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      Will Rain Dampen Voter Turnout for Georgia Senate Runoff?

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      The resolve of Georgia voters could again be tested in Tuesday’s Senate runoff, with some county officials seeking to manage expectations about wait times to vote, which they said could be significant.Wait times during early, in-person voting were indeed significant: Some Georgians, especially those in the Atlanta area, waited more than two hours to cast ballots in the nationally-watched contest between Senator Raphael Warnock, a Democrat, and his Republican challenger, Herschel Walker.Both candidates are focused on turning out voters on Tuesday after an early voting period that was cut roughly in half by a new state law passed last year. But the potential for long waits could be an even greater factor, given the weather forecast for Tuesday: a 70 percent chance of rain in Atlanta, according to the National Weather Service.“We do anticipate lines,” Jessica Corbitt-Dominguez, a spokeswoman for Fulton County, which includes most of Atlanta, said in an email on Monday. “Elderly voters who are unable to wait in lines should see a poll worker.”Last Monday, the wait time for early voting was 150 minutes in Alpharetta, Ga., a northern suburb of Atlanta in Fulton County, according to a website that tracks lines at polling places. At the same precinct, the wait was 90 minutes on Wednesday. Early voting ended on Friday.County officials sought to assure voters that its election department would be fully staffed for Tuesday’s election and said that they would have workers on call as needed. The county will post wait times on its voting app and on its website, Ms. Corbitt-Dominguez said.Under Georgia’s election rules, as long as voters are in line when the polls close at 7 p.m. Eastern time, they will be allowed to vote, according to Mike Hassinger, a spokesman for the secretary of state, an office held by Brad Raffensperger, a Republican. Counties will typically send an election worker to stand with the last voter in line, Mr. Hassinger said on Monday.In Cobb County, which is northwest of Atlanta, Jacquelyn Bettadapur, the chair of the county’s Democratic Party and a statewide poll watcher, said that she did not expect lines there to be an issue.“Thirty minutes is considered the max that we should tolerate,” Ms. Bettadapur said on Monday. “So if we see wait times of an hour, we’re going to start putting eyes on that and figure out why.” More

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      The Big Question the Georgia Senate Race Will Answer

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      What’s more powerful: a candidate’s skills and relevant experience, or the tug of political partisanship?As the second-most expensive Senate race in American history approaches its climax on Tuesday, we are about to learn the answer to a question the two sides in Georgia have spent more than $400 million trying to answer: Can a former football star learn just enough about politics to oust one of the most skilled communicators in Congress?Or has Senator Raphael Warnock been sufficiently nimble in navigating a difficult political climate for Democrats to stave off his ouster?In other words, who was right? The Republicans who warned this spring that Herschel Walker was too untested and too laden with personal baggage to win, or former President Donald Trump, who bet that sports celebrity and national political headwinds would be decisive?There is ample evidence for either proposition; Georgia is very much a purple state. Their first bout ended with Warnock just shy of a majority, forcing Tuesday’s runoff election. Fewer than 40,000 votes separated the two men on Election Day.Since then, Warnock has outspent Walker, his Republican opponent, by more than two to one — running 19 unique ads compared with just six for Walker.The campaign has grown sharply negative and increasingly personal in its closing weeks, with a growing focus on Walker’s rambling speeches and his treatment of women. This weekend, NBC News broadcast an interview with Cheryl Parsa, a former romantic partner of Walker’s who accused him of threatening her with physical violence.Walker denies being violent, and he has proved remarkably resilient in light of all the information Democrats have arrayed against him. Polls show no sign that his support has collapsed.To sort through these and other themes, I chatted with Maya King, an Atlanta-based politics reporter for The New York Times:It’s pretty clear that a lot of Republicans have come to regret the fact that Herschel Walker is their nominee. What are some of the ways they’ve tried to compensate for his deficiencies as a candidate?The biggest thing Republicans have done is call in national figures to serve as “validators” of sorts for Walker. It seems that Georgia Republicans’ biggest issue with their candidate is his inability to clearly explain the policies he might champion or deliver a campaign message straying from cultural red-meat issues that appeal only to his hyper-conservative base. That’s why you see him flanked by other Republican senators like Lindsey Graham or Ted Cruz in some of his television interviews.They have also campaigned alongside him quite a bit. At a rally on Sunday, Senators John Kennedy of Louisiana and Tim Scott of South Carolina gave remarks. And while neither Donald Trump nor Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida has come to Georgia to campaign with Walker, they have attached their names to fund-raising emails for him.What to Know About the Georgia Senate RunoffCard 1 of 6Another runoff in Georgia. More

