Latest news with #JasonEsteves
Associated Press
2 days ago
- Business
- Associated Press
Georgia state Rep. Derrick Jackson to join 3 other Democrats in run for governor
ATLANTA, Ga. (AP) — Georgia state Rep. Derrick Jackson said Tuesday that he's running for governor next year, joining three other Democrats in a race without a clear frontrunner after two high-profile candidates decided not to run. The metro Atlanta Democrat said he will launch his campaign Friday, emphasizing his work in business and politics and his 22 years of military service. The U.S. Navy veteran was elected to the state House in 2016 and worked as a marketing executive with General Electric. As governor, Jackson said he would 'put Georgia families first,' in part by expanding access to medical care and economic opportunities in rural areas. 'My Republican friends love to tout Georgia as the number one state to do business, but I'm going to campaign on making Georgia the number one place to work, to play, to have a family and for young professionals to realize that regardless of which of the 159 counties they live in, there's going to be opportunity there,' Jackson said in an interview with the Associated Press. He plans to push for stricter gun regulations and to repeal Georgia's abortion law, which took effect in 2022 and effectively prohibited abortions beyond about six weeks of pregnancy. Jackson will join former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, Atlanta state Sen. Jason Esteves and Atlanta pastor Olu Brown in the Democratic primary. They will compete for the Democratic nomination in the race to replace the state's popular term-limited Republican Gov. Brian Kemp. Democrat Stacey Abrams, who ran and lost to Kemp in 2018 and 2022, has not closed the door on a third run. Jackson finished sixth in the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor in 2022. After losing, he was reelected to the House in 2023 following the death of state Rep. Tish Naghise. He was defeated last year by Rep. Carolyn Hugley after running for House minority leader. Despite past losses, Jackson said his experience campaigning for statewide office will help him pull ahead of his competitors. Inspired by civil rights icon John Lewis, Jackson said he has a 'moral obligation' to run because he saw state and federal policies that were 'not right, not fair, not just.' He wants to help Georgians who could be impacted by President Donald Trump's sweeping bill that Jackson said 'will devastate a lot of families' with provisions such as cuts to Medicaid funds. U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, once the expected frontrunner known for her gun control advocacy, announced in March she wasn't running because she needed to focus on her husband's health after complications from cancer surgery. Former state Sen. Jason Carter, former President Jimmy Carter's moderate grandson and the Democrats' 2014 nominee for governor, said he would not run because his wife was diagnosed with cancer. ___ Kramon is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Kramon on X: @charlottekramon.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
We now have 4 candidates running to be Georgia's next governor
We're about a year away from the Republican and Democratic primaries here in Georgia in the race for the state's next governor, and the race got a little bigger on Tuesday with the announcement that former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms is now officially a candidate. She said she plans to go across the state, even the red sections, to convince voters to vote for her. 'I'm going out to communities across this state. I'm going to knock on doors. I'm going to talk to people in these community centers and basements of their churches. I'm going to go to their football stadiums and try and earn each and every vote,' Bottoms said. Bottoms will face off against Atlanta state Sen. Jason Esteves in the Democratic primary. RELATED STORIES State Sen. Jason Esteves running for Georgia governor Jason Carter rules out running for GA governor as wife Kate battles brain cancer Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr running for governor Esteves announced his candidacy last month and has been crisscrossing the state talking about what he says are kitchen table issues, and not just against President Donald Trump's agenda. 'I want to make sure we're focused on those issues, and that's what ultimately, what's going to win us an election. If we run this election against Donald Trump, we're not going to be talking about the right things, and we're not doing to be connecting with the voters we connect with,' Esteves said. The Rev. Olu Brown is the third Democratic candidate vying for the nomination. Brown is a pastor at Impact United Methodist Church and a newcomer to politics. He told Channel 2's Richard Elliot how he plans to overcome the underdog label. 'Georgia is more than metro. Two, don't forget about us, and three, come back. That's how we're going to win over and that's how we're going to cross the aisle and that's how we're going to win,' Brown said. Elliot did reach out to the lone Republican who's announced he's running for governor – Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr – for his comment on this story. His campaign said the attorney general was driving through the state and was not able to talk to Elliot about the race.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Tuesday's Campaign Round-Up, 5.20.25: Elon Musk vows to spend less in 2026 elections
