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☆ Georgia elections: GOP lawmakers back broad changes, including one that could benefit third-party presidential contenders
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-01 | by ( Fredreka Schouten | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

That could benefit third-party or independent presidential candidates in a state that Joe Biden narrowly carried over Donald Trump in 2020. A super PAC backing independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in February that it had gathered enough signatures in Georgia for Kennedy to make the ballot. Currently, independent or third-party candidates must collect at least 7,500 signatures from registered Georgia voters to qualify for the ballot in the state. A separate provision of the election legislation would broaden what constitutes “probable cause” needed to uphold challenges to voter registrations. Voting rights groups have objected to several provisions in the legislation, including the rules regarding voter challenges.

Persons: Brian Kemp’s, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Robert F, Kennedy Jr, Kennedy, Nicole Shanahan, Cornel West, Trump, Kemp, Garrison Douglas, John LaHood, CNN’s Aaron Pellish Organizations: CNN — Republican, Georgia Gov, Biden, Georgia, Republicans, Republican, Rep, The Atlanta, Constitution Locations: Georgia, California

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Workers from Clearwater Marine Aquarium in Florida have released 11 cold-stunned Kemp’s ridley sea turtles back into the Atlantic Ocean. The turtles were released earlier this week near Cape Canaveral after two months of rehabilitation, the aquarium said in a news release Thursday. They were part of a group of 16 turtles that arrived at the Tampa Bay area facility from the New England Aquarium in Massachusetts in December. Rehabilitation facilities in the Northeast frequently collaborate with other facilities to treat cold-stunned turtles. A total of 52 sea turtles were flown this past winter to Florida, where they were treated by Clearwater Marine Aquarium, as well as Mote Marine Laboratory, Florida Aquarium and Loggerhead Marine Life Center.

Persons: Kemp’s ridley, ridley, Dr, Shelly Marquardt Organizations: —, Clearwater Marine, New, Aquarium, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Clearwater Marine Aquarium, Marine Laboratory, Florida Aquarium, Life Locations: CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla, Clearwater, Florida, Cape Canaveral, Tampa Bay, Massachusetts, ”, Cape Cod

☆ Republicans worry that turmoil plaguing state parties could hurt GOP up and down the ballot in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-20 | by ( Daniel Strauss | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

“I think it’s going to be a problem,” said Oscar Brock, a member of the Republican National Committee from Tennessee. And the state parties rely on the RNC and we ship them the data. Kemp has used his, the Georgians First Leadership Committee, as a political fundraising vehicle operating outside of the usual channels of the state Republican party. State parties play a key role in activating voters, organizing door knocking efforts and corralling donors. In the past, Barbour stressed, candidates could leave a fair share of the phone calls and door knocking to the state parties.

Persons: hamstrung, “, ”, Oscar Brock, –, Brian Kemp, Donald Trump, Ron Kaufman, ” Kaufman, Christian Ziegler, Kristina Karamo, Evan Power, Karamo, Jeff DeWit, DeWit, Ronna McDaniel, Kemp, Trump, We’ve, It’s, ” Jason Shepherd, can’t, you’re, Henry Barbour, Barbour, ” Barbour, that’s, Joe Biden we’re Organizations: CNN, Republican, Republican Party, Republican National Committee, Republicans, Georgia Gov, Prosperity, RNC, Florida Republicans, Florida Republican, Republican Party of Florida, Florida Party, Michigan Republican Party, Clark County School District, Clark County Republican Party, Nevada Republican Party, Republican National, Arizona Republican, An, An Arizona Republican, Georgia Republican, MAGA, GOP, Georgia Republicans, Leadership, Democratic Party, Cobb County Republican Party, Democrat, – Locations: Michigan, Florida, Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Clark, Las Vegas, Trump, Maricopa County, An Arizona, Georgians, Cobb County, Mississippi, “

☆ ‘Murder’s Easy. We Did Something Much Worse.’
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-19 | by ( Sarah Weinman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