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      Warnock v Walker: winner of Georgia midterm runoff will make history

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      Warnock v Walker: winner of Georgia midterm runoff will make history Whoever wins will be the first Black person elected from the state to a full Senate termThe winner of Tuesday’s midterm election runoff for one of Georgia’s two seats in the US Senate will make history.Raphael Warnock became the first Black senator from Georgia when he won the 2020 presidential election runoff that helped tip the upper chamber into Democratic control, boosting the party in its capture of the House, the Senate and the White House.Democrats aim to seize outright Senate majority in Georgia runoffRead moreNow, as Georgia heads for the last day of voting in the latest runoff, Warnock hopes to add another distinction – winning a full six-year term in the Senate.Standing in the way is another Black man, Republican challenger Herschel Walker. And whoever wins will be the first Black person elected from Georgia to a full Senate term.Black voters there say the choice is stark: Warnock, the senior minister of Martin Luther King’s Atlanta church, echoes traditional liberal notions of the Black experience; and Walker, a University of Georgia football icon, speaks the language of white cultural conservatism and mocks Warnock’s interpretations of King, among other matters.“Republicans seem to have thought they could put up Herschel Walker and confuse Black folks,” said Bryce Berry, president of Georgia’s Young Democrats chapter and a senior at Morehouse College, a historically Black campus from which both King and Warnock graduated.Standing beneath a campus statue of King, Berry continued: “We are not confused.”Other Black voters raised questions about Walker’s past – his false claims about his business and professional accomplishments, violence against his ex-wife, reports alleging that he paid for women to have abortions while now campaigning to ban the procedure – and the way he stumbles over some public policy discussions as a candidate.Some said they believe GOP leaders are taking advantage of Walker’s fame as a football star.“How can you let yourself be used that way as a Black person?” asked Angela Heard, a state employee from Jonesboro. “I think you should be better in touch with your people instead of being a crony for someone.”Even some Black conservatives who back Walker lament his candidacy as a missed opportunity to expand Republicans’ reach to a key part of the electorate that remains overwhelmingly Democratic.“I don’t think Herschel Walker has enough relatable life experience to the average Black American for them to identify with him,” said Avion Abreu, a 34-year-old realtor who lives in Marietta and has supported Walker since the GOP primary campaign.Warnock narrowly led Walker in the November general election, but neither crossed the 50% threshold, sending the race to a runoff on 6 December.AP VoteCast, a survey of more than 3,200 voters in the state, showed that Warnock won 90% of Black voters. Walker, meanwhile, won 68% of white voters.VoteCast data in the runoff from the 2020 election, which took place in early January 2021, suggested that Black voters helped fuel Warnock’s victory over then Senator Kelly Loeffler, comprising almost a third of that electorate, slightly more than the Black share of the 2020 general electorate.Georgia candidates’ starkly divergent views on race could be key in runoffRead moreThe senator’s campaign has said since then that he would have to assemble a multiracial coalition, including many moderate white voters, to win re-election in a midterm election year. But it has not disputed that a strong Black turnout would be necessary regardless.The Republican National Committee has answered with its own uptick in Black voter outreach, opening community centers in several heavily Black areas of the state.Walker and Warnock share their stories as Black men quite differently. Warnock doesn’t often use phrases like “the Black church” or “the Black experience”, but infuses those institutions and ideas into his arguments.The senator sometimes notes that others “like to introduce me and say I’m the first Black senator from Georgia.” He says Georgia voters “did an amazing thing” in 2021 but adds that it’s more about the policy results from a Democratic Senate.Born in 1969, he calls himself a “son of the civil rights movement” and talks about how policy affects Black Georgians. Walker, alternately, often uses humor to talk about his race to his audiences on the campaign trail that are often nearly all-white, with jovial lines such as: “You may have noticed I’m Black.”He then goes on to undermine discussions on race and racism and recast Warnock’s messaging.“My opponent says America ought to apologize for its whiteness,” Walker says in most campaign speeches, a claim based on some of Warnock’s sermons referencing institutional racism. Doyal Siddell, a 66-year-old Black retiree from Douglasville, said Walker’s pitch is disconnected from many Black voters. “Just because you’re from the community doesn’t mean you understand the community,” he said. At Morehouse, Berry said Walker could find some Black conservatives and nonpartisans but “has not even been to our campus”.He added: “He’s not running a campaign that suggests he wants to represent all Georgians.”TopicsGeorgiaUS midterm elections 2022US politicsUS SenatenewsReuse this content More