Today's installment of campaign-related news items from across the country. * In Georgia's upcoming gubernatorial race, Democrats hoped to see a high-profile contender run, and now they have their wish: Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has launched her statewide candidacy. She's set to face state Sen. Jason Esteves in a Democratic primary. * In a bit of a surprise, Democratic Rep. Lauren Underwood has decided to not to run in Illinois' U.S. Senate race, choosing instead to seek re-election to the House. * After having spent a quarter of a billion dollars to help Republicans in the 2024 election cycle, Elon Musk now claims he'll spend 'a lot less' on politics 'in the future.' Then again, the billionaire also vowed in March 2024 not to invest in the 2024 presidential campaign, and he broke that promise soon after. * With 24 weeks remaining before Election Day 2025, a growing number of Republicans are complaining about Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears' GOP gubernatorial campaign in Virginia, and they're not being shy about their low expectations for her candidacy. * Minnesota's field of Democratic U.S. Senate candidates is suddenly a bit smaller: Former state Senate Majority Leader Melisa Lopez Franzen exited the race late last week. Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and Rep. Angie Craig are now considered the top contenders for the party's nomination. * In case there were any doubts about Rep. Jared Golden's electoral plans, the Maine Democrat — who narrowly won re-election in a district Donald Trump carried — is running for another term in 2026. * And in Kansas, former Republican Gov. Jeff Colyer is running to get his old job back. After then-Gov. Sam Brownback stepped down in 2018 to join the Bush administration, Colyer was elevated to the office for about a year. He ran for a full term but lost in a crowded GOP primary — a rarity for an incumbent governor. This article was originally published on
Washington Post
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms launches bid for Georgia governor
ATLANTA — Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms says her single term as Atlanta mayor gave her 'battle-tested executive leadership' that she can offer to Georgia voters as she runs for governor. Bottoms, 55, officially launched her campaign Tuesday, becoming the second well-known Democrat to jump into the 2026 race. State Sen. Jason Esteves of Atlanta announced his campaign in April.
Associated Press
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms launches bid for Georgia governor
ATLANTA (AP) — Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms says her single term as Atlanta mayor gave her 'battle-tested executive leadership' that she can offer to Georgia voters as she runs for governor. Bottoms, 55, officially launched her campaign Tuesday, becoming the second well-known Democrat to jump into the 2026 race. State Sen. Jason Esteves of Atlanta announced his campaign in April. 'As we are facing the uncertainty and the anxiety that's being created in Washington right now, I'm running to be a fighter for Georgia,' Bottoms told The Associated Press on Monday. 'I want to be able to fight and deliver for our communities, whether it's from expanding Medicaid, to delivering for our small businesses, to making sure that people have a pathway to vocational and career training or college,' she said. Bottoms and Esteves hope to succeed Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, who can't run again at the end of his second term. On the Republican side, Attorney General Chris Carr kicked off his campaign in December, while Lt. Gov. Burt Jones is expected to announce that he's running sometime this summer. Among other Democrats, former DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond has expressed interest, and two-time candidate Stacey Abrams could choose to run again. Also running as a Democrat is the Rev. Olujimi 'Olu' Brown, a Methodist minister. A lawyer and former magistrate judge, Bottoms won election to the Atlanta City Council in 2009 and was reelected in 2013 before outgoing Mayor Kasim Reed endorsed her as his successor. Bottoms narrowly was elected and served one term that was defined by the pandemic. Every Atlanta mayor since World War II had sought a second term before the day in 2021 when Bottoms shocked Georgia's political establishment by saying she would not. But she says that didn't reflect a lack of desire for public service. 'Not having the energy to do the job, that was not the case. In fact, I ran through the tape,' Bottoms said, arguing she continued to accomplish things until the end of her term. As an early supporter of former President Joe Biden, Bottoms was among those considered to be his vice president. After stepping down as mayor, she joined the Biden administration as director of the White House Office of Public Engagement. Bottoms said she's not worried about being associated with an unpopular Biden. She also said she thinks her record on crime and public safety is a positive one, even though her administration struggled with the same COVID-19 era rise in murders as did other cities nationwide. 'As mayor I gave our police and firefighters a historic pay raise. I actually supported the building of the public safety (training) center in Atlanta that's servicing people across the region,' Bottoms said. 'So I have a very strong record when it comes to public safety.' Proponents say the $118 million project, now complete, was sorely needed to replace outdated facilities. One early night of Atlanta protests following the death of George Floyd in 2020 ended with the burning of a police car and broken windows downtown that were broadcast worldwide. Bottoms won national praise that night for ordering protesters to 'go home' as she stood alongside Atlanta hip-hop stars Killer Mike and T.I. But weeks after Floyd's death, Rayshard Brooks, a Black man, was killed by an Atlanta police officer after a struggle following a field sobriety test. Atlanta's police chief resigned hours later. After one of the officers was criminally charged, Atlanta police officers called in sick in waves. Later, protesters burned down the Wendy's where Brooks died and an 8-year-old girl, Secoriea Turner, was killed when the car she was riding in was shot at near the restaurant. The turmoil led then-President Donald Trump and Kemp to repeatedly attack Bottoms' leadership. But Bottoms is betting that it's Trump that Democratic voters will view as the chaos agent. 'My record has been one of providing steady leadership during chaotic times,' Bottoms said.
