In Atlanta, TV campaign ads bring out the mean

Abrams, Kemp slug it out over airwaves in tight governor’s race.

Why so negative, Atlanta? A firm called iQ Media has tracked television advertising since September in Georgia’s race for governor, and what it found is that the campaigns tend to go on the attack in the Atlanta market.

They play hardball here, even when the Braves’ season is over.

Groups supporting Republican Brian Kemp, including Kemp’s own campaign, resorted to attacks in about half the ads they run.

On Democrat Stacey Abrams’ side of the TV spectrum, it’s even higher at about two-thirds of all ads.

Sure, there were some positives. About 44 percent of the GOP ads were of a “shiny, happy people” nature, while 16 percent of the Democrats’ TV fare could be described that way. The rest were categorized as “contrasts.”

The iQ media analysis also examined spending on TV airtime.

Republicans are laying down the most cash.

The biggest spender has been the Republican Party of Georgia, which has shelled out $4.4 million in support of Kemp. Others in the GOP camp who have laid out big bucks are Kemp’s own campaign, at $1.6 million, and the National Rifle Association, which has reserved about $725,000 in airtime.

On the other side of the ballot, the Democratic Party of Georgia’s coordinated campaign for Abrams has spent $3.7 million. Next in line are the pro-Abrams PowerPAC Georgia, at $900,000; Abrams’ campaign at $500,000; and the state party at $215,000.

The spending has been concentrated in Atlanta, followed by the Savannah, Macon, Augusta and Chattanooga, Tenn., markets.

■ Trump could be no-show: Vice President Mike Pence is expected to be back in Georgia in the coming week for shaking hands and speechifying in support of Kemp.

But what about the Big Guy?

President Donald Trump has visited many states in recent weeks, holding rallies for Republican office seekers. Most of those, however, have been at the federal level for candidates such as Texas U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and Nevada U.S. Sen. Dean Heller.

The indications, so far, are he won’t be swinging through the Peach State between now and Election Day.

Jonathan Martin, a political reporter for The New York Times, wrote on Twitter that there’s been “some chatter” that Trump could pay a visit to Macon in support of Kemp “but (the White House) isn’t thrilled about having to lock up a gov race in GA.”

But while Trump may not come to Georgia to give Kemp a hand, his thumbs are all in. He recently sent a tweet to boost the candidate while tearing down Abrams.

“Brian Kemp will be a GREAT Governor of Georgia. Stacey Abrams will destroy the State,” Trump wrote. “Sooooo important, get out and VOTE for Brian!”

■ Did she or didn’t she? Law-and-order legislation figured in one of the tenser moments in Tuesday’s Atlanta Press Club debate between Kemp and Abrams, and the fight continued in the days that followed.

During the debate, Abrams said she “helped pass” a new crackdown on gang violence. Kemp & Co. saw it differently.

State Rep. Bert Reeves, a Republican from Marietta and a key Kemp ally, pointed to the “no” votes Abrams cast for House Bill 874, a piece of legislation he wrote to overhaul the state’s street crimes law.

“Without any doubt, I assure you, Stacey Abrams did not help pass this bill. She was against it,” he said, adding: “To go on TV and claim that she helped pass HB 874 is ridiculous and it is simply not true.”

Abrams has already had to fight off attacks that she did not help pass new sex offender restrictions, which she says she saw as too limiting on the sentencing discretion of judges. Her campaign responded quickly to Reeves’ assertion, pointing to another proposal she did back, the 2010 Georgia Criminal Street Gang and Terrorism Prevention Act.

■ A special complication: A lot of things would have to fall a certain way, but the special legislative session that Gov. Nathan Deal called for Nov. 13 could put Kemp in a bind.

It would only happen if what’s been a close governor’s race — polls have shown Kemp and Abrams deadlocked — needs to go to a Dec. 4 runoff.

If that happened, Kemp — because he’s a state constitutional officer, opting not to resign as secretary of state while running for higher office — would not be able to raise any money during the session Deal ordered to cover recovery costs associated with Hurricane Michael, along with other business.

The session is expected to last a minimum of five days.

■ The next cultural battle? Adoptions have been a point of contention in the “religious liberty” fight, and now a new front could be opening up in the conflict involving foster children.

Vox.com, citing The Intercept, reports that the White House is taking a look at a faith-based foster care agency’s request “to continue denying non-Christian parents from fostering children.”

“The case centers around a South Carolina Christian organization, Miracle Hill Ministries, which claims that under the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), they are not obligated to place children with non-Protestant Christian foster families.”

The policy has reportedly been responsible for the rejection of several Jewish families volunteering to provide foster care.

■ The trolls take the field: Vladimir Putin apparently doesn’t subscribe to the football theory that defense wins championships.

He’s big on offense. At least that appears to be the finding of two Clemson University researchers who are studying the output of a Russian troll factory that goes by the innocuous name of the International Research Agency.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the pair, who have studied a multitude of Twitter messages generated by the St. Petersburg-based IRA, may have figured out why the kneeling of NFL players during the playing of the national anthem has been such a hot issue: The trolls are fanning the flames.

Beginning in late 2014 and running through the middle of this year, 491 accounts linked to the IRA sent more than 12,000 tweets about the NFL or the anthem.

■ Thomas speaks of independence: U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, a Georgia native, was back in the Peach State recently, participating in the dedication of a new addition to the Newton County Judicial Center.

Thomas, Darryl Welch of The Covington News reported, spoke about the need for jurists to resist being swept up in trends or feed a social narrative and preserve judicial independence.

“As judges, we have a sacred duty to resist that temptation,” Thomas said. “Our calling and our oath is not to be popular, but to be faithful in applying the law in a fair manner and an impartial manner.”

■ Still big on boxes: U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue wants to bring back the box.

Back in February, the former Georgia governor was backing an idea to provide “harvest boxes” in lieu of some food stamp payments.

The idea was abandoned when it met widespread opposition.

But earlier this month, Perdue told reporters that he still thinks the boxes are “a great idea, frankly.”

He wants Congress to let him pilot the concept.

Food stamp recipients could have “fresh fruits and vegetables and a good value meal cheaper than we’re providing it now,” Perdue said, according to Politico.

He suggested reviving the proposal in his department’s next budget.

Candidates, endorsements, etc.:

■ Florida U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio endorsed Jason Anavitarte’s campaign for the Paulding County Board of Education. No, that’s not a misprint. Rubio, who was in Georgia to boost Kemp’s campaign for governor, was returning a favor. Anavitarte was among Rubio’s top supporters in Georgia when he made his run for president in 2016.

■ The American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia is not formally endorsing Abrams, but it did endorse $800,000 in checks to air a TV ad in the Atlanta market to promote her campaign. The ad focuses on Abrams’ support of Deal’s criminal justice overhaul and makes the case that she’ll “end dependence on private prisons.”