There’s a mordant theme to this month’s column; in three of the four books, dark humor undercuts despair and sardonic wit compensates for failure. Nowhere are these traits more on display than in DEATH OF THE RED RIDER (Pushkin Vertigo, 396 pp., paperback, $16.95), the second appearance of Yulia Yakovleva’s Stalin-era detective, Vasily Zaitsev, who goes about the ordinary business of solving murders while communities around him in 1930s Russia are purged and exiled en masse. This time Zaitsev is dispatched to Novocherkassk, a Soviet cavalry school in the south of Russia, to investigate the horrifying death of a famous rider and his horse midrace. Soon he’s given an assistant he didn’t ask for, Comrade Zoya Sokolova, who arrives with her own agenda. The events — aided by Ruth Ahmedzai Kemp’s nimble translation — unfold slowly, but hold the reader’s attention.

Persons: Pushkin, Yulia Yakovleva’s Stalin, Vasily Zaitsev, he’s, didn’t, Zoya Sokolova, Ruth Ahmedzai Locations: Russia, masse, Novocherkassk, Soviet

At least eight Georgia Republican electors present that day have agreed to testify in exchange for immunity from state charges. The meeting was led by David Shafer, then chairman of the Georgia Republican Party. But halfway through the meeting, Shafer noted that Still’s name was printed as the secretary on documents. A Georgia Republican Party website raising money to defend electors calls them “patriots who served." Lawyers for the indicted electors argue it was up to Congress to determine which slates should be counted.

Persons: Donald Trump, “, Trump —, Robert Sinners, Trump, Joe Biden's, Kenneth Chesebro, Biden, David Shafer, Shafer, Fulton, Shawn Still, wasn't, ” Shafer, Cathy Latham, State Sen, Burt Jones, John Isakson Jr, Sen, Johnny Isakson, Isakson, Brian Kemp’s, Mike Pence, they’ve, Anna Cross, Latham, Ray Smith, Republican Richard Nixon, John F, Kennedy, Todd Zywicki, Fani Willis, ” Willis ’, Shafer’s, Willis ’, ”, Brad Raffensperger, hasn't, Willis Organizations: ATLANTA, Georgia Capitol, Trump, Associated Press, Georgia Republican, Georgia Republican Party, Republicans, State, Republican U.S, Atlanta, ”, Republican, U.S, Senate, George Mason University, Georgia Republicans, Hawaii Democrats, Georgia, U.S . House Locations: Georgia, Fulton County, Georgia's Coffee County, Alabama, Hawaii, Virginia

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans in Wisconsin are threatening to impeach a recently elected state Supreme Court justice and raised the possibility of doing the same to the state’s election director. A Georgia Republican called for impeaching the Fulton County prosecutor who brought racketeering charges against former President Donald Trump. None of the targets met the bar traditionally set for impeachment — credible allegations of committing a crime while in office. Over the past two years, Republicans also have sought to pry Democrats and nonpartisan executives from office through recalls, legislative maneuvers and forced removals, even when no allegations of wrongdoing have surfaced. They’re upset with her over a legal settlement as voting began in 2020 that eased some rules for mailed ballots during the COVID-19 pandemic beyond what state law permitted.

Persons: Donald Trump, Republicans didn’t, Joe Biden, It’s, ”, Melissa Agard, Janet Protasiewicz, Ben Wikler, “, Robin Vos, we’re, Vos, Larry Krasner, impeaching Krasner, Fani Willis, Georgia’s, Brian Kemp, Sen, Colton Moore, Kemp’s, Ken Paxton, Paxton, Ron DeSantis, DeSantis, They’re, Gavin Newsom, Newsom breezed, Brian Kalt, ” Richard Hasen, ” ___ Bauer, Brooke Schultz Organizations: WASHINGTON, — Republicans, Georgia Republican, Republicans, Pennsylvania House, Congress, Democrat, Republican, Court, GOP, state's Democratic Party, Philadelphia, Democratic, Trump, Republican Gov, Caucus, Texas, Representatives, Justice Department, North Carolina Republicans, Michigan State University, University of California, Associated Press Locations: Wisconsin, Georgia, Fulton, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Fulton County, Florida, California, Los Angeles, Madison , Wisconsin, Harrisburg , Pennsylvania

