Georgia

In one affluent Atlanta suburb, Biden and Trump work to win over wary Georgia voters

Published

6 months ago

June 24, 2024

In one affluent Atlanta suburb, Biden and Trump work to win over wary Georgia voters

FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. (AP) — President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump will meet for their first general election debate Thursday in Georgia, the battleground that yielded the closest 2020 margin of any state and became the epicenter of Trump’s efforts to overturn Biden’s election.

Now, in their rematch, Georgia will test which man can best assemble a winning coalition despite their respective weaknesses. Each must persuade grumpy voters in places like Fayette County, a suburb south of Atlanta, that they’re less frightening than the alternative.

Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for the third consecutive time, has been convicted of felony crimes and awaits sentencing and three more criminal trials, including in Atlanta. That legal peril could exacerbate his struggles with moderate Republicans and independents, some of whom abandoned him as he helped dismantle the constitutional right to an abortion and refused to accept defeat in 2020.

Biden, the Democratic incumbent, has presided over an inflationary economy, struggled with a Middle East war that divides Democrats, and failed to resolve immigration problems along the southern U.S. border. He faces potential defections from nonwhite and younger voters.

One of Georgia’s richest counties, Fayette has long housed retirees and Delta Air Lines workers seeking homes near Atlanta’s airport. Now it’s also a bastion of Georgia’s state-subsidizedmovie industry. At the Trillith development, a rapidly growing high-end town and movie studio, workers can be overheard discussing the latest Captain America movie being filmed there.

What to know about the 2024 Election

Like other Atlanta suburbs, the 120,000-resident county has been angling left. Democrats haven’t yet deposed Fayette’s Republican majority, but they got close in December 2022, when Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock won 49.5% of Fayette’s votes in defeating Republican Herschel Walker.

“We do believe that the pathway to the presidency comes right through Fayette County this year,” said Joe Clark, chair of the Fayette County Democratic Party and a Fayetteville City Council member.

The Trump campaign on June 13 opened its first Georgia campaign office in Fayetteville.

“They want to try to flip our county,” warned Brian Jack, a former Trump aide who recently clinched the GOP nomination for a Republican-leaning congressional seat.

Statewide, Republicans say Georgia still tilts toward them. Yes, Democrats won statewide four times in Georgia, starting with Biden in 2020, continuing as Jon Ossoff and Warnock swept to twin victories in a 2021 runoff that clinched Democratic control of the U.S. Senate, and culminating in Warnock’s reelection in 2022. But GOP Gov. Brian Kemp won a second term as governor in 2022 over Democrat Stacy Abrams by a comfortable margin, sweeping down-ballot offices along the way.

Lauren Groh-Wargo, Abrams’ top strategist, said Democrats were slow to engage in Georgia in 2020. Both sides have been spending heavily this year.

“This is the first time since the 1990s that Georgia has been a top-tier battleground state for the presidential on both sides of the aisle, from the beginning of both campaigns,” Groh-Wargo said.

Both sides have work to do. Many voters, Democrats and Republicans, say they’re dispirited by the Trump-Biden rematch. Some say they’re not sure that they will even vote.

Robert Kennedy Jr.’s independent bid is another wildcard. Kennedy hasn’t been certified for the ballot, but he could make Georgia even harder to predict.

Some formerly solid Republicans have taken to splitting their tickets. Trump and Walker showed weakness in metro Atlanta even as Kemp remained strong.

Quentin Fulks, a southwest Georgia native who is Biden’s principal deputy campaign manager and steered Warnock’s 2022 campaign, estimates that Warnock won 9% of Republican voters.

“Candidate quality matters,” said Republican strategist Brian Robinson. Trump ignited “a real realignment” that drew working-class voters without college degrees toward Republicans, Robinson said, but has pushed away college-educated voters.

Some of those voters “still want to vote for Republicans or are willing to,” but only in the right circumstances. In Georgia’s Republican presidential primary in March, about 78,000 voters — most in metro Atlanta — voted for Nikki Haley over Trump even after Haley suspended her campaign. Haley’s total was more than six times Biden’s 2020 Georgia victory margin.

