Political expedience

Key support: Gov. Brian Kemp has formally endorsed former Columbia County Commissioner Gary Richardson over social media influencer C.J. Pearson in the March 12 runoff for an open House seat. Both candidates for the Augusta-based House District 125 are Republicans, although Richardson is more in line with Kemp’s wing of the party and Pearson hews toward the MAGA base of former President Donald Trump.

Federal election probe: Gov. Brian Kemp has talked to investigators in the office of Jack Smith, the special counsel who is prosecuting former President Donald Trump on charges of trying to subvert the 2020 election. The governor told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins that he discussed the same issues that he was questioned about in 2022 by a Fulton County special grand jury.

Gold Dome exit: State Rep. Penny Houston announced that she’ll retire at the end of the year after 13 terms in the House. Houston’s House District 170 includes Berrien County and portions of Cook and Tift counties. She is currently the chair of the House Appropriations subcommittee on economic development, which oversees the budgets for the Georgia Ports Authority, the Georgia World Congress Center and several state agencies.

New challenge: Marcus Flowers, who ran in 2022 in the 14th Congressional District against Republican U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene — and raised more than $16 million doing it — has now turned his sights on the 13th Congressional District, represented by a fellow Democrat, U.S. Rep. David Scott. The district used to represent sections of southwest metro Atlanta but went through a transformation during the special legislative session on redistricting last year. It’s now situated on the city’s eastern edges, covering all of Rockdale County and parts of Clayton, DeKalb, Gwinnett, Henry and Newton counties.