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      Georgia’s Crucial Runoff Is Finally Here

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      Dustin Chambers for The New York TimesOn Tuesday, Herschel Walker and Senator Raphael Warnock will face off in their closely watched runoff election in Georgia. Even though Democrats have won control of the Senate, the end of the campaign has been intense.Here’s a look at the race → More

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      Warnock and Walker, at Finish Line in Georgia, Stick to Their Strategies

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      ATLANTA — The closely watched rematch between Senator Raphael Warnock and Herschel Walker has reached its final hours, capping an intense and turbulent campaign that has prompted debate over issues of race, class and power in a state with a pivotal role in American politics.On Sunday morning at the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, where Mr. Warnock is a senior pastor, he peppered his sermon with thinly veiled allusions to the election, reminding people multiple times to vote and joking that they had a choice between two candidates whose “last name starts with W.”Mr. Walker on Sunday urged his supporters to vote, on part of what his campaign has been calling an “Evict Warnock Bus Tour.” “If you don’t have a friend, go make a friend and get them out to vote,” he told supporters.More than 1.8 million Georgians have already cast ballots for Tuesday’s runoff, topping early vote records in a contest that will determine whether Mr. Warnock gives Democrats a 51st vote in the Senate, an addition that would offer some procedural benefits. For Republicans, a win by Mr. Walker would reassert the state’s red streak despite a blue surge two years ago.In 2020, energized Democratic voters propelled Mr. Warnock and Jon Ossoff into the Senate, after fierce showdowns with Republican incumbents, swinging the Senate’s balance of power. And for the first time in 28 years, Georgia voted for a Democrat for president.The outcome Tuesday will also provide an early test of the impact of Donald J. Trump’s nascent 2024 presidential campaign on other Republican candidates. Mr. Trump has steered clear of Georgia ahead of the runoff after his 2020 loss there and a disappointing midterm season for Republicans. Earlier this year, his chosen primary challengers to Gov. Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger were both firmly rejected.Senator Raphael Warnock at a rally on Saturday in Atlanta. He is looking to mobilize the Black, Asian, Latino and white working-class voters who lifted Democrats in Georgia in 2020.Nicole Craine for The New York TimesAs Mr. Warnock and Mr. Walker crisscrossed Georgia over the weekend to deliver their closing pitches, the candidates largely stuck to the distinct messages and styles that have guided their bids since the November election, when Mr. Warnock edged out Mr. Walker but fell short of the 50 percent threshold, sending the race into a runoff.At energetic rallies filled with hundreds of chanting supporters, Mr. Warnock focused on promoting both Democrats’ policy victories and his willingness to work with Republicans. And he sought to mobilize the Black, Asian, Latino and white working-class voters who two years ago propelled him and Mr. Ossoff to victories.On Sunday, Mr. Warnock began his morning behind the pulpit at Ebenezer Baptist, presiding over a service. Hundreds packed the pews, including longtime parishioners, members of Congress and members of his fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha. He finished the day with a pair of campaign rallies in Athens, home to the University of Georgia, including one at a student center named for Zell Miller, the last Georgia Democrat to win a Senate seat before 2021.What to Know About the Georgia Senate RunoffCard 1 of 6Another runoff in Georgia. More

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      Teenager canvassing for Warnock shot in Savannah ahead of Georgia runoff

