With most of the 2024 election coverage focused on the vote for president and control of Congress, we wanted to provide some insight into what happened at the state and local level this week. None of the statewide constitutional officers were on the ballot this year, but every member of the state legislature faced the voters – even if they didn’t face any opposition, as detailed below.
Among Georgia’s Congressional Delegation, 15 of the 16 incumbents will return for the 119th United States Congress. That number includes both U.S. Senators, neither of whom were on the ballot this year. The only newcomer is Brian Jack (R-Peachtree City), who will replace retiring U.S. Rep. Drew Ferguson (R-The Rock) as the representative from Georgia’s 3rd Congressional District, which runs west of Atlanta to the Alabama border
Of Georgia’s 56 Senate seats, not a single one changed parties. Going into election night, conventional wisdom held that only one district was truly competitive. Yet incumbent Sen. Shawn Still (R-Norcross) won with over 53% of the vote.
Perhaps even more enlightening is that only 23 of the 56 districts were contested in the general election – and in only five of them did the winner fail to reach 60% or greater. The House had slightly more turnover, but not much. In this week’s commentary, we look at what happened in House and Senate races, as well as key state and local referendums.
We also have the latest news and analysis from the last week, including:
- Georgia Court of Appeals vacates a $1.7 billion judgment in Gwinnett County against Ford
- Gwinnett and Cobb counties vote against transit tax proposals
- Farmers and timber producers impacted by Hurricane Helene to receive disaster relief
- Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus passes away
Have a great weekend,
– Kyle Wingfield
Friday’s Freshest
The election is over. Let’s focus on policy.
After billions of dollars were spent on the 2024 elections, including a large chunk here in Georgia, it’s a welcome relief to finally have a moment to step back from the relentless political barrage. We know this past campaign season was particularly intense. But now, in Washington and in Georgia, we need to turn our attention to policy, something that wasn’t always present in the campaign. The Foundation’s Guide to the Issues provides an in-depth look at the biggest issues in Georgia.
The Electoral College still works
Every four years, we Americans reacquaint ourselves with our unique institution, the Electoral College. Although it appears Donald Trump has re-won the presidency with both an electoral and a popular majority, it’s worth reminding ourselves why this system exists. But before that, here is a brief refresher on the Electoral College.
Here’s how frivolous lawsuits against truckers hurt everybody, including you
Georgians who work in the trucking industry tell one story after another about the legal system forcing them to settle with other parties. The terms and conditions, business owners say, are outrageous. Trucking company owners say they settle under a rigged system that consistently tilts in favor of plaintiffs…no matter how frivolous the plaintiff’s claims. As a consequence, the costs to do business rise.
Georgia has the opportunity for big-ticket tax reform
When fiscal 2024 ended back on June 30, Georgia had more money in the bank than ever before. A recent report by the State Accounting Office showed the official rainy-day fund grew to almost $5.5 billion, lottery reserves surpassed $2.4 billion, and the undesignated surplus reached an incredible $11 billion. That prudence presents the opportunity for a big-ticket tax reform.
How do we get physicians and providers in underserved areas?
Georgia, which has roughly 28,000 physicians currently practicing, is projected to need over 8,000 more physicians – including almost 2,100 primary care physicians alone – by 2030 just to maintain its current physician-to-patient ratio, which is already 23% worse than the national average. Since it takes years to educate and train a physician, what steps can policymakers take to try and address this physician shortage?
The Latest
Education
The renaissance of civic education
Today, fewer than 20% of colleges nationwide require an American history or government course for graduation. Unsurprisingly, this deficit has made its way into the training of teachers too. Future K-12 teachers are unlikely to learn the basic facts about our founding principles and our long history of working toward that more perfect union. Fortunately, more and more public universities are doing their part to reverse this trend.
Why are fair-admissions activists threatening new lawsuits?
It’s no surprise that admissions offices nationwide are ignoring the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, which, once again, outlawed race-based discrimination in admissions. Fifteen months after the Supreme Court ruled in SFFA’s favor, the organization found itself sending letters to several elite universities.
Government accountability
Georgia ranks 26th in annual tax competitiveness index
Georgia faces tough competition from its neighbors to the north and south when it comes to tax rates, according to a report from the Tax Foundation. The Peach State ranks 26th in the 2025 State Tax Competitiveness Index. Florida ranked fourth in the annual analysis, and Tennessee eighth. Neither state has an income tax.
