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Today’s newsletter highlights:

Test your knowledge of Georgia politics with our news quiz.
State lawmaker’s congressional bid is off to a fast start.
Jason Esteves’ gubernatorial campaign launches tour.

Kemp defectors

Derek Dooley (left) and Gov. Brian Kemp.

Gov. Brian Kemp has made it abundantly clear he’s backing former college football coach Derek Dooley’s impending U.S. Senate bid — and that he’s willing to use all the levers of power at his disposal to help him win the GOP primary.

That’s why even some of Kemp’s closest allies are surprised by the string of endorsements rolling in for the newly launched Senate campaign of U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, R-Jackson.

Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich might be the biggest name, but Collins also notched support from GOP powerbrokers in the state Legislature like Senate Majority Leader Jason Anavitarte, House Majority Whip James Burchett, Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Russ Goodman and state Rep. Matthew Gambill — one of Kemp’s own floor leaders.

And on Thursday came another big name: Ben Tarbutton III will be Collins’ finance chairman. Tarbutton isn’t just the influential head of the Sandersville Railroad Co. He’s one of Georgia’s best-connected GOP fundraisers — and a longtime Kemp ally.

Collins’ camp hopes these endorsements contrast with U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter — a fellow Senate candidate who hasn’t drawn a similar stream of public support from GOP officials — and sends a signal to other donors that it’s safe to pull out their checkbooks.

But Kemp, who warned his top supporters to keep their “powder dry,” isn’t likely to let it slide.

We’re told his allies are reminding potential defectors that crossing the state’s most popular Republican — a governor who spent $2 million last cycle to protect the GOP majority in the state Legislature — could come at a steep political cost.

Friday news quiz

A supporter of U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., held up a sign during his rally last month in Savannah.

Good morning! It’s quiz time, so put away that search engine and see if you can correctly answer questions from this week’s political news. The answers are at the end of this newsletter. Don’t forget to shoot us a note on how you did.

Gwinnett County has had the most detainer requests from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in metro Atlanta. What was the most common offense for immigrants booked in the county’s jail so far this year?

A) Speeding.
B) Drug possession.
C) Reckless driving.
D) Driving without a license.

A pair of national nonprofits have launched competing TV ads in Georgia to both criticize and defend U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff for voting against President Donald Trump’s new tax and spending law. How much money did the two groups collectively spend?

A) $6.5 million.
B) $10 million.
C) $3.5 million.
D) $4 million.

The State Election Board this week found that Lyft, the ride-hailing company, violated a Georgia ban on paying for votes by offering discounted rides to the polls on Election Day. What is the punishment?

A) $10,000 fine.
B) Criminal prosecution.
C) A strongly-worded letter.
D) Reducing all ride rates for one month.

Herd immunity to various infectious diseases requires at least 95% of a cohort to be vaccinated. What percentage of Georgia’s kindergarten students received the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine during the 2023-24 school year?

A) 95%
B) 96.2%
C) 93.3%
D) 88.4%

Victim compensation

Aswad Thomas works with Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice.

More than 30 people were shot in and around metro Atlanta last weekend. Odds are most of them and their loved ones don’t know they’re eligible to receive financial assistance from the state.

Georgia, like most states, has a program to help crime victims pay for things like counseling and medical expenses. But many victims never apply because they don’t know about it. A national survey from 2022 found just 4% of victims received assistance.

On Saturday, Aswad Thomas — an Atlanta-based shooting survivor who works with Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice — will meet with victims and advocates in Atlanta as part of a national campaign to let people know about these programs.

But this isn’t simply an education tour. Thomas and others also are pushing for Georgia and other states to make it easier for victims to use these programs. For example, in Georgia victims must file a police report within 72 hours of the crime to be eligible unless they can show a good cause — a timeline Thomas said many domestic violence or sexual assault victims don’t meet.

“Our goal is to work … to remove some of those barriers,” he said.

