President Donald Trump orders probe of alleged banking discrimination.
Geoff Duncan’s former aide disavows his party switch.
The kickoff
Derek Dooley is a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Georgia.
Credit: AP
“He wasn’t a star. He wasn’t a successful coach either.”
That was U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter’s blunt response to a question at a Henry County GOP meeting this week about why “another football star” — a reference to Derek Dooley — was now running for U.S. Senate in Georgia.
Carter, also a Republican contender for the seat, didn’t stop there. In audio obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, he went on to argue that Dooley isn’t prepared to take on U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, the Democratic incumbent.
“This is serious stuff now — I don’t want to hear about, you know, we’re just going to put this to a popularity contest. That’s not what this is,” Carter said. “You got to have somebody who can go toe to toe with this kid, and I’m that person who can go toe to toe with him.”
Carter isn’t the only GOP Senate candidate unloading on Dooley. U.S. Rep. Mike Collins has also taken swipes at the former coach, accusing him of “sitting on the sidelines” during all three of President Donald Trump’s White House runs and ridiculing his losing record at the University of Tennessee.
The race is shaping up to be a high-stakes test of how much conservative voters in Georgia value college football credentials. It comes four years after University of Georgia legend Herschel Walker bulldozed the GOP field only to lose to Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock in a runoff.
Dooley has leaned into his coaching past, framing his time on the sidelines as a way to “create hope and opportunity” for young athletes and their families. His campaign brushed off the GOP sniping.
“It’s obvious both of the typical politicians in this race can’t stop talking about Derek Dooley because they’re scared of an outsider ending their political careers,” said Dooley spokesman Connor Whitney.
“Unlike them, Derek is going to continue talking to voters about his Georgia First campaign to beat Jon Ossoff and help President Trump get his agenda done.”
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Did state Rep. Alan Powell ever switch political parties? Weigh in on our quiz.
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Good morning! Fridays are quiz days here at Politically Georgia, where we try our best to stump you with questions from the week’s political news. But judging from the emails you send us, you’re either too smart for that or don’t want to admit when you get a question wrong. We’ll give you the benefit of the doubt.
On to the quiz!The answers are at the bottom of the newsletter.
Former state Rep. Alisha Thomas Searcy returned to the political world this week. What did she announce?
A) She’s running for her old state House seat in 2026.
B) She’s starting a public relations and lobbying firm.
C) She’s hosting a joint fundraiser for state House Democrats.
D) She launched a political action committee and think tank focused on education.
Former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan this week said he’d become a Democrat, joining a long list of party switchers in Georgia politics. Who on this list has not switched parties in their political career?
A) Nathan Deal.
B) Newt Gingrich.
C) Alan Powell.
D) Sonny Perdue.
Georgia leaders on Monday announced a new program aiming to help low-income homeowners lease rooftop solar systems for free. What happened the very next day?
A) The website to apply for the program crashed.
B) The state’s largest rooftop solar company filed for bankruptcy.
C) The Trump administration appeared set to revoke the program’s funding.
D) A new study found Georgia’s extensive tree canopy limited the effectiveness rooftop solar systems.
Gov. Brian Kemp hasn’t formally endorsed Derek Dooley for U.S. Senate. But what did he do this week to help the former football coach’s campaign?
A) Paid for mailers touting Dooley’s campaign.
B) Used federal PAC money to pay for $100,000 worth of text messages to voters on Dooley’s behalf.
C) Hosted a fundraiser for Dooley at his home in Athens.
D) Liked Dooley’s post on X announcing his campaign.
‘Debanking’
Blake Tillery, R-Vidalia, chair the Georgia Senate Appropriations Committee.
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
State Sen. Blake Tillery was dismayed earlier this year when Republicans joined with Democrats to reject his bill to let customers sue banks for discrimination. On Thursday, he got some backup from a significant source: President Donald Trump.
Trump ordered federal regulators to investigate whether big banks are discriminating against conservatives and their favorite causes by refusing to do business with them or closing their accounts. It’s part of Trump’s broader belief that the industry has conspired against him.
The order opens the door for potential prosecution, directing regulators to refer cases to the Department of Justice within 120 days.