☆ Brian Kemp’s Election Reality Test
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/brian-kemp-georgia-2020-election-donald-trump-indictment-d7049de4

Persons: Dow Jones, brian, kemp, donald, d7049de4 Locations: georgia

☆ Texas aquarium saves endangered sea turtles stunned by cold water events
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Evan Garcia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Evan GarciaCORPUS CHRISTI, Texas, June 8 (Reuters) - Endangered sea turtles and other marine wildlife have found refuge in a new coastal rescue center in Corpus Christi, Texas. Like other reptiles, sea turtles are limited in how much they can regulate and control their core body temperatures. The Kemp's ridley sea turtle is the smallest species of sea turtle and most critically endangered in the world, according to the National Park Service. Ullmer explained how cold-stunning events cause sea turtles' heart and respiratory rates to drop dangerously low, along with a dramatic slowdown of their metabolisms. Ullmer readied one of the rescue turtles to check for recurrence of abnormalities on the CT scan.

Persons: Carrie Ullmer, Evan Garcia CORPUS, ridley, Ullmer, they're, Ulmer, Giovanna Pena, Evan Garcia, Diane Craft, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: Texas State, Corpus Christi Center, Wildlife, REUTERS, Evan Garcia CORPUS CHRISTI, Corpus Christi, National Park Service, Thomson Locations: Texas State Aquarium’s, Corpus Christi , Texas, Evan Garcia CORPUS CHRISTI , Texas, Texas State Aquarium's, United States, New England, South Texas, Gulf, Mexico, Laguna Madre

☆ Takeaways from the 2022 Georgia runoff: Warnock's win expands Democratic power in the Senate as his own star rises
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Sahil-Kapur-Headshot.Jpg | Sahil Kapur | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

ATLANTA — Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock wrapped up his “one more time” tour with a victory Tuesday in the runoff, defeating Republican rival Herschel Walker to secure a six-year term. But this electoral success is sure to elevate his star, possibly into the echelons of presidential or vice-presidential contenders. Walker improved his margins in some rural counties, particularly in northern Georgia, but it wasn't enough. Warnock's top advisers said they focused heavily on swing voters, and their strategy paid off. Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, won their races on Election Day, topping 50% and avoiding a runoff.

☆ Trump faces yet another reckoning in Georgia
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —Donald Trump is 0-for-an awful lot in Georgia since 2016. The Georgia Senate runoff represents Trump’s final opportunity to recast a painful midterm season in which his election-denying candidates flopped in swing states, casting a shadow over his nascent 2024 presidential bid. Georgia is the epicenter of American politicsThe Senate runoff in Georgia caps an extraordinary two years in which the state has emerged, somewhat unexpectedly, as the most competitive battleground in the nation. In a call on January 2, 2021, Trump asked Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” sufficient votes to overturn Biden’s victory. On the eve of the Senate runoffs in January 2021, Trump returned to Georgia to campaign for then-Sens.

Outgunned financially as Democrats dominate early voting, Herschel Walker’s Georgia Senate campaign Thursday begged donors to pony up more money because of Sen. Raphael Warnock’s growing sense of momentum. We need help,” Walker campaign manager Scott Paradise wrote in the memo sent to donors Thursday, which was obtained by NBC News ahead of Tuesday’s runoff election. “Core Republican voters just can’t get fired up about Walker, and they came out in the general because they liked Kemp or their congressional candidates. The Walker campaign is no longer beaming with the confidence it had heading into Election Day in November. “Some people still can’t get over the Trump connection,” said Ed Muldrow, the former chairman of the Gwinnett County GOP.