The event starts at 11 a.m. on Saturday at Granma’s House Community Resource Center in Atlanta.

Fast start

State Rep. Houston Gaines R-Athens, is running for a U.S. House seat.

State Rep. Houston Gaines is the early front-runner for U.S. Rep. Mike Collins’ open congressional seat. He’s aiming to stay that way.

The Athens Republican raised more than $510,000 on Thursday after launching his campaign for the GOP-leaning northeast Georgia seat, his campaign said.

That’s a formidable showing in an unsettled race to succeed Collins, who is running for the U.S. Senate. Former U.S. Rep. Paul Broun is considering a bid, while Georgia Court of Appeals Judge John “Trea” Pipkin III has also been buzzed about as a potential contender. Other big GOP names have opted out of the race.

Tour time

State Sen. Jason Esteves, D-Atlanta, hopes to be the next governor of Georgia.

Now that most of Georgia’s major Democratic candidates for governor have formally announced their campaigns, it’s time to take the next step: the statewide tour.

Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms launched hers last week. Starting tomorrow, it’s Jason Esteves’ turn.

The state senator from Atlanta is scheduled to spend the weekend in coastal Georgia, with stops in Savannah and Liberty County. He plans to participate in a town hall with state Rep. Al Williams in Midway, a small business panel at the Black Business Expo and headline a pair of meet-and-greets hosted by state Sen. Derek Mallow and state Rep. Anne Allen Westbrook in Savannah. He’ll also attend two church services on Sunday.

The theme of the weekend will be affordability. The small business panel will give him a chance to talk up his own experiences, as Esteves and his wife own an urgent and primary care clinic in Atlanta as well as restaurants in Columbus and Macon.

“From lowering costs to expanding healthcare access, affordability is at the top of my mind — and I know that’s the case for millions of hardworking Georgians, too,” Esteves said in a statement.

Listen up

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CDC funding

A demonstrator held a "Save the CDC" sign at a gathering outside the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention campus in Chamblee in March.

The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday signed off on a bill that keeps funding for the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention flat, which is considered a win for the agency in the current political climate.

President Donald Trump’s administration laid off more than 2,000 CDC employees, although some were later rehired. And his budget proposal for the 2026 fiscal year recommended a sizeable cut to its operating costs.

The Senate’s bill instead keeps the CDC funding at its current level, something U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., worked to protect as a member of the Appropriations Committee.

“I made very clear that I would not accept the destruction of the CDC, and I am grateful that Republicans and Democrats on this committee are coming together to defend this vital institution based in the state of Georgia,” Ossoff said prior to the committee vote.

Today in Washington

President Donald Trump will receive an intelligence briefing before departing to his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
The House is out until Sept. 2.
The Senate will vote on more Trump nominations.

Not so fast

U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune is a Republican from South Dakota.

It’s supposed to be the last day of the U.S. Senate’s schedule before starting a five-week recess. But Majority Leader John Thune could keep senators working through the weekend.

President Donald Trump wants to get more of his nominees confirmed, especially those he has tapped for ambassadorships. The Senate has been spending most of its floor time on confirmations. In fact, Trump has more people confirmed to his team at this juncture than most other presidents in modern times. Still, he wants more.

Thune is hoping to work out a deal with Democrats to confirm a list of Trump appointees quickly, perhaps as a package deal. But Democrats so far have been unwilling to go along, citing their concerns about many of the individuals the president has tapped and his overall approach to governing.

Senators are assuming they will be kept in Washington over the weekend at the very least. The longer the recess is delayed, the more likely it is that absences will become an issue given the Republicans’ narrow majority.

Shoutouts

State Sen. Harold Jones II, D-Augusta, first took office 2015.

Today’s birthday:

Georgia Senate Minority Leader Harold Jones II, D-Augusta.

Want a birthday shoutout in the Politically Georgia newsletter? There’s a form for that. Click here to submit the shoutouts. It’s not just birthdays. We’re also interested in new jobs, engagements, birth announcements, etc.