Fayette ranks seventh among Georgia’s 159 counties in voters who backed Kemp but not Walker. Haley won 13.2% statewide, but nearly 19% in Fayette County.

Rhonda Quillian, shopping at a Peachtree City farmer’s market, backed Haley. She says neither Biden nor Trump feel like an option for her. She’s considering not voting at all.

Quillian said she liked Trump’s policies after she voted for him in 2016, but soured on him, especially after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

“If he wasn’t such an egomaniac, I would vote for him in a skinny minute because of the policies,” Quillian said. “But he’s a little scary when he starts talking and he’s trying to overthrow the election and being anti-Constitution and, you know, ‘I’m the law.’ I’m sorry, no, this is a democratic republic.”

For Biden, the challenge is replicating the coalition that delivered his razor-thin margin. Responding to warnings from Georgia Democrats that he must engage with Black voters, the president has visited routinely, and Vice President Kamala Harris has made five trips to Georgia this year.

“We have to talk to Black voters in both urban and rural Georgia,” Fulks said. “That is where I start.”

Trump has boasted that he will make inroads among Black voters. Robinson acknowledged it’s unlikely Trump would get even a fifth of Black voters, but said he wouldn’t necessarily have to: Black voters typically account for about 30% of Georgia ballots. If some Black voters stay home, or Biden’s share drops even a little, Trump could benefit.

Deidra Ellington, a counselor who lives in Fayetteville, calls the choice between Biden and Trump “slim pickings.” Ellington, who is Black, says she no longer feels allegiance to either party.

“It’s almost to a point where you’re not even able to live paycheck to paycheck,” Ellington said. “You get the first paycheck, and then it’s borrowing in between before the next paycheck.”

In an April poll by The Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, more Democrats said Biden had hurt than helped on the cost of living and immigration. The Biden campaign has been trying to salve that pain.

“The president deeply understands what Americans are going through, and also the fact that there is more work to do,” Fulks said.

Republicans, meanwhile, aim to turn the election into a referendum on Biden’s handling of the economy.

“My pitch is, are you happy with $4 a gallon gas and $6 for a jar of mayonnaise? If you’re not, it was not like that when Trump was in office,” said Suzanne Brown, a Peachtree City Council member who has canvassed for Republicans this spring.

Democrats say they’re out-organizing Trump, aiming to turn out marginal Democrats and persuade independents and moderate Republicans to back Biden. The campaign has a dozen offices and 75 staffers statewide, including some in Fayetteville.

“I think that Trump is underestimating the power of organizing,” Fulks said.

Not so, says Republican National Committee spokesperson Henry Scavone. He says the Trump campaign has gone from zero offices to a dozen since June 13.

Republicans, aware voters are in a sour mood, are optimistic but not cocky about places like Fayette County.

“If the election were held today, Donald Trump would almost certainly win here,” Robinson said. “But the election isn’t being held today.”

—-

Barrow reported from Atlanta.

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Georgia

Georgia Lottery Mega Millions, Cash 3 results for Dec. 24, 2024

Published

2 hours ago

December 25, 2024

Press Room

The Georgia Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Dec. 24, 2024, results for each game:

Winning Mega Millions numbers from Dec. 24 drawing

11-14-38-45-46, Mega Ball: 03, Megaplier: 3

Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Cash 3 numbers from Dec. 24 drawing

Midday: 2-1-3

Evening: 7-9-7

Night: 3-4-6

Check Cash 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Cash 4 numbers from Dec. 24 drawing

Midday: 4-5-8-6

Evening: 4-7-0-7

Night: 4-7-9-2

Check Cash 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Cash4Life numbers from Dec. 24 drawing

07-23-25-46-57, Cash Ball: 03

Check Cash4Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Cash Pop numbers from Dec. 24 drawing

Early Bird: 03

Matinee: 08

Drive Time: 04

Primetime: 05

Night Owl: 11

Check Cash Pop payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Georgia FIVE numbers from Dec. 24 drawing

Midday: 2-8-4-4-7

Evening: 7-6-6-4-6

Check Georgia FIVE payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Fantasy 5 numbers from Dec. 24 drawing

04-15-25-37-42

Check Fantasy 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your prize

Prizes under $601: Can be claimed at any Georgia Lottery retail location. ALL PRIZES can be claimed by mail to: Georgia Lottery Corporation, P.O. Box 56966, Atlanta, GA 30343.
Prizes over $600: Must be claimed at Georgia Lottery Headquarters or any Georgia Lottery district office or mailed to the Georgia Lottery for payment.