The Georgia voters who delivered Mr. Kemp a comfortable victory over his Democratic challenger, Stacey Abrams, in November did not show the same enthusiasm for Mr. Walker. Neither Mr. Walker nor Mr. Warnock cleared the 50 percent threshold needed to win outright, sending voters to the polls again for a runoff on Tuesday. The outcome of Tuesday’s runoff with Mr. Walker, who was pressed to run by Mr. Trump, will shed more light on Mr. Trump’s influence in Georgia. Mr. Walker has spent more time campaigning in Atlanta’s suburbs and has embraced Mr. Kemp as a surrogate. Mr. Warnock has sought to portray Mr. Walker as unfit for office and as an ally of Mr. Trump.

☆ Fewer states than ever could pick the next president
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Ronald Brownstein | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +17 min

Five states decided the last presidential race by flipping from Trump in 2016 to Joe Biden in 2020 – Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The Democratic and Republican presidential nominees have each carried 20 states in every election since at least 2008. Democrats did not demonstrate the capacity to threaten any of the GOP’s core 20 states, as Republicans did in Nevada. A race with just Wisconsin, Nevada, Georgia and Arizona as true battlegrounds would begin with Democrats favored in states holding 260 Electoral College votes (including Washington, DC) and Republicans in states with 235. After 2022, the list of genuinely competitive presidential states may be shrinking, but, if anything, that could increase the tension as the nation remains poised on the knife’s edge between two deeply entrenched, but increasingly antithetical, political coalitions.

Senate Democrats’ main super PAC says it’s planning to spend more than $4 million in television ads to boost Warnock. But McConnell endorsed Walker in the primary, after which Democrats unloaded on the Republican nominee in a brutal ad campaign. The Dec. 6 Georgia runoff between Walker and Warnock won’t decide the balance of power in the Senate, now that Democrats are assured control. After Republicans failed to win control of the Senate this week, top McConnell and Scott allies pointed fingers. Roberts, who retired after the 2020 election, said McConnell and Scott must set aside their differences to win Georgia.

☆ Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s Re-Election Overcame Attacks From Democrats and Trump
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Cameron Mcwhirter | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on Tuesday was re-elected by about 300,000 votes out of 3.9 million cast, a larger margin than in his previous win. ATLANTA—Georgia Republican Gov. Mr. Kemp defeated Democrat Stacey Abrams by a larger margin than in their first contest in 2018. In May, Mr. Kemp trounced a Trump-backed challenger, former Sen. David Perdue , in a primary vote.

☆ GOP starts boosting Walker in runoff amid calls to keep Trump away from Georgia
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Marc Caputo | Marc Caputo Is A Senior National Political Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

Warnock won his race against Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler, and Sen. Jon Ossoff defeated GOP incumbent David Perdue, swinging control of the narrowly divided chamber. I know that Trump wants to be helpful to make Herschel win. Should Laxalt prevail, the Georgia Senate race would once again determine control of the Senate. “President Trump is 220-18 in races that have been called, and with the support of President Trump, Herschel Walker, after forcing a run-off, is well-positioned to win,” Budowich said in a written statement. “We just can’t take our eye off the ball and make sure we prepare to win Georgia,” he said.

Share this -Link copiedWisconsin Senate race too close to call Wisconsin's Senate race between GOP Sen. Ron Johnson and Democrat Mandela Barnes is too close to call, NBC News says. Vance wins Ohio Senate race, defeating Democrat Tim Ryan, NBC News projects COLUMBUS, Ohio — J.D. Ohio Republican Senate candidate J.D. Vance is leading The Senate race in Ohio is too early to call, NBC News says, but Republican candidate J.D. Share this -Link copiedGeorgia Senate race too close to call Georgia's Senate race is too close to call about three hours after polls closed at 7 p.m.

Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp wins re-election, NBC News projects, fending off a challenge from Stacey Abrams. Because Kemp, who defeated Abrams in 2018, is expected to win more than 50% of the vote, there will not be a runoff election in the race. In recent weeks, however, Kemp had pulled away in the polls, leading Abrams in most surveys by upward of 6 percentage points. “Democracy failed in Georgia,” Abrams said after the contest, which was marred by allegations of voter roll purging and suppression largely affecting Black voters.