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      Teenager canvassing for Warnock shot in Savannah ahead of Georgia runoffPolice say no indication shooting politically motivated as teen working for Democrat is treated for non-life threatening injuries A teenager was shot outside a home in Georgia while campaigning for Raphael Warnock, the incumbent Democratic senator who faces a runoff against the Republican Herschel Walker on Tuesday, police said.Georgia runoff: full steam ahead for Democrats as they aim to solidify Senate majorityRead moreThe Savannah police department said a 42-year-old man shot at the teenager through a closed door on Thursday, striking the teen in the leg.The 15-year-old victim was taken to Memorial Medical Center for treatment of non-life threatening injuries, police said. A suspect, Jimmy Paiz, was arrested on charges of aggravated assault and aggravated battery.“At this point, there is no indication the shooting was politically motivated,” Savannah police said in a statement.Warnock and Walker are locked in a tight race that was triggered when Warnock won the first vote on midterms polling day last month but did not pass 50%. Polling now shows Warnock with a slight lead over Walker, a Trump-endorsed former NFL star, ahead of the vote on Tuesday.“I am saddened to learn about this incident. I am praying for the victim and their family and wish them a full recovery,” Warnock told the Savannah Morning News.The shooting took place on Thursday evening, police said.“While at the front door of one of the residences on Hartridge Street,” the statement said, “the suspect fired a shot through the closed door, striking the teen.”A victory for Warnock in the runoff would secure a 51-49 majority for Democrats in the Senate. They currently control an evenly split chamber by virtue of Kamala Harris, the vice-president, holding a tie-breaking vote.Walker’s campaign has been marked by accusations that he has abused girlfriends and paid for abortions, despite his current anti-abortion stance.The former running back, who has never served in office, has also faced claims that he actually lives in Texas, not Georgia. Walker has denied all allegations against him.TopicsGeorgiaUS crimeUS midterm elections 2022US CongressUS SenateUS politicsnewsReuse this content More

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      Georgia runoff: full steam ahead for Democrats as they aim to solidify Senate majority

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      Georgia runoff: full steam ahead for Democrats as they aim to solidify Senate majorityPolls suggest narrow lead for Raphael Warnock as party brings out big guns to campaign days before election A marathon election campaign will enter its final sprint on Tuesday when voters in Georgia decide the last seat in the US Senate – and shape the next phase of Joe Biden’s presidency.Opinion polls suggest a narrow lead for incumbent Democratic senator Raphael Warnock over his Republican challenger, former American football star Herschel Walker.Georgia candidates’ starkly divergent views on race could be key in runoffRead moreVictory for Warnock would give Democrats 51 seats in the 100-seat Senate, a stronger hand than they currently hold in an evenly split chamber where Vice-President Kamala Harris casts the tiebreaker.It is the second time in two years that a Senate race has gone to a runoff in Georgia because neither candidate secured a majority on election day. But the Peach State is showing little sign of election fatigue with officials reporting record early voting turnout.National and state Democrats are also not slowing down as they come out to support Warnock. Last week saw celebrity-led events including a concert by the Dave Matthews Band, canvassing with actresses Tessa Thompson and America Ferrera, and a rally targeting Georgia’s Asian American community featuring Jeannie Mai Jenkins and Daniel Dae Kim.Warnock, pastor of Martin Luther King’s former church, closed out the week with a rally in Atlanta led by the party’s biggest star, Barack Obama. “I’m here to tell you that we can’t let up,” the ex-president said after ascending the stage to roars and chants. “I’m here to tell you we can’t tune out. We can’t be complacent. We have to run through the tape. And I know you can do it because you did it before.”The event felt like a baptist sermon as, with nearly every sentence the former president uttered, the crowd cheered and responded with “yeah,” “alright,” and “come-on,” illustrating Georgia’s geography in the deep south squarely in the Bible Belt.Obama has been liberated, punchy and sardonic on the midterm campaign trail, eviscerating Republicans in a way that few Democrats can. He said: “Since the last time I was here, Mr Walker has been talking about issues that are of great importance to the people of Georgia. Like whether it’s better to be a vampire