News from the South - Georgia News Feed
Georgia Insurance Commissioner John King joins GOP field hoping to take on Sen. Jon Ossoff
Georgia Insurance Commissioner John King joins GOP field hoping to take on Sen. Jon Ossoff
by Ross Williams, Georgia Recorder
May 13, 2025
Georgia Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner John King has joined the race to take on Sen. Jon Ossoff in next year’s midterm election.
In social media posts announcing his run Monday, King emphasized his military and law enforcement background. King served in the U.S. Army National Guard for four decades, retiring as a major general in 2023. He also served in the Atlanta Police Department and the Doraville Police Department, where he was chief for 17 years.
“I’ve had the privilege to lead your sons and daughters in some incredible places around the world: Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia, Africa. During President Trump’s first term, I served on the U.S. Mexico border. As an Atlanta police officer, I was shot and stabbed in the line of duty, protecting our community. I’ve never shied away from a fight, but what truly scares me today is having Jon Ossoff for six more years.”
King was appointed insurance commissioner by Gov. Brian Kemp in 2019 and elected to a full term in 2022, making him Georgia’s first Hispanic statewide elected official. He was born in Mexico and came to the U.S. at 17. He posted his announcement video to X in both English and Spanish, a sign he could be trying to court Latino voters.
Though Latino voters in Georgia favored former Vice President Kamala Harris over President Donald Trump in the 2024 election, Republicans have made inroads in recent years, and advocates report a lack of outreach to Latino Georgians from either major party.
In his announcement, King positioned himself as a strong potential ally to the president.
“President Trump got sent to Washington DC to solve some very big problems,” King said. “He needs help, and I’m asking for your support to go help President Trump and solve these incredibly big problems.”
King now joins Congressman Buddy Carter, a six-term Republican representing a coastal Georgia district, in the race against Ossoff. Carter threw his hat into the ring last week, also pitching himself as a strong Trump backer.
Ossoff is the only Democratic senator up for re-election in a state won by Trump in 2024, so the race for his seat is likely to keep attracting attention. Last week, Kemp announced that he doesn’t plan to run, which could spur even more Republicans to try their chances. He has raised more than $11 million so far in 2025, according to federal election filings.
Some of Carter’s colleagues in Congress are seen as potential contenders, including Reps. Rick Allen, Mike Collins and Rich McCormick as well as state Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene took herself off the list last week with a social media post.
In a statement, Democratic Party of Georgia Chairman Charlie Bailey expressed confidence that Trump’s policies will harm any Republican’s chances in a general election.
“John King touting his loyalty to Donald Trump at the launch of his bid for Georgia’s Senate seat is telling yet not surprising as the Republican field grows and caters to the MAGA far-right,” Bailey said.
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Georgia Recorder is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Georgia Recorder maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor John McCosh for questions: info@georgiarecorder.com.
The post Georgia Insurance Commissioner John King joins GOP field hoping to take on Sen. Jon Ossoff appeared first on georgiarecorder.com
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Centrist
The content provides a straightforward and fact-based overview of Georgia Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner John King’s entry into the U.S. Senate race against Jon Ossoff. It presents details about King’s background, his political alignment with Donald Trump, and the broader context of the race without overtly endorsing or criticizing any candidate. The article includes perspectives from both Republican and Democratic figures and maintains a neutral tone, making it balanced and centrist in nature.
News from the South - Georgia News Feed
Senate megabill marks biggest Medicaid cuts in history
SUMMARY: Senate Republicans passed a tax and spending bill including the largest Medicaid cuts since its 1960s inception, aiming to reduce spending by $1 trillion over ten years. The Congressional Budget Office projects nearly 12 million lower-income Americans will lose coverage by 2034, mainly targeting those who gained insurance via Medicaid expansion. Key measures include strict work requirements for beneficiaries and restrictions on state provider taxes, which could destabilize rural hospitals. Critics warn this will increase uninsured rates, medical debt, and healthcare access issues, while GOP leaders claim no eligible individuals will lose benefits. The bill awaits House approval amid concerns over its impact on the social safety net.
The post Senate megabill marks biggest Medicaid cuts in history appeared first on www.wjbf.com
News from the South - Georgia News Feed
Get ready for a wet start to July, but drier skies ahead for the Fourth!
SUMMARY: Tuesday in the CSRA brings heat, humidity, and scattered to numerous thunderstorms, especially north and west of Augusta, with possible damaging winds of 40–60 mph and heavy rain causing localized flash flooding. A cold front from the west fuels this moisture and storm activity. Storm chances shift south Wednesday, with temperatures in the upper 80s to near 90, maintaining muggy summer conditions. By Thursday, drier air filters in, though some afternoon showers remain possible. For July 4th and the weekend, drier, sunnier, and seasonably hot weather is expected. A low-pressure system near the Florida Panhandle may develop, but impacts are uncertain and likely minimal.
