Every Tuesday and Thursday morning on the Political Breakfast podcast, veteran Atlanta journalist Lisa Rayam, Democratic strategist Tharon Johnson, and Republican strategist Brian Robinson deliver Georgia’s best analysis of local politics with a weekly dose of informed, respectful and lively discussion.
During Georgia’s state legislative session, Political Breakfast presents the pop-up podcast Gold Dome Scramble every Friday morning as host Lisa Rayam talks with reporters Sam Gringlas and Rahul Bali from the WABE newsroom to break things down for our listeners — the issues being considered, and the bills getting sorted through various committees at the Georgia State Capitol.
Georgia's legislative session has started with Republicans still in control of all branches of state government, but Democrats are making their new found statewide election power known. Host Lisa Rayam talks with WABE Politics reporters Emma Hurt and Emil Moffatt about the first week of the 2021 legislative session. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Now that the United States House has voted to impeach President Donald Trump for a second time, does this mark the beginning of a new era in American politics—or the continuation of the toxicity of the last four years? Georgia and its leaders played a prominent role in the historic process. But Georgia also faces a health-care crisis, as the state tries to get COVID-19 vaccines distributed, while hospitals are stretched to the limit. WABE political contributor Denis O’Hayer welcomes Republican s...
Following the pivotal Jan. 5 Senate runoff elections in Georgia, in which Democrats Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff beat incumbent GOP Senators Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, a deep dive into whether Georgia is now a "50/50" state, or just plain "blue." See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
As we approach the end of 2020, a year of pandemic that is unprecedented and challenging in so many ways, there are also signs of light and hope. We’ll explore the nuances in this edition of the podcast. One of the major stories of 2020 continues into 2021 as many voters head to the polls in Georgia’s critical U.S. Senate runoffs. And as the City of Atlanta prepares for its own election year, leaders are already caught in a fierce debate about how to respond to the spike in deadly violence the c...
Federal stimulus funds will soon be coming to many Georgians, but the flow of political campaign advertising money this year hasn't stopped—and neither have the visits from the very top ranks of both the Democratic and Republican parties. As they battle for both of Georgia’s Senate seats in January, some House Republicans continue to try to undo the last election. All this as the coronavirus surge poses big challenges for the health-care system. WABE political contributor Denis O’Hayer talks it ...
In the last few weeks, Georgia has welcomed an outgoing president, a president-elect, an outgoing vice president, teams of outside lawyers and their conspiracy theories, and hundreds of millions of dollars in advertising cash for the two Senate runoffs on Jan. 5. WABE political contributor Denis O’Hayer welcomes Republican strategist Brian Robinson and Democratic strategist Tharon Johnson, along with our guest for this special live edition: Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. See omny...
It was a week of risings around here. The sharply rising numbers of COVID-19 cases in Georgia, the rising political heat brought by outgoing president Donald Trump on rising numbers of state political leaders, and the staggering rises in the dollars spent by the campaigns—and their outside support groups—on the two January 5th Senate runoffs. WABE political contributor Denis O’Hayer gets some insight into all of it from Republican strategist Brian Robinson and Democratic strategist Tharon Johnso...
As President Donald Trump continues to make baseless claims of a rigged election, and plans to campaign in Georgia in advance of the Jan. 5 Senate runoff elections, a Georgia elections official angrily pleaded with the president to speak out against death threats directed at election workers. Meanwhile, there are warnings the state's hospitals face staffing shortages, just as case numbers are rising again. WABE political contributor Denis O’Hayer gets into all of it with Republican strategist Br...
With the national election—or the voting part at least—behind us, Georgia took its place at center stage in the political universe. And it immediately used that stage to produce tons of drama: threats of legal action, charges of incompetence, countercharges of interference—and that was just among Republicans. This, at a time when health authorities were warning folks around here to pay a little more attention to stopping the Coronavirus from killing people. Did we expect 2020 to end any other wa...