When are the Georgia Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 10:59 p.m. ET on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 11:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday and Friday.
Cash 3 (Midday): 12:29 p.m. ET daily.
Cash 3 (Evening): 6:59 p.m. ET daily.
Cash 3 (Night): 11:34 p.m. ET daily.
Cash 4 (Midday): 12:29 p.m. ET daily.
Cash 4 (Evening): 6:59 p.m. ET daily.
Cash 4 (Night): 11:34 p.m. ET daily.
Cash 4 Life: 9:00 p.m. ET daily.
Cash Pop (Early Bird): 8:00 a.m. ET daily.
Cash Pop (Matinee): 1:00 p.m. ET daily.
Cash Pop (Drive Time): 5:00 p.m. ET daily.
Cash Pop (Primetime): 8:00 p.m. ET daily.
Cash Pop (Night Owl): 11:59 p.m. ET daily.
Georgia FIVE (Midday): 12:29 p.m. ET daily.
Georgia FIVE (Evening): 6:59 p.m. ET daily.
Fantasy 5: 11:34 p.m. ET daily.
Jumbo Bucks Lotto: 11:00 p.m. ET on Monday and Thursday.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Georgia editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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Georgia

Georgia's immigrant communities brace for mass deportations in new Trump term

Published

10 hours ago

December 25, 2024

Press Room

Georgia's immigrant communities brace for mass deportations in new Trump term

Georgia immigrant families brace for mass deportations

Immigrant families across Georgia are bracing for mass deportations but what could that look like here in metro Atlanta?

Immigrant families across Georgia are having difficult conversations around the table this holiday season, preparing for the possibility of mass deportations when President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January.

The president-elect has vowed to implement what he has called the “largest deportation program in American history,” and has discussed using the military to do so.

Members of Atlanta’s Hispanic community recently gathered in Brookhaven for a town hall meeting to discuss these policies’ potential impact, and what the weeks and months to come could look like.

“We’ve started preparing the community for what might happen,” Santiago Marquez, CEO of the Buford-based Latin American Association (LAA), said. “For mixed-status families that we have talked to, there’s fear and concern.”

This year, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reported that 4,500 people in the Atlanta metro area who were in the country illegally have been deported.

The debate over immigration enforcement intensified after the murder of nursing student Laken Riley in Athens at the hands Venezuelan national Jose Ibarra.

That fueled calls from Republicans for an immigration crackdown.

President-elect Trump has promised to bring troops into communities nationwide to aid in carrying out deportations.

Mark Nevitt, an associate professor at Emory Law, explained the legal framework that could be invoked to facilitate such actions.

“The president does have broad authorities under a law called the Insurrection Act,” Nevitt said. “He’d have to declare an insurrection, which is arguably not the case in this specific instance. There’s not sort of an open insurrection against the president.”

He warned that doing so could harm civil-military relations, threaten civil liberties, and endanger lives.

There are also concerns about the psychological and emotional toll these measures could have on immigrant communities.

“I think that would be terrifying to a lot of people. It might remind them of their countries that they fled,” he said.

Marquez advises individuals who could be affected to educate themselves on their legal rights and to create a contingency plan while awaiting further details on the president-elect’s policies. The LAA has more information on its website.

The Source: FOX 5 Atlanta reporter Rob DiRienzo cited statements from President-elect Donald Trump and spoke to the CEO of the Latin American Association and Emory Law associate professor Mark Nevitt for the information provided in this article.