The post Get ready for a wet start to July, but drier skies ahead for the Fourth! appeared first on www.wjbf.com
News from the South - Georgia News Feed
Judge blocks Georgia’s new social media age verification law just before it was set to start
by Ross Williams, Georgia Recorder
July 1, 2025
Georgia kids can continue liking, commenting and subscribing without notifying their parents this summer after a federal judge put a temporary hold on the state’s new social media age verification law while the case moves forward – but the bill’s author says a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling bodes well for the ban.
Senate Bill 351, which was set to go into effect July 1, would require social media companies to get a parent’s permission before they allowed a minor to create an account. All Georgians would also have to verify their age before accessing websites with material deemed harmful to minors.
On Thursday, Judge Amy Totenberg of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia ruled in favor of NetChoice, a coalition of social media companies, who argued that the law as written would likely violate free speech protections.
“The Court does not doubt the dangers posed by young people’s overwhelming exposure to social media,” Totenberg wrote. “But, in its effort to aid parents, the Act’s solution creates serious obstacles for all Georgians, including teenagers, to engage in protected speech activities and would highly likely be unconstitutional.”
Totenberg said the law would curb the speech rights of young people, impose a burden on all Georgians to participate in online speech, potentially put Georgians’ private data at risk and step into parents’ decisions on how to raise their children.
But Totenberg said the law’s biggest downfall comes in its long list of exemptions, which include news, sports, and entertainment sites, interactive gaming platforms, streaming services and more.
“For example, SB 351 would presumably apply to the Georgia Bulldogs Reddit forum, which features user-generated content. But it would exempt Barstool Sports, which features provider-generated content. It would apply to news coverage posted by users on X, but not news coverage posted by The New York Times to its own liveblog.”
Totenberg found that amounts to a content-based restriction on speech, which triggers a higher level of scrutiny – which she said Georgia’s law doesn’t meet.
“Because of the enormous burdens imposed on the First Amendment rights of children, adults, and social media platforms — along with the significant tailoring issues inherent in the law — even the State’s serious interest here cannot justify SB 351 under the First Amendment’s rigorous standards,” she said.
NetChoice celebrated the win in a statement.
“This is a major victory for free speech, constitutional clarity and the rights of all Georgians to engage in public discourse without intrusive government overreach,” said Chris Marchese, NetChoice director of litigation. “We are grateful the court recognized what we’ve long argued: SB 351 isn’t just poorly crafted — it’s profoundly unconstitutional.”
But the bill’s author, state Sen. Jason Anavitarte, a Dallas Republican who is now the Senate majority leader, said their victory is likely to be short-lived.
In a statement, Anavitarte pointed to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that backed a Texas state law requiring age verification for pornographic websites.
“One day after liberal Obama Appointee, US District Court Judge, Amy Totenberg, issued an injunction preventing Georgia’s age verification law from taking effect, The Supreme Court found that laws like SB 351 ‘have only an incidental effect on protected speech and that The First Amendment leaves undisturbed States’ traditional power to prevent minors from accessing speech that is obscene from their perspective….Requiring proof of age is an ordinary and appropriate means of enforcing an age-based limit on obscenity to minors,’” Anavitarte said.
“Based on Friday’s ruling at The Supreme Court, Judge Totenberg should be left with no choice but to allow SB 351 to go into effect,” he added. “I am immensely grateful for Justice Clarence Thomas’ well written opinion and remain optimistic that SB 351 will go into effect in its entirety.”
Attorney General Chris Carr’s said Carr intends to appeal the ruling.
“We will continue to defend commonsense measures that empower parents and protect our children online,” said Carr spokesperson Kara Murray.
YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE.
Georgia Recorder is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Georgia Recorder maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jill Nolin for questions: info@georgiarecorder.com.
The post Judge blocks Georgia’s new social media age verification law just before it was set to start appeared first on georgiarecorder.com
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Centrist
This article provides a balanced report on Georgia’s social media age verification law by presenting both the legal challenge emphasizing free speech concerns and the bill author’s perspective highlighting parental control and child protection. It quotes judicial reasoning against the law’s constitutionality alongside statements from the Republican bill sponsor and the Attorney General, showing arguments on both sides without overt editorializing. The tone and framing remain largely factual and neutral, aiming to inform readers about the ongoing legal and political debate without taking a partisan stance.
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