There's a hand recount underway of the 5 million ballots in Georgia’s presidential race. And two Republican U.S. Senators, who’d just been pushed into runoffs, attacked the Republican Secretary of State who supervised Georgia's elections. Other GOP members of Congress joined in—with a letter that misspelled the name of the state. WABE political contributor Denis O’Hayer navigates it all with Republican strategist Brian Robinson and Democratic strategist Tharon Johnson. See omnystudio.com/listene...
The morning after Election Day 2020, there was still a lot of uncertainty in Georgia. The presidential race hinged on some uncounted absentee ballots; one Senate race was headed to a runoff and it was not clear if the second one would, too. And there were some close contests for the U.S. House and the state legislature. But there were some trends to follow, and lessons to learn. In a live special broadcast edition of the Political Breakfast, WABE political contributor Denis O'Hayer welcomed back...
We’ve had some great guests on the Political Breakfast; they were most welcome. Zeta was not welcome, but the storm barged in, anyway—delaying production of this edition for a few days. But it’s here—just in time for some thoughts on the final frenzied days of campaigning, and what Election 2020 might bring. WABE political contributor Denis O’Hayer is your host, joined this time by Republican strategist Brian Robinson and former Atlanta City Council President Cathy Woolard. See omnystudio.com/li...
The early voting surge continued this week in Georgia—and there was another wave of visits by folks at the top of the presidential campaigns. Unfortunately, while there hasn’t been a surge in new Coronavirus cases, they haven’t dropped lately, either. And in some places, schools are telling students and parents it’s still not safe to go back to in-person learning. It’s another full menu for this Political Breakfast. Our regulars—Democratic strategist Tharon Johnson and Republican strategist Bria...
Everyone expected Georgia voters would jump at the chance, but the first few days of early voting were overwhelming--and sometimes not in a good way, when it came to long waiting times and glitches in the state’s new voting system. The COVID-19 numbers grew, too, as the White House continued to urge the state to do more to slow them down. But there was no slowing down for candidates—including the presidential ones—in some very tight contests in Georgia. WABE political contributor Denis O’Hayer w...
With early voting underway in Georgia, host Lisa Rayam and WABE Elections Reporter Emil Moffat break down the big questions about how, when and where to vote in Georgia. They're at State Farm Arena in downtown Atlanta, which serves as the largest early voting site in the state. Still haven't gotten your mail-in ballot? Emil will tell you how to track it. Don't know where to go vote? Emil will explain your options. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
WABE politics and state house reporter Emma Hurt talks with Gold Dome Scramble host Lisa Rayam about competitive state house and state senate races in the November election. Many of the tight races that could shift the power under Georgia's gold domed capitol are in Metro Atlanta, where demographic shifts are changing the political landscape. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Early voting is about to begin in Georgia, but how we’ll vote in this historic election is still the subject of legal battles. Meanwhile, President Trump’s Coronavirus diagnosis, and his response, have changed the landscape in many of the contests on the ballot. And Atlanta marked the passing of a police chief who made history. WABE political contributor Denis O’Hayer looks into all of it—and more—with Republican strategist Brian Robinson and former Atlanta City Council President Cathy Woolard, ...
Can Georgia Republicans hold the state for President Trump after his burn-it-all-down debate performance? Can Georgia Democrats rely on polls that show them tied or leading in the race for the White House and both Senate seats? Meanwhile, the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control tries to send out consistent COVID-19 prevention messages, amid a lot of public and political pressure. Filling in for Demoratic strategist Tharon Johnson this time: former 7th District Democratic congressional cand...
We’ve heard for months Georgia could be in play in the presidential race. A visit from President Trump is the latest evidence of that. So, what are the best battle plans for the campaigns? The state makes slow progress in the Coronavirus battle, but Federal health officials say we could do more. And the Governor mounts a last-minute public push to get all Georgians counted. WABE political contributor Denis O’Hayer welcomes Republican strategist Brian Robinson, and former Cobb County Democratic c...
The allegations were appalling, and denied by those accused. But the accusations that women at a Georgia immigration detention center were subjected to hysterectomies without consent have raised a new election issue for candidates in both parties. Meanwhile, those candidates with enough money have flooded all kinds of media with messages they hope will actually reach voters still struggling with a pandemic. And a man who helped re-shape downtown Atlanta is leaving the institution where he made t...
