Everyone, let’s step into the time machine and look back at the year’s biggest stories in Georgia politics.
The first stop on our journey was exactly one million years ago in January 2024. Or so it seems to the narrator.
Election interference case goes off the rails
In January, an attorney for one of the lesser-known co-defendants in the Fulton County election interference investigation filed a motion to overturn District Attorney Fani Willis’ plan to bring the case to trial in 2024 or later.
The filing accuses Willis of having a romantic relationship with special counsel Nathan Wade during the investigation, argues that the arrangement constitutes a conflict of interest, and notes that the two vacationed together. Ta. willis admitted They say the relationship began after Wade was hired.
A Fulton County judge ruled in March that Willis could continue the case if Wade resigned, effective immediately. But a Georgia Court of Appeals panel ruled this month that that wasn’t enough. disqualified willis And her office from the incident. Willis has appealed this decision to the Georgia Supreme Court.
As the year draws to a close, the case remains stalled and risks losing its biggest target, President-elect Donald Trump, if his lawyers succeed in their case. cannot be prosecuted Once he is sworn in next month.
epic argument failure
Atlanta was the scene of a now infamous incident. CNN debate This exposed President Joe Biden’s weakness to the American people in late June. The debate exposed the president’s vulnerabilities but was dismissed by the president and his supporters as a bad night, leading to increased scrutiny of Biden’s fitness and raising new questions about his ability to lead the country for another four years. Ta.
It will be more than three weeks before Biden appears. fell off He withdrew from the race and endorsed running to replace Vice President Kamala Harris, setting up an abbreviated campaign that would skip the normal primary election process.
The unusual move created an unprecedented vacancy at the top of the campaign, just a month before Mr. Biden was scheduled to formally accept his party’s nomination.
Side note: Biden ended his visit in typical Atlanta fashion, stopping by a Waffle House late that day and telling reporters he thought he had “done a good job” at the debate.
Battlefield status persists
Georgia is one of seven battleground states and was a top target for both presidential candidates this year. Harris and Trump’s tit-for-tat campaigns, which often take place within a week, if not days, gave voters ample opportunity to see the candidates in person this fall (and state political reporters were devastated).
But unlike four years ago, when Biden narrowly won Georgia by about 12,000 votes, becoming the first Democratic presidential candidate to win the state in 30 years, Trump won He had a 115,000-vote lead over him, and was able to make a comeback in the election.
Also, unlike four years ago, this time President Trump accepted Georgia’s election results.
Father arrested in connection with school shooting
In September, a 14-year-old student shot four people at Apalachee High School in Barrow County, killing two students and two teachers. Nine other people were injured.
The gunman was arrested and charged with murder. But his father, 54-year-old Colin Gray, did something unusual. was also charged The charges include manslaughter, second-degree murder and child abuse.
According to police sources, the father bought the AR-type gun used in the shooting as a Christmas present for his son last December. In 2023, police were talking to his son about an online post about targeting schools in another county.
This is the second case in the country in which the parents of a suspect in a school shooting have been indicted.
The shooting incident has sparked calls for gun safety measures.
historically deadly storm
In late September, Hurricane Helen, still at hurricane strength, crossed the Florida state line into Georgia, then barreled into the eastern part of the state, devastating communities along the way.
Helen will be remembered as a series of tragedies left in the wake of the storm. Thirty-four people were killed in Georgia alone, making it the deadliest storm to hit the state in more than 100 years.
The storm also caused at least $5.5 billion in agricultural and timber damage. losselecting Georgia leaders from both parties at the center A look at the year-end battle over disaster relief in Washington.
Murder of college student sparks domestic immigration debate
The fallout from the killing of jogger Laken Riley on the University of Georgia campus in February was immediate and far-reaching, with revelations that her then-accused killer was in the country illegally. , heightened the national debate over immigration.
The 22-year-old Augusta University student’s name was recalled under the state’s Gold Dome. MP pushed The advance measure is intended to force local enforcement agencies to assist federal immigration authorities, and her killing was frequently cited by President-elect Donald Trump during his campaign.
Jose Antonio Ibarra was found guilty in November on three counts of felony murder, malice murder, kidnapping with bodily injury, and aggravated assault with intent to commit rape, and was sentenced to life in prison without parole. his lawyer is since being asked For a new attempt.
Two Georgia women died trying to have abortions in 2022, according to new reports
At least two women in Georgia, Amber Nicole Thurman and Candy Miller, died trying to end their pregnancies after the state’s six-week abortion ban went into effect in 2022, according to ProPublica. did.
The state Maternal Mortality Review Board concluded that both deaths were preventable.
Miller’s death, in particular, became part of a national debate over the impact of a wave of abortion regulations that went into effect after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the federal right to abortion more than two years ago.
28 year old mother tried to exit She became pregnant using an abortion pill from a clinic in North Carolina. But when she experienced a rare complication and visited an Atlanta-area hospital for treatment, doctors went so far as to perform a dilation and curettage (D&C) to treat sepsis caused by an incomplete abortion. I waited for 20 hours.
Revelation in Georgia The debate is reignited over an exception to a law meant to protect mothers when their own health is at risk. A new effort is expected to repeal a 2019 Georgia law that is currently before the Georgia Supreme Court again.
In November, Georgia officials fired all members A panel of the Maternal Mortality Commission issued a statement after ProPublica obtained an internal report detailing the deaths of two women.
Trio of Trump supporters at state election commission riot
Three members of the state election board tried to push through new election rules that critics said were an attempt to sow chaos in the immediate aftermath of Georgia’s November election.
Rules such as requiring all ballots to be counted by hand on election night have propelled the little-known commission into national news. Their performance also earned them praise from President Trump during the campaign, calling them “pit bulls who fight for integrity, transparency, and victory.”
Their actions prompted a backlash from the governor-appointed board’s Republican chairman, John Favier, and Republican Attorney General Chris Carr, who warned members that they were exceeding their authority. The Board is designed to interpret and implement policy decisions made by Congress.
After the election, the board of directors I voted instead We urge the state Legislature to enact legislation next year that addresses their concerns, rather than pursuing its own rulemaking.
Medicaid expansion attracts attention
Georgia Republican leaders appeared in the new Congress for the first time and said: it was open Consider expanding public insurance programs for the poor, or at least versions of them.
Georgia’s Republican leaders have long avoided expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, so the proposed expansion was big news this year. Surprising hearing In a Senate committee.
But Gov. Brian Kemp’s limited expansion program, Georgia’s Road to Coverage, casts a long shadow over these discussions, and the governor’s continued opposition to full expansion is preventing talks from progressing this year. It is thought that.
At the time, Republican lawmakers argued that the governor’s plan would take longer to succeed. As of November, 5,562 people had enrolled in the program, according to trackers from the Georgia Budget Policy Institute.
Georgia is one of 10 states that have not fully expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.
school voucher invoice pass
After years of failed attempts, Republican lawmakers this year found enough votes to expand the state’s school voucher program, which the governor announced was a priority for passage this year. That also helped.
The measure would exempt Georgia families with students enrolled in K-12 public schools from $6,500 in state aid provided to local school districts for attending private schools or homeschooling. That will happen.
Critics of the vouchers argued that the measure would siphon funding from public schools and questioned whether even $6,500 would be enough. family struggling with money This is to cover tuition costs at many of the state’s best private schools.
But a broader interpretation of the law by the new agency administering the program meant far more students were eligible for the vouchers than originally expected, the Associated Press reported. reported In December.
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