Rep. Lucy McBath suspends exploratory committee to run for GA governor
'My heart is so full from everyone who has supported my family as we undergo this difficult period. I will be spending some months focusing on my husband's recovery journey, and I cannot make a decision to run for Governor or not at this time. " McBath said in a statement on Monday.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
McBath, who represents Georgia's 6th Congressional District, filed the paperwork for the committee earlier this month.
While it's not an official announcement, forming an exploratory committee allows a potential candidate to start raising money for a campaign.
A representative for McBath said she is not ruling out a run for governor in 2026 and she will be staying in Congress while her husband undergoes treatment.
TRENDING STORIES:
U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams resigns as Georgia Democratic Party chairwoman
Gwinnett County man in Thailand suffered heart attack, then earthquake hit
Justice Department instructed to dismiss legal challenge to Georgia election law
Gov. Brian Kemp's second and final term ends in 2026 and the race to take over the governor's mansion is expected to be wide-open.
As of March, only two candidates have officially declared: Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr for the GOP nomination and former pastor Olujimi Brown for the Democratic nomination.
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
8 minutes ago
- Yahoo
GOP Rep. Mocks Party's Hypocrisy Over Texas Gerrymandering Chaos
In a brutal tweet post on Wednesday, one Republican member of Congress has called out his own party's hypocrisy in blasting Texas Democrats for leaving their state. Dozens of Democrats left Texason Monday to deny Texas Republicans a quorum to vote on a newly gerrymandered map that would add five Republican-leaning seats to the House of Representatives. But where a lot of Republicans saw opportunity, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) saw hypocrisy — especially since House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) suddenly canceled House votes last month and sent lawmakers home early for five weeks to avoid a vote on releasing files connected to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a former friend of President Donald Trump. Despite Johnson's very public efforts to sweep the scandal under the rug, Massie and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) have introduced a bipartisan resolution calling for the release of files. After Republicans criticized Texas Democrats who left their state to prevent the passage of a gerrymandered map, Massie apparently wondered why they were OK with lawmakers ditching Washington, D.C., to avoid a vote on a topic Trump has tried to downplay. Massie made his thoughts known on social media with a tweet that compared 'Democrats leaving Texas to protect their district' to 'Republicans leaving D.C. to protect the Epstein files,' with Johnson's head superimposed over the image of a driver in a car meant to represent Republicans. Some people saw Massie's post as a sign that he was just a D-D-Democrat in Republican clothes. But Massie pointed out just how conservative he is in his response. Related... Texas Democrats Evacuate After Bomb Threat At Chicago Hotel Mike Johnson Shuts Down House Early To Block Vote On Jeffrey Epstein Files Rising Dem Star Talks Texas Gerrymandering Chaos: 'You Don't Beat A Bully By Playing Dead' Obama Slams Texas GOP's Gerrymandering Plot As 'Power Grab'
Chicago Tribune
9 minutes ago
- Chicago Tribune
HUD drops housing discrimination complaint related to aldermanic prerogative and Chicago zoning
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is dropping its investigation into whether or not aldermanic prerogative, which typically gives Chicago aldermen the final word on zoning decisions in their ward, resulted in housing discrimination. In a letter HUD sent Wednesday to the complaining parties, which was obtained by the Tribune, the agency said it was closing the case to instead focus on 'real concerns regarding fair housing.' 'It is the Department's policy to focus on the original understanding and enforcement of the law and therefore rightfully return such decisions on zoning, home building, and more, to local leaders who are directly responsible for those matters,' the letter says. 'HUD enforcement will continue to prioritize investigations of specific allegations of actual discrimination, rather than dictate or influence land use policy.' ProPublica reported last month HUD was planning to drop the case. What dropping the investigation means for Chicago remains unclear. Advocates hope to negotiate a deal with Mayor Brandon Johnson that will prevent aldermen from discriminating against affordable housing projects and developments. But it's unclear what action Johnson will take, given that he is preparing for a difficult reelection campaign and budget fight. Johnson's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday, nor did HUD officials. A 2018 complaint filed by the Shriver Center on Poverty Law on behalf of community organizations alleged that aldermanic prerogative promotes housing discrimination by keeping racial minorities from moving into affluent white neighborhoods. After an investigation, HUD under Democratic President Joe Biden found in 2023 the allegations to be true. The agency found that Chicago had limited the building of income-restricted affordable housing in majority-white neighborhoods by giving aldermen complete veto power. It also found that Chicago had disproportionately harmed Black and Hispanic residents, perpetuated racial segregation and effectuated opposition to affordable housing 'based on racial animus.' HUD offered the parties an opportunity to work with the federal agency on informal settlement negotiations. But the Tribune reported last month that Johnson's administration delayed signing an agreement to resolve the federal complaint. A group of organizations behind the complaint met July 9 with senior mayoral aides Kennedy Bartley and Jason Lee to discuss alternative arrangements that would address the issue while leaving HUD out of the equation and forgoing any action items that would require City Council approval. But the political willpower to approve changes that would address the issue is in danger without HUD's backing. Representatives from organizations behind the complaint said last week they believed HUD will no longer pursue fair housing complaints under Republican President Donald Trump's administration. The affordable and fair housing community locally and nationally have been taking repeated hits from the Trump administration, which has sought to hinder fair housing enforcement and obstruct certain affordable housing developments. Asked last month how the complaining organizations will take on aldermanic prerogative without HUD's backing and the City Council's support, Rod Wilson, executive director of the Lugenia Burns Hope Center, said he thinks there are other routes that don't need City Council approval but declined to share specifics because of the ongoing negotiations with the mayor's team.
The Hill
9 minutes ago
- The Hill
Pritzker says ‘no way' FBI can arrest Texas lawmakers in Illinois
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) in a Wednesday interview said he would block any efforts to arrest Democratic lawmakers in the state who fled Texas to block a GOP effort to pick up five additional House seats in the midterm elections. 'Our state troopers protect everybody in Illinois and anybody who's here in Illinois,' Pritzker said during an appearance on ' News Not Noise ' with Jessica Yellin. 'And so, whether it's federal agents coming to Illinois or state rangers from Texas, if you haven't broken federal law, you're basically unwelcome and there's no way that our state legislators here — the Texas state legislators — can be arrested,' he added. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) urged FBI Director Kash Patel in a letter this week to help return Democrats to the Lone Star State. President Trump on Tuesday said the federal agency 'may have to' get involved, later adding the GOP was 'entitled' to additional House seats. 'We should have many more seats in California. It's all gerrymandered. And we have an opportunity in Texas to pick up five seats. We have a really good governor, and we have good people in Texas,' the president said during an interview Tuesday on CNBC's 'Squawk Box.' 'And I won Texas. I got the highest vote in the history of Texas, as you probably know, and we are entitled to five more seats,' he added. But Pritzker argued Wednesday that any efforts to force the return of Democratic lawmakers are illegal. 'Look, we follow the law and the law is what I just laid it out to be. But, as you know, Donald Trump does not follow the law. Indeed, he's a convicted felon,' Pritzker told Yellin. 'And in Texas, they are also not following the law. They are thwarting the Constitution with the Voting Rights Act and making threats that they can't carry out. John Cornyn, of course, is running against Ken Paxton for his seat in the U.S. Senate; and so they're fighting, bickering over who can be tougher on this topic,' he added.
