Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor -- who's waging an underdog campaign against Republican Gov. Sonny Perdue -- has a new ad up that manages something rarely attempted: It explains a complicated ethics scandal in 30 seconds. The ad concludes, "Avoiding $100,000 in taxes; that's how Sonny did it."
This is big. In a victory for Dems, a state judge has just struck down Georgia's pernicious new voter ID law, which would likely have discouraged many poor and elderly people (that is, Dem-leaning voters) from casting ballots. This one decision could possibly help decide control of the House. Georgia is one of a very few electoral fronts where Dems are struggling; thanks to redrawn districts, Dem Reps John Barrow and Jim Marshall are both facing tough challenges. Some pundits have said Georgia could cost the Dems control of the House -- but now, thanks to the decision, they're both more likely to hang on to their seats. Read more about the decision here and after the jump.
Memo to GOP Governor Sonny Perdue: If you're running for reelection, don't go on the radio and tell listeners that if they become Governor one day, they too can write a law reducing their own tax burden. TPM muckraker's Paul Kiel explains.
GOP Gov. Sonny Perdue -- until now widely favored in polls -- may be about to come under heavy fire over a change to state tax law that saved him $100,000 on a land deal. The bill had a pair of last-minute additions seemingly tailor-made for his own land deal -- just in time to file his taxes. If this gets sufficient media play, Perdue's re-election could suddenly look a lot less certain. More from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Earlier this year, prior to Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D) making national news for an incident with a Capitol Hill police officer, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mark Taylor displayed her endorsement of him on his website. Now, the Georgia GOP party claims, that endorsement has disappeared and Taylor’s campaign says that it is not taking a position in the primary run-off election between McKinney and DeKalb County Commissioner Hank Johnson (D). This is just the latest bad news for McKinney, who has become politically radioactive. Yesterday, 300 to 400 people showed up at a rally for Johnson hosted by a few Democratic state Representatives.
Whichever Democrat wins the July 19 Georgia gubernatorial primary, he or she will be significantly behind in fundraising for the general election.
Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor (D) has inched within six points of incumbent Gov. Sonny Perdue (R) in the increasingly competitive Georgia governor’s race, according to a new Strategic Visions poll.