Presidential politics and public health collided as never before, when journalist Bob Woodward released audio, in which President Trump says he deliberately played down the threat of the Coronavirus. With less than two months before election day, candidates stepped up their get-out-the-vote efforts. And speaking of votes, the Secretary of State said about a thousand people voted twice in this year’s primary elections. WABE political contributor Denis O’Hayer welcomes Republican strategist Brian ...
Georgians found themselves bombarded by lots of numbers in the last week--coming from everyone from public health officials, to economists, to political pollsters. But much of that information might only create a more muddled picture of where we’re headed. It’s very 2020. WABE political contributor Denis O’Hayer sorts it out with Republican strategist Brian Robinson and former Cobb County Democratic chairman Michael Owens, who’s filling in for Democratic strategist Tharon Johnson. See omnystudio...
Georgia no longer has the nation’s highest rate of new Coronavirus cases--but it's in second place, despite some other more encouraging signs. Uncertainty continues over the best path forward for Georgia's public schools ad universities. Renewed protests around the nation—including Atlanta—were one of the themes of the Republican Convention. And the state’s top elections official, who’s a Republican, walked a tightrope with GOP members of Congress about mail-in absentee voting. WABE political co...
Georgia’s governors like to say this state is the number 1 place to do business. But the current governor pushed back when the White House task force branded Georgia as number one for its rate of new Coronavirus cases. The debate over school and college re-openings intensified as case clusters emerged in those places. And polling shows the state’s two U.S. Senate races are, at least for now, quite different when it comes to how competitive the parties are with each other. WABE political contribu...
It was a week that saw several different kinds of unprecedented things: of course, Kamala Harris became the first African-American woman—and first South Asian woman—to be selected as the vice presidential candidate for a major American party. Here in Georgia, for the first time, a candidate who has endorsed a conspiracy theory called QAnon is likely headed to Congress. And the daily death toll from COVID-19 in Georgia reached new record highs. WABE political contributor Denis O’Hayer gets some i...
Schools are opening in Georgia, but the often-emotional debate about whether—and how—to do it safely is already well underway. And the toll in COVID-19 cases, rates of positive tests, and deaths continues to rise. Governor Kemp signs a controversial police protection bill. And while President Trump trashes mail-in absentee voting—except in Florida—there’s a growing dispute between the state’s top elections official and one Atlanta area county. Republican strategist Brian Robinson and Democratic ...
With coronavirus cases still extremely high, hospitals in many parts of Georgia sounded the call for intensive care for themselves. Schools and colleges struggled to figure out how and when to reopen, with the calendar--and the virus--not on their side. And voters in the late Congressman John Lewis’s district will get to choose his successor—even if that person might only serve for a few weeks. WABE political contributor Denis O’Hayer delves into it all with Democratic strategist Tharon Johnson ...
After it took almost four months to reach to 75,000, Georgia’s number of confirmed Coronavirus cases doubled in less than a month. With hospitals in many parts of the state under stress, and people still facing long delays in getting their test results, the political and legal crossfire continued, too. The only pause came when Georgians paid tribute to two giants of the civil rights movement, who continued to lead to the very end. WABE political contributor Denis O’Hayer got some thoughts from D...
A united Georgia response to the Coronavirus might be a fond wish, but it’s not happening—even as case numbers spike and hospitals are stretched. The governor and Atlanta’s mayor traded shots; the governor again banned local governments from requiring masks—even as more cities did just that; and some school districts decided to open with online learning, despite funding cutoff threats from the president. Meanwhile, Georgia’s controversial new abortion law was blocked in Federal court. WABE polit...
It was a week of mourning in Georgia: over lives lost in a weekend of gun violence--including that of an 8-year-old girl—and the lives lost to a Coronavirus outbreak that has worsened after the state re-opened. Georgia’s governor faced what one might call a masked rebellion in several cities, and called the National Guard into Atlanta. Meanwhile, school students, teachers, staffers and parents struggled to understand what this fall will be like in classrooms and on campus, while the Trump admini...
