Politics

ATLANTA (AP) — Libertarian Chase Oliver isn’t going to win Georgia’s Senate race.

But the 37-year-old self-described former Democrat could command outsize national attention, influencing the election night outcome and potential next round in a highly competitive contest expected to help determine whether Democrats or Republicans control the Senate over the final two years of President Joe Biden’s term.

Oliver is the third name on the ballot in the marquee matchup between Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican Herschel Walker.

In most states, that make would Oliver an afterthought. But Georgia law requires an outright majority to win statewide office. With polls suggesting a tight contest between Warnock and Walker, it may not take a considerable share of the vote for Oliver to force a runoff. It’s a scenario that played out in Georgia’s two Senate races in 2020, both won by Democrats, giving their party the slimmest of Senate majorities — 50-50, with Vice President Kamala Harris the tiebreaking vote.

The chance of an encore could be growing if Oliver’s level of support increases as Walker struggles to navigate his rocky past, including reports that the staunch anti-abortion Republican paid for the 2009 abortion of a then-girlfriend who later gave birth to their child.

“I do think that there are a lot of Republicans who feel like he’s not able to really be the best person to espouse the policies of limited government and keeping spending under control and lowering taxes,” Oliver said.

Williamson County, Tennessee held a local election a year ago on October 26, 2021. As the ballots were being run through Dominion Voting Systems counting machines, an election worker was jotting notes down on a Post-It. They noticed something strange. 300 ballots had been fed into two counting machines, but only 98 ballots were counted. 202 ballots were not counted. The counting machines did not send out any type of alert declaring that an error had occurred. The same anomaly caused 7 of the 18 Dominion counting machines in Williamson County to miscount ballots. Now an election watchdog group has found the same “Tennessee Error” on 64 of Georgia’s 66 counties, and the error was present during the 2020 election.

An interior message in the Tennessee machines showed an error code called “QR Code Signature Mismatch,” and a warning message stating, “Ballot format or ID is unrecognizable.” Here’s what we know about this anomaly so far, according to the watchdog known as the Election Oversight Group.

Whenever the QR Code Signature Mismatch error – the “Tennessee Error” – happens on a ballot counted by a Dominion tabulator, it fails to count that ballot. Then, it fails to count every ballot loaded into the machine after it. If there are 100 ballots in the machine and the error triggers on ballot number 47, then ballots 48 through 100 are uncounted – and the machine doesn’t tell anyone. The uncounted ballots can only be discovered by rifling through the code on the machine afterward. It’s a small miracle that a savvy election worker in Williamson County even caught the error in 2021.

The battle for control of the Senate increasingly is coming down to four key states: Nevada and Georgia, where two Democrats are seeking to hold on; and Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, where Republicans are trying to hold on to one open seat and save a vulnerable incumbent.

The four states are not the only competitive contests, but they are seen as the focal points for both parties and the races mostly likely to see a shift in power.

Incumbent Democrats are pulling away in Colorado, New Hampshire and even Arizona, which at the beginning of the cycle was seen as a potential gain for the GOP.

Republicans, for their part, are confident they’ll win in Ohio and North Carolina.

That would leave each party with 48 seats, and would mean the race for the Senate majority would come down to a final four.

“It’s up for grabs at this point,” Sen. Dick Durbin (Ill.), the No. 2 Democrat, told The Hill. “Every race we’re in the margin of error, which means the next six weeks can easily decide it.” 

Republicans think they have a decent chance of winning the Senate majority despite a difficult map in which they are defending more seats.

“Republicans go 3 and 1, and that’s the ballgame,” said one GOP operative involved in midterm races.

In Nevada, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) launched her latest offensive against former state Attorney General Adam Laxalt (R) on Thursday, accusing him of pushing the “big lie” about election fraud and the 2020 election.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp declined to say Sunday whether he would campaign with former President Donald Trump if fellow Republicans choose to hold a rally in his state.

“Fox News Sunday” anchor Shannon Bream cited a recent Atlanta Journal-Constitution report that speculated Trump could hold a rally in Georgia this month and asked Kemp if he would attend the event. will

“Would you show up with him at a rally in Georgia?” Brim asked the governor.

“Well, I’m not too worried about what the Atlanta Journal-Constitution is speculating about — they’ve been no friends of mine,” Camp replied. “I’m focused on talking to hard-working Georgians, making sure they know I’ll be fighting for them every single day — 40-year high inflation, the disaster at the gas pump, To fight the devastation at the border. And keep our state moving in the right direction.”

FOX NEWS POLL: Split decision in Georgia race, Warnock and Kemp ahead

Republican Georgia Governor Brian Kemp speaks during his primary night election party at the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame on May 24, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia.
(Joe Riddle/Getty Images)

Agent Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican termed Consultant Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat, “not that vivid” for the duration of her speech at former President Donald Trump’s Michigan rally on Saturday.

“Democrats all worship the climate just like AOC and rely on me, I function with her and she is not that vivid,” the congresswoman claimed, who also explained herself as a “Southern belle” as she discussed her family’s connection to Michigan.

“Michigan has a specific area in my coronary heart,” she said. “My father is from Trenton, Michigan. My grandfather labored at Excellent Lakes Metal…he was a member of the union there just like so a lot of others. So I could possibly be a Southern belle and a Georgia peach, but Michigan operates in my blood.”

Greene later on accused President Joe Biden of declaring Republicans “enemies of the state.”

“Underneath Democrats, People in america just like me and you encounter a future hiding and fleeing persecution by a tyrannical Office of Justice and FBI, led by a president who declared us all enemies of the condition,” the lawmaker said.