☆ Asian Americans had the highest rate of mail-in voting in 2020. New laws could block that progress.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Claire Wang | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

Buoyed by the expansion of by-mail voting and grassroots organizing, a record 4 million Asian American and Pacific Islanders voted in the 2020 presidential election and swung key races in contested states. The provision triggered a record number of rejected ballots during the state’s March primary, with Asian Americans facing the highest rejection rate among all racial groups. Lily Trieu, interim executive director of the advocacy group Asian Texans for Justice, said the finding isn’t surprising because the state has conducted little voter education and outreach in Asian languages. In Georgia, where record turnout from Asian American voters helped Biden secure the presidency, lawmakers passed legislation last year that targeted by-mail voting. “A few percentage points of Asian American voters could swing the vote in state House and Senate districts,” Ly said.

☆ Oprah seeks to lend her appeal to Abrams in Georgia election
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

ATLANTA (AP) — Oprah Winfrey is again shining her star power on Democrat Stacey Abrams’s bid for governor in Georgia, as Abrams pursues a rematch against incumbent Republican Brian Kemp, who she narrowly lost to in 2018. The appearance comes during the first of three weeks of early voting in Georgia, as Democrats in particular seek to drive their voters to cast ballots early. Winfrey visited Georgia in November 2018 to campaign for Abrams in her previous unsuccessful bid, even knocking on some doors in suburban Atlanta. Kemp has attacked Abrams as “Celebrity Stacey,” saying last month that Abrams is “running her campaign to cater to liberal elites” and not to Georgians. “While Stacey Abrams continues to solicit the help of out-of-state billionaires,” said Kemp spokesperson Tate Mitchell, “Gov.

☆ Fact Check-No evidence Stacey Abrams lobbied for MLB All-Star Game to be moved out of Atlanta
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Georgia Republicans, including Kemp, have tied Abrams to the MLB’s decision, but there is no evidence that Abrams advocated for the All-Star Game to be moved out of the state. Abrams publicly expressed her disagreement with pulling the game from Georgia before and after the MLB’s decision. Following the passage of the bill, the MLB decided to relocate the All-Star Game out of Cobb County in Atlanta on April 2, 2021 (here). Kemp said in a July 2021 campaign ad titled “Not Backing Down” that “Abrams and the liberal mob forced the All-Star Game to move” (here). There is no evidence that Stacey Abrams lobbied for the 2021 MLB All-Star Game to be relocated or that she supported the boycott in Atlanta.

ATLANTA — Democratic candidates in the two marquee Georgia races are blitzing the airwaves with television ads — and making two markedly different pitches to voters. Another features testimonials from GOP-leaning voters who say they’re supporting Warnock this fall. Abrams is relying heavily on mobilizing the base, aiming to inspire and register disaffected Georgians and turbocharge progressive turnout. “They are running two very different campaigns,” said an adviser to Kemp, who was granted anonymity to candidly assess Democratic strategy. “There are some voters — many voters — that are already pretty much fixed in their opinions.

☆ Dozens of Trump’s phony electors, many under investigation, still hold powerful GOP jobs in key states
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Natasha Korecki | Kaitlyn Francis | Natasha Korecki Is A Senior National Political Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +13 min

Law enforcement activity has not pushed these false electors from their political perches. Al Drago / Bloomberg via Getty ImagesAll told, 23 of those false electors hold positions of power within their Republican parties. Then there are additional actors that didn’t serve in the slate of false electors themselves but were instrumental in the scheme. Others hold positions of power within the state GOP, including Shafer, who is chair; Joseph Brannan, state GOP treasurer; Vikki Consiglio, the state party’s assistant treasurer; and Ken Carroll, the assistant secretary. On June 21, federal agents scattered across key states to deliver subpoenas to those who acted as Trump electors.

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