ImmigrationGeorgiaDonald J. TrumpNews

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Georgia

How Georgia Fans Should Remember Carson Beck

Published

20 hours ago

December 24, 2024

Press Room

How Georgia Fans Should Remember Carson Beck

With Carson Beck’s season over, here is how the Bulldogs’ fanbase should look back on his time as Georgia’s quarterback.

Earlier this week, reports surfaced that Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Carson Beck received surgery to repair the UCL ligament in his throwing arm. Subsequently ending his 2024 season and likely concluding his time as a Georgia Bulldog. With Beck’s collegiate career seemingly over, how should Georgia fans reflect on the quarterback’s career in The Red and Black?

While Beck was only the starter during the 2023 and 2024 seasons, his story begins much before then. The quarterback was a highly touted member of the Bulldogs’ 2020 signing class and was listed as a 4-star at the time of his commitment. Unfortunately, his freshman season was anything but normal, as the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic shortened all college football seasons and even saw numerous games canceled.

Following the conclusion of his freshman season, Beck seemed poised to at the very least earn some playing time during the regular season. As spring scrimmages and fall camps concluded, reports sprinkled in that Beck had made massive strides from his freshman year and was likely the second-string quarterback behind starter JT Daniels. However, once Daniels was sidelined with an injury early into the 2021 season, Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs’ staff elected to name Stetson Bennett the starter of the Bulldogs’ offense due to his experience.

Beck would see action sparingly throughout the year, while Bennett went on to lead the Dawgs to their first national title in over 40 years. Following the 2021 season, Bennett announced that he would be returning for one more season as the Bulldogs’ quarterback. This led to many fans anticipating Beck to enter the transfer portal and look for opportunities elsewhere.

Despite expectations to transfer, Beck remained steadfast in his loyalty to the “G” and served as the Bulldogs’ backup for the 2022 season. Once the season concluded, the Bulldogs were on a massive win streak and had just completed the first back-to-back national title victory in the College Football Playoff era. Placing immense pressure on whoever the next starting quarterback would be.

Following an intense position battle with Brock Vandagriff ahead of the 2023 season, Carson Beck was named Georgia’s starting quarterback after waiting for three seasons. Subsequently tasking Beck with maintaining the longest win streak in Bulldogs history, winning a third straight national title, and doing so with a brand-new offensive coordinator. Understandably, the Dawgs offense struggled at times throughout the 2023 season and much of the blame was undeservedly placed on Beck.

Despite criticism, Beck finished his first year as a starter with the highest single-season completion percentage in Georgia football history and led the Bulldogs to a dominating victory over Florida State in the Orange Bowl. With Beck’s 4th collegiate season concluded anticipations of him entering the NFL Draft began to rise. But once again, the quarterback’s loyalty to Georgia shined through as he elected to come back for one more season as the Dawgs’ quarterback.

As the 2024 season approached, expectations for Beck and the Georgia offense remained extremely high. Unfortunately, suspensions, injuries, and lackluster play from surrounding talent led to numerous games where the Bulldogs’ offense struggled. Beck had his fair share of struggles as well and went through a rough period of games throughout the regular season, which led to him receiving mass amounts of criticism and was often the subject of many jokes.

However, Beck once again overcame the criticisms and led the Dawgs to an SEC title appearance against all odds. Sadly, the SEC Championship would be his last appearance as Georgia’s quarterback, as he would suffer an injury to his throwing arm that would require surgery.

Carson Beck’s lengthy story with the Georgia Bulldogs certainly did not have the storybook ending that many would have liked to see. But that is far from the legacy that the quarterback is leaving behind. In an era where players demand absorbent amounts of money to commit, transfer when they don’t play, and head off to the NFL Draft as soon as possible. Carson Beck was an outlier for Georgia and dedicated his entire college career (and then some) to the Bulldogs.

The term “Damn Good Dawg” (or DGD for short) is used by the Georgia fanbase and is reserved for only the most deserving of Bulldogs. While Carson Beck likely won’t go down as the greatest Georgia quarterback of all time, nor will his jersey be retired anytime soon. The quarterback showed vast amounts of determination, poise, and loyalty that helped bring some of the greatest moments in the history of Georgia football and will absolutely go down in history as a “Damn Good Dawg.”

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