Biden took purpose at Trump and his supporters all through a speech in Philadelphia final month about the “battle for the soul of the country.” Through the fiery speech, he condemned what he sights as anti-Democratic posturing from the Republican Occasion. He blasted them for attacking the integrity of the 2020 presidential election, opposing abortion rights, and striving “to just take this nation backwards.” Numerous in the GOP condemned the speech, as Biden confronted accusations of becoming partisan and divisive.

Right now someone in northwest Georgia is relaxing at home following a Labor Day weekend spent with friends and family and on the lake when the sun briefly burst through the clouds. Next month, this person intends to visit old pals in the Tennessee and North Carolina mountains. They will appreciate the local cuisine as well as the stunning fall colors along the journey. Of course, this person will be at home for Christmas and will spend most evenings and even a few Saturdays watching Hallmark network Christmas movies with a teenage grandkid who shares their love for them.

Under Kemp, 6 Hospitals Have Closed and 70% of Georgians are Struggling With Health Care Costs
As another Georgia hospital closes, Gov. Brian Kemp is doubling down on his stubborn refusal to expand Medicaid — which prevents billions in federal funds from coming to our state to help support struggling hospitals and which blocks hundreds of thousands of Georgians from accessing affordable health care. Kemp remains opposed to Medicaid expansion, instead pushing a restrictive and narrow plan that would cover far fewer Georgians, cost more than actual Medicaid expansion during the first year, and lead to tens of thousands losing coverage.
A recent statement from the governor’s spokesperson stated he would continue to build on policies that “have grown access to quality healthcare while bringing down costs,” but under Kemp, 70% of Georgians report struggling with health care and our uninsured rate is the 2nd highest in the nation at 14.5%.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp speaks in Atlanta on April 1.Alyssa Pointer / Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP
The governor’s opposition to Medicaid expansion is purely political — 38 states, including many under Republican governors, and Washington D.C., have expanded Medicaid. Earlier this year, Kemp campaigned with former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and Mike Pence, who both expanded Medicaid during their terms as governor.

President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law on Tuesday – legislation hailed as a “good deal for Georgians,” supported by a majority of the American people, and praised by former Treasury secretaries and more than 120 leading economists. All eight of Georgia’s congressional Republicans voted against the bill, including its provisions to lower energy and health care costs, allow Medicare to negotiate the cost of prescription drugs, and reduce the deficit all without raising taxes a single cent on any Georgian making less than $400,000 a year.

As a result, Georgians will see their utility bills cut, good-paying jobs brought to our state, domestic manufacturing bolstered, and more. Here’s how:
The Inflation Reduction Act’s energy wins for Georgia:
LOWER ENERGY COSTS: The Inflation Reduction Act will make it more affordable for Georgia families to purchase energy efficient appliances when they need to, make repairs around their homes, and save money on their utility bills each month, through: 

This week’s Courier Herald column:
You’ve likely seen the meme shared on Facebook.  It purports to be an electric car graveyard in France.  There are variations on the text surrounding the photo, but the conclusion suggested is generally the same:  EV’s are bad because the expensive batteries soon go bad and the cars are junked, creating new and excessive industrial waste.
There’s a few problems with this meme, the first of which is that the cars aren’t in France, but are Chinese EV’s a half world away.  Whatever.  I’ve literally been told in Facebook arguments that facts don’t matter when there’s a point to be made.
So let’s tackle the central point.  Modern electric vehicles are built to last at least as long as cars powered by internal combustion engines, and are likely even more recyclable. 
Before getting into those facts, let’s address the general premise and approach of those who have decided to oppose adoption of EV’s.  Some of the resistance is understandable.  Parts of the “Green New Deal” are unrealistic and overreaching.  Parts are workable.  The devil, as usual lies in the details.
People that wish to argue against a broad agenda they oppose by choosing poor arguments and strategy, then compounding their resistance with “facts” that lack merit or truth, are playing directly into the hands of their opponents. 
In the case of electric vehicles, we would do better to separate the technology – which is now proven and quite workable for many of our transportation needs – and the various policy proposals being debated and implemented to promote adoption.   The ability to recycle batteries in EV’s is very much a feature of this technology, not a bug.

“Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has been falsely accusing Stacey Abrams of supporting boycotts against Georgia. His record on the matter isn’t so great.”
As Gov. Brian Kemp continues to face mounting scrutiny after Music Midtown canceled their event due to his extreme gun agenda, a new report from the Daily Beast revealed Kemp has “personally called on Georgians to boycott companies when it suited his political agenda.”
The news comes while Kemp is launching false attacks accusing Stacey Abrams of supporting boycotts, even though Abrams repeatedly discouraged boycotts and urged businesses to “stay and fight” in Georgia. In reality, Kemp has repeatedly encouraged boycotts against Georgia businesses and advocated for legislative action against companies that speak out against his extreme agenda.
“Brian Kemp talks out of both sides of his mouth. While lying about Stacey’s record, he’s called for boycotts against businesses, including major companies based in Georgia, to further his own political agenda. From his dangerous gun agenda which drove out Music Midtown, to his extreme ban on abortion, Kemp’s policies are a threat to Georgians’ jobs and our economy,” stated Max Flugrath, spokesman for the Democratic Party of Georgia.
In 2018, Kemp called on state lawmakers to impose financial penalties on Georgia-based Delta Airlines because it ended its relationship with the NRA. Kemp also encouraged Georgians to boycott companies – “from Wal-Mart to Citibank” – that spoke out against the gun industry after the Parkland school shooting in Florida.