or a werewolf. This is a debate that I must confess I once had myself. When I was seven. Then I grew up.”He added: “In case you’re wondering, by the way, Mr Walker decided he wanted to be a werewolf. Which is great. As far as I’m concerned, he can be anything he wants to be, except for a United States senator.”As Florida turns Republican red, Georgia is emerging as one of the most critical swing states in the country. Biden’s victory over President Donald Trump there in 2020 helped propel him to the White House. Warnock and fellow Democrat Jon Ossoff won Senate seats in January 2021 following a runoff, giving their party control of the chamber.Obama praised Georgians’ ability to influence the landscape of national politics, reeling off post-2020 achievements such as infrastructure spending, gun safety legislation, cuts to prescription drug prices and a record investment in clean energy. “That happened because of you, Georgia. And now we need you to do it again.”Democrats hope that Obama’s intervention will energise the party base. Ashley Davis, a student who attended the rally, said: “I’m ready. I’ve been canvassing since the start of the election, and I am phone banking too. I am feeling invigorated by that speech because it’s so true. We can’t stop because we know what’s at stake. Georgia is ready, and we have shown that we are a force to be reckoned with.”Biden, by contrast, has stayed away amid concerns that he could be a drag on Warnock. Instead he is aiming to help the campaign from afar, a strategy that proved successful in the midterms as Democrats defied expectations.On Friday the president joined a phone bank run by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in Boston, Massachusetts, to help Warnock’s campaign and drew a sharp contrast with Walker. “This is not a referendum on Warnock,” he said. “This is a choice – a choice between two men … One doesn’t deserve to be in the United States Senate based on his veracity and what he said and what he hadn’t said. The other man is a really, truly decent, honourable guy.”Republicans won every other statewide Georgia race last month. Governor Brian Kemp, who won re-election, has now thrown his weight behind Walker. A strong election day turnout by the party’s voters could still push the ex-football player to victory.But Walker has proved a motivator for Democratic enthusiasm because he is endorsed by Trump, lacks political pedigree and has made a series of weird and wild statements. One flyer mailed to homes by the Democratic Party of Georgia asks: “How embarrassed would you be if Herschel Walker was your senator?”Walker’s campaign has been plagued by accusations that he abused girlfriends in the past and paid for their abortions, undermining his anti-abortion stance. Recently he has faced claims that he maintains his primary residence in Texas, not Georgia. Walker has denied the allegations.Warnock narrowly edged Walker in the 8 November election by 49.44% to 48.49%. An Emerson College Polling/ The Hill survey of Georgia voters found Warnock at 49% support and Walker at 47%, with 4% undecided.John Zogby, an author and pollster, said: “Warnock must have gotten some kind of momentum from November 8 because Black voters appear to be more energised and they’re not going with Herschel Walker.“Walker’s had a number of issues that he’s had to contend with since November 8 and and he hasn’t handled them well. Even with Kemp’s help, which could be considerable, ultimately voters are not voting for who the governor wants them to vote for: they’re voting for the candidate.”While Democrats have already guaranteed control of the Senate for another two years, a true majority of 51 seats would speed up the confirmation process for Biden’s administrative and judicial nominees and provide a cushion for the president should any Democrats buck the party line.In addition, Democrats would gain more seats and financial resources on Senate committees, and committee chairs would no longer need any Republican support to issue subpoenas compelling witness testimony during investigations.Biden told reporters last month: “It’s always better with 51, because we’re in a situation where you don’t have to have an even makeup of the committees. And so that’s why it’s important, mostly. But it’s just simply better. The bigger the numbers, the better.”Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, said: “It does make a big difference because Democrats would get a majority on almost all the committees. Court appointments will go zip, zip, zip because you get access to the floor much more easily as a clear majority party in the Senate.“Also, look how many old senators there are … If there’s an open seat and people are upset at Biden, they could end up voting Republican in any purple state.”TopicsGeorgiaUS politicsUS midterm elections 2022Joe BidenBarack ObamaUS SenatefeaturesReuse this content More

