James MagazineJames_July-August_2026_web - Flipbook - Page 7
Republicans didn’t go with President Donald Trump’s pick
for governor, instead choosing healthcare executive Rick
Jackson. Yet the winner pledged to be “Trump’s favorite governor” and two of the president’s sons publicly
supported Jackson. (And $150 million-plus of advertising
against Jackson challenger Lt. Gov. Burt Jones was certainly a big factor.) Trump-endorsed U.S. Senate candidate U.S. Rep. Mike Collins won, and state Sen. Greg
Dolezal secured the lieutenant governor nomination.
Gov. Brian Kemp’s endorsement of Jones came too late
in the campaign and his endorsed U.S. Senate contender
bit the dust against Collins. But the dust has settled and
a Trump/Jackson/Kemp coalition have GOP hopes for
November victories RISING . . .
Looking for another big winner from Georgia’s primary
and runoff elections? Black women powered Democratic turnout, with candidates winning up and down the
ballot. Keisha Lance Bottoms easily avoided a runoff in
the gubernatorial primary; state Rep. Tanya Miller dominated her attorney general race and state Rep. Jasmine
Clark won in Atlanta’s 13th Congressional District. Judge
Penny Brown Reynolds secured the Democrat Secretary
of State nomination, and in Georgia’s largest county—
Fulton— Mo Ivory trounced the black male incumbent
in the County Commission chair race. The clout of the
Democratic Party’s black female voting bloc is RISING . . .
Students from the Technical College System of Georgia had a tremendous showing at the 2026 SkillsUSA
National Leadership and Skills Conference in Atlanta,
taking home 36 medals, the sixth-most of any state. The
competition brought together more than 19,000 students,
educators and industry partners from across the country
to compete in fields ranging from graphics imaging to
crime scene investigation. The impressive results have
TCSG students RISING . . .
Four years ago, Congress approved a plan to rename
military bases across the South that bore the names
of Confederate leaders, including Georgia’s Fort Benning (turned Fort Moore) and Fort Gordon (turned
Fort Eisenhower). Then in 2025, when President Donald
Trump won reelection, he had them changed back. Now
Democrats (and a handful of Republicans) are leading the
charge to have the names flipped back once again, setting
up a clash when it comes time to approve the National
Defense Authorization Act later this year. Snip snap,
snip snap, the naming whiplash (and costs incurred) has
Georgia’s largest military bases Drifting . . .
With a wildly successful FIFA World Cup in the books,
Atlanta is getting high marks— particularly for its stadium. Mercedes-Benz Stadium was rated by the New
York Times as the top World Cup venue, scoring top marks
for matchday experience and accessibility. Thousands of
international visitors experienced MBS for the first time,
and their rave reviews have it (and Atlanta’s hospitality
industry as a whole) RISING . . .
Democratic Party of Georgia Chair Charlie Bailey is making the case for the Peach State to move to the front of the
line for the 2028 Democratic primary race. Traditionally
Iowa and New Hampshire are the first states to host primaries, but Bailey argues that Georgia better represents the
character of modern politics— a diverse battleground state
that could swing the entire election. Of course, Georgia’s
secretary of state would have to weigh in. But we don’t yet
know who that will be or what party they’ll represent. So,
Georgia’s spot in the ‘28 primaries is Drifting . . .
An Atlanta judge made tawdry headlines when she was
caught having sex with a police commander in her court
chambers— all within earshot of distressed court clerks.
Judge Eleanor Ross of the Atlanta-based U.S. District
Court for the Northern District of Georgia was reprimanded for her conduct (and lying about it) but wasn’t
identified until her name was leaked to the media. According to a special judicial conduct report, Ross had sex
“in chambers and during business hours,” demonstrating
“a gross lack of judgement” over the course of the 202325 relationship. The misconduct has the frisky judge’s
reputation Sinking . . .
Georgia’s legal community raised nearly $750,000 during
the 15th annual Georgia Legal Food Frenzy— a 12-day
fundraising competition to benefit Georgia’s nine regional food banks. Law firms across the state compete in the
event, which has donated the equivalent of nearly 32
million meals since its inception in 2012. Special congrats
to Greenberg Traurig, which won the Bar President’s
Award for its donation efforts. RISING . . .
J U LY/AU GUST 2026
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