The Georgia Court of Appeals vacated a more than $1.7 billion judgment and sanctions against Ford Motor Co. due to a trial court’s blocking defense claims that its truck’s design defects caused the death of a couple in 2014. In an opinion issued Nov. 1, Judge M. Yvette Miller found the State Court of Gwinnett County wrongly applied “issue preclusions” against Ford in a retrial because it violated court orders by mentioning possible misuse of seatbelts, driver fault and calling its expert witness to testify on cause of death.
Housing
Metro Atlanta embraces growing trend as single-family home subdivisions pivot to rental market
Build-to-rent is a growing housing trend looking to find a market between homeownership and renting an apartment. This trend is increasingly taking root in metro Atlanta. Builders are constructing single-family home subdivisions not to sell, but to rent. The Foundation has previously written how build-to-rent neighborhoods offer a promising option for many.
Developer to turn empty Atlanta Constitution building into affordable housing
The on-again, off-again redevelopment of a downtown Atlanta landmark has been rebooted once more. Wisconsin-based developer Gorman & Co. has been tapped to redevelop the abandoned brick Art Moderne style building at 143 Alabama St. SW that over the years has been home to The Atlanta Constitution newspaper and a Georgia Power facility.
Transportation
Gwinnett voters reject transit tax – again
Any hope that Gwinnett County leaders had that transit’s time had finally arrived this year crashed Tuesday night when voters rejected a proposal to expand transit for the third time in five-and-a-half years. With 345,323 votes counted as of 11:23 p.m., the county’s 30-year, 1% transit special purpose local option sales tax referendum was losing 53.7% to 46.3%.
Cobb County voters rejected a new 1% sales tax to fund public transportation by a significant margin Tuesday night. As of midnight, with 99% of precincts reported, there were 238,588 “no” votes (62%) and 143,630 “yes” votes (38%) for the tax, according to unofficial results from Cobb Elections. Now, the county’s Democratic Board of Commissioners will have to go back to the drawing board.
Bonus
Polymarket ‘whale’ who bet big on Trump win raked in $48M in profits
The French “whale” who bet $30 million on a Trump White House win via Polymarket has raked in $48 million in profits on the wager, according to the crypto-based betting platform. The anonymous bettor, who goes by Théo, controlled four separate accounts on the platform that each made wagers on Donald Trump winning the Electoral College and the popular vote, along with some money on Republican candidates in swing states. In all, Polymarket gamblers spent more than $3.7 billion placing bets on the presidential election.
Pro-crypto candidates win big as industry’s significant election bet pays off
The U.S. cryptocurrency industry emerged victorious on election night as the country voted into office more than 250 pro-crypto congressional candidates and helped re-elect former President Trump, who will become the nation’s 47th president. It comes as the $2 trillion digital asset industry invested well over $200 million to influence key House and Senate races in favor of pro-crypto candidates.
Georgia farmers will receive $100 million hurricane relief plan
Gov. Brian Kemp announced a proposal redirecting $100 million to the Georgia Development Authority, providing disaster relief for farmers and timber producers impacted by Hurricane Helene. The funding will provide essential financial assistance to these sectors until businesses begin to recover or other aid is made available.
In Memoriam
We were saddened to learn of the passing of Bernie Marcus this week. Most knew Marcus as the co-founder of Home Depot, but he was also a dedicated philanthropist who supported numerous causes in Atlanta and around the country. In 2011, Marcus spoke at a Georgia Public Policy Foundation event. You can watch that here.
Quotes of Note
“I want to thank the American people for the extraordinary honor of being elected your 47th president and your 45th president. And every citizen, I will fight for you, for your family and your future. Every single day I will be fighting for you with every breath in my body. I will not rest until we have delivered the strong, safe and prosperous America that our children deserve and that you deserve. This will truly be the golden age of America.” – President Donald Trump
“One of the things which make any company successful, in particular the Home Depot, was that we understood and catered to the customer. If it didn’t sell, it didn’t make a difference what we thought or our research told us. They told us if it was successful by buying it or not.” – Bernie Marcus, 1929-2024
“We recalibrate…meeting the citizens where they are, but also understanding where we should be as a county. This is not an issue that dies today, irrespective of what happens, we continue to move Cobb forward. Cobb has always invested in transportation, we continue to invest in transit.” – Cobb Chairwoman Lisa Cupid