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      Brian Kemp’s Interesting Strategy: Stand Up to Trump, Stump for Walker

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      It’s not surprising that Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia, fresh off his re-election victory, would take a field trip to the Adventure Outdoors megastore. Shooting ranges, gunsmithing, machetes, tomahawks, ammo, camo, “over 130 yards of gun counters” with more than 18,000 guns in stock — what red-blooded Southern Republican wouldn’t jump at the chance for a holiday-season visit to this Pole Star of Second Amendment vibes nestled in the Atlanta suburbs?That said, some folks might have found it a tad curious to see Mr. Kemp hanging out in the store’s parking lot, hugging and mugging for the cameras with Herschel Walker, the Republican Party’s deeply problematic Senate nominee. The former football star is in a tick-tight runoff with the incumbent, Raphael Warnock, and Mr. Kemp was imploring the crowd to turn out for him in this Tuesday’s vote. “He will go and fight for those values that we believe in here in our state,” the governor insisted.Talk about a postural shift. Throughout his re-election race, Mr. Kemp practiced scrupulous social distancing from his ticketmate. The men did not do joint events. (Adventure Outdoors was their first rally together!) Mr. Kemp did not talk up — or even about — Mr. Walker. When asked about the distance between their campaigns, Mr. Kemp tended to make vague noises about supporting “the entire ticket.”Which, honestly, was the only sensible course of action considering the freak show that has been Mr. Walker’s candidacy. Accusations of domestic abuse? Semi-secret children? Allegations (which he denies) that he paid for abortions for multiple women? Making up stuff about his academic and business ventures? The guy has more baggage than a Kardashian on a round-the-world cruise. No candidate with a sense of self-preservation would want to get close to that hot mess.Matthew Pearson/ WABEBut now! Mr. Kemp is having a moment. Having secured another four years in office — despite being targeted for removal in the primaries by a certain bitter ex-president — he is feeling looser, freer, more inclined to lend a hand to his good buddy Herschel.Way more than a hand, actually. Mr. Kemp put his formidable turnout machine — everything from door knocking to phone banking to microtargeting — at Mr. Walker’s disposal. Or, more precisely, he put it at the disposal of the Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC aligned with the Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell. And Mr. Kemp personally has gone all in. In addition to hitting the trail with Mr. Walker, he has been promoting him in media interviews, was featured in a pro-Walker mailer and cut two ads for him.Whatever happens with Mr. Walker, keep an eye on Mr. Kemp. The 59-year-old Georgia governor is positioning himself to be a major Republican player — one that, unlike so many in his party, is not a complete Trump chump.If Mr. Kemp’s electoral victory over Stacey Abrams was decisive, besting her by more than seven percentage points, his psychological victory over Donald Trump was devastating, in ways you cannot measure in votes. Mr. Trump had targeted Mr. Kemp for defeat this year, after the governor refused to help him subvert the presidential election results in 2020. The former president put a lot of political capital on the line in his crusade against Mr. Kemp, only to get spanked once again in Georgia. The governor’s refusal to bow to Mr. Trump wound up burnishing his reputation across party lines, which served him well in the purplish state. In the general election last month, Mr. Kemp won 200,000 more votes than Mr. Walker did in his race.National Republicans are now desperate for Mr. Kemp to help Mr. Walker win over a chunk of those split-ticket voters. Originally, the governor accepted this mission when it still looked as though control of the Senate might once again rest with Georgia. But even after Democrats secured 50 seats, he was happy to go the extra mile for the team.It’s all upside for Mr. Kemp. No one will seriously blame him if he can’t rescue a candidate as lousy as Mr. Walker, and he wins friends and influence within the party simply by trying. He also gets to wallow in his status as a separate, non-Trumpian power center. After all the abuse he has taken from Mr. Trump, the governor must on some level relish being asked to salvage the former president’s handpicked dud — even as the party made clear it did not want Mr. Trump anywhere near the Peach State this time. And if Mr. Kemp somehow manages to drag Mr. Walker to victory, clawing back one of the two Georgia Senate seats Mr. Trump helped cost the party last year, it will be an ostrich-size feather in his already heavily plumed cap — not to mention a fat thumb in Mr. Trump’s eye.Mr. Kemp clearly has his sights set on the political road ahead. National Republicans were impressed by how thoroughly he decimated his Trump-orchestrated primary challenge in the governor’s race, ultimately stomping his chief opponent, former Senator David Perdue, by more than 50 points. Post-primary, Mr. McConnell hosted Mr. Kemp for a cozy breakfast in the Senate dining room. In early September, Mr. McConnell was a “special guest” at a Kemp fund-raiser in Washington that touted another 16 Republican senators as “featured guests.”Mr. Kemp’s work on behalf of Mr. Walker is opening even more doors, helping him forge connections with officials, operatives and donors well beyond Georgia. All of which will come in handy if, say, Mr. Kemp decides he wants to run for federal office one day.And it sure looks as though he might. Not long before Thanksgiving, he filed the paperwork to form a federal super PAC. Named Hardworking Americans Inc., the organization will help him gain influence — having a pool of political cash tends to raise one’s popularity — and possibly pave his way for a federal campaign.As it happens, Mr. Kemp’s second term ends in 2026, the same year that Jon Ossoff, Georgia’s other Democratic senator, is up for re-election. There is buzz around the state that this would be a logical next step for the governor — and that it is definitely on his mind.Of course, 2026 is four eternities away in political terms. But Mr. Kemp has distinguished himself as his own man, having won on his terms in a party increasingly anxious about the former president’s influence. For those who see Mr. Trump as the G.O.P.’s past, Mr. Kemp may look appealingly like its future.The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips. And here’s our email: letters@nytimes.com.Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram. More