Just 3% of respondents say they’re undecided.

Morning Digest: Maine will decide this fall whether to make it harder to vote

A similar 40-38 spread opposes Question 2, though a far larger 22% haven’t made up their mind. This proposal would allow family members, household members, or law enforcement to ask a judge to “restrict a person’s access to dangerous weapons” without first requiring a mental health evaluation.

Gun safety groups promoting Question 2, which they put forth following the 2023 mass shooting in Lewiston that killed 18, have far outspent opponents. The “yes” side argues that if Maine joins 21 other states in adopting a red flag law, future tragedies can be prevented.

The state’s most prominent Democrat, though, is urging a “no” vote. Gov. Janet Mills wrote last month that Maine’s current “yellow flag” law, which requires a mental health screening before weapons can be restricted, has been effective in “preventing suicide, getting people help and saving lives every day.”

The governor further used her op-ed in the Portland Press-Herald to argue that replacing the yellow flag law, which is unique to Maine, “would create a new, separate and confusing process that will undermine the effectiveness of the law and endanger public safety along with it.” Mills penned that piece just weeks before she announced her campaign against Republican Sen. Susan Collins.

The governor, however, has joined other members of her party in opposing Question 1, a plan that voting rights advocates have warned would disproportionately hurt seniors, rural voters, and disabled people. Even Rep. Jared Golden, who is one of the most conservative Democrats in the House, has warned it would “make it harder for eligible Mainers to vote in the way that makes sense for them.”

The passage of Question 1 would require anyone who wants to vote by mail to fill out an application every single election. They’d also have to do so either in person or by mail—losing their ability to make requests by phone or online. It would also shorten the timeframe to ask for a mail ballot; prevent cities and towns from providing more than one ballot drop box; and require voters to show identification before filling out a ballot.

The campaign to defeat Question 1 has enjoyed a wide fundraising advantage, but conservatives hope their focus on the voter ID portion will help them sell the plan to voters—so much so that they’ve named their campaign “Voter ID for ME.” However, as Bolts’ Alex Burness notes, voters will see “five different policy changes proposed by Question 1” on their ballots before voter ID is mentioned.

Poll Pile

• CA-Gov (top-two primary): Emerson College: Steve Hilton (R): 16, Katie Porter (D): 15, Chad Bianco (R): 11, Xavier Becerra (D): 5, Antonio Villaraigosa (D): 5 (Sept.: Porter: 16, Hilton: 10, Bianco: 8). This poll was conducted among likely voters in next month’s special election, rather than the June top-two primary.

• MI-Gov: Schoen Cooperman Research (I) for Mike Duggan: Jocelyn Benson (D): 30, John James (R): 29, Mike Duggan (I): 26

• NJ-Gov: Concord Public Opinion Partners for Education Reform Now (pro-Mikie Sherrill): Mikie Sherrill (D): 49, Jack Ciattarelli (R): 40

• NJ-Gov: GQR (D) for One Giant Leap (pro-Sherrill): Sherrill (D): 52, Ciattarelli (R): 40

• CA Redistricting: Emerson: Redistricting: Yes: 57, No: 37 (Sept.: 51-34 Yes)