Tillery noted that just 12 of his colleagues, plus Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, supported his bill, while the rest “bought the big banking lobby’s lie that ‘debanking’ rarely occurs and isn’t a real problem.”
“Apparently President Trump agrees with me,” said Tillery, a Republican from Vidalia.
The banking industry has opposed bills like this, arguing these proposals have less to do with protecting consumers and are more about forcing banks to invest in financially risky ventures like cryptocurrency.
They also warn the proposal would open them up to a flood of frivolous lawsuits — something Republicans have made a priority to prevent by voting for Gov. Brian Kemp’s overhaul of civil litigation.
Hit the gas
President Donald Trump is a fan of tariffs.
Credit: Alex Brandon/AP
President Donald Trump imposed more import taxes on dozens of countries this week as the administration’s topsy-turvy tariff policies threaten to destabilize multiple industries.
But amid all the uncertainty, one industry has proven to be consistent: oil.
Trump began his barrage of tariffs this spring, and the fear was it could drive up gas prices ahead of the busy summer vacation season. But July ended with the national average gas price of the lowest it’s been since the summer of 2021 as supply increased while demand fell.
It’s been an especially good summer for Georgia drivers, where prices averaged $2.92 per gallon as of this morning. A year ago, prices were at $3.25 per gallon.
Prices have remained steady despite Trump imposing 35% tariffs on Canada last week. More than half of the U.S. crude oil supply flows from Canada, mostly via an extensive network of pipelines. But oil has mostly avoided those tariffs because they’re covered under an existing 2020 pact known as the United States-Canada-Mexico Agreement.
All automakers have been impacted by tariffs, but they’ve hit harder in the electric vehicle industry. Rivian, the California-based electric vehicle maker with plans to build a large Georgia factory, cited trade challenges when it downgraded its financial outlook this week, our AJC colleague Zachary Hansen reports.
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2026 watch
Adrian Consonery Jr. is the first Democrat to join the 2026 race for Georgia secretary of state.
Consonery, who hasn’t previously held public office, announced his campaign on Thursday. He’s the young adult ministry leader at Bridge Pointe Church in Marietta.
Two Republicans so far are also preparing runs for secretary of state: state Rep. Tim Fleming, R-Covington, and Kelvin King, a contractor and Air Force Veteran.
Time to apply
Atlanta City Council member Amir Farokhi plans to leave his position this month.
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Have you ever wanted to be a City Council member? Now’s your chance.
Atlanta District 2 City Council member Amir Farokhi is resigning, effective Aug. 23. The election to replace him won’t happen until Nov. 4. Whoever wins will take office in January.
That would leave District 2 residents with no representation for about four months. To avoid that, the council will appoint someone to fill the vacancy through the end of the term. Applications open today.
To qualify, you must be:
18 or older
A resident of Atlanta and District 2 for at least one year prior to the application.
Farokhi was first elected in 2017. He’s resigning early to become the head of The Galloway School.
Duncan distancing
Mike Dudgeon was the policy director for former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan.
Credit: Georgia Senate Press Office
For years, former state Rep. Mike Dudgeon was a top political ally of Geoff Duncan.
The two Republicans teamed up to pass dozens of conservative bills during their time as lawmakers in the state House. Dudgeon later served as Duncan’s policy director for more than two years after Duncan was elected lieutenant governor in 2018.
His lengthy essay sharply dissects Duncan’s argument in an AJC opinion essay that Democratic-backed policies put him in the “best possible position each day to love my neighbor.”
Dudgeon, who has long framed his faith as a guiding force in his politics, concluded with this rebuke:
Only Jesus lived up to the standard, as we all fall short. But I want to, and try hard to, love my neighbor. I am a Republican because I think that is the better approach to that mission. Outsourcing love to an inefficient and impersonal government is not the answer.
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Trump today
Nikol Pashinyan (left), prime minister of Armenia, and President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan will be at the White House today.
Credit: Azerbaijani Presidential Press Office via AP
President Donald Trump will meet at the White House with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Ilham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan.
Shoutout:
Today’s birthday:
David Pierce, board member for the Amicalola Electric Membership Corporation and a faithful reader of this newsletter from Ellijay.
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