Category: The South

 

The South

Virginia (13), North Carolina (15), and Florida (29) add 57 electoral college votes to the total.

Georgia Republicans Mark Guilty Verdict for Laken Riley’s Murderer as Democrats Mourn ‘Transgender Day of Remembrance’

Tom Pappert
Laken Riley

While the majority of Georgia Republicans issued statements on Wednesday marking the guilty verdict reached in the case against Jose Ibarra, who a court determined killed August University nursing student Laken Riley in February, at least three Democratic members of Georgia’s U.S. House delegation instead posted messages marking Transgender Day of Remembrance.

An illegal immigrant who entered the country in 2022, Ibarra was determined during the trial to be a member of the Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua. Prosecutors said he was “hunting for females” when he encountered Riley, who was jogging when she was attacked.

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Speaker Mike Johnson Wants Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene ‘More Involved’ with House GOP After ‘Productive Meeting’

Tom Pappert
Speaker Mike Johnson, Rep. Margorie Taylor Greene

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson reportedly said Tuesday that he wants Representative Marjorie Taylor Green (R-GA-14) to become “more involved” with the House Republicans on the heels of a “productive meeting” the two shared last week.

According to journalist Jordain Carney, who reports for German-owned Politico, Johnson told reporters on Tuesday that he and Greene discussed her role in the next Congress during a meeting held last week.

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Manhattan D.A. Bragg’s Team Opposes Hush Money Case Dismissal, Is Open to Delaying Sentencing

Just the News

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s team on Tuesday confirmed it would oppose President-elect Donald Trump’s efforts to dismiss the charges against him in his hush money case, but indicated that his sentencing might face delay until after his presidency.

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Obama-Biden-Clinton Nuclear Giveaway to Russia a Decade Ago Comes Back to Bite America

Just the News

The U.S. nuclear energy sector’s dependence on Russian uranium created during a failed Obama-era reset with Moscow is coming back to bite Americans as the Kremlin moves to block future exports of the vital fuel.

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Laken Riley’s Alleged Killer Arrived in Georgia on ‘Humanitarian Flight,’ Roommate Testifies

Daily Caller News Foundation
Jose Ibarra

Jose Ibarra, the alleged murderer of 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley, traveled from New York City to Georgia after requesting a humanitarian flight, his roommate testified Monday.

Ibarra is currently standing trial after being charged for the murder of Riley, who died in February from blunt force trauma to the head outside of the University of Georgia’s campus. Ibarra’s roommate, Rosbeli Elisber Flores-Bello, testified that she and the suspected murderer arrived at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City and requested a humanitarian flight to Athens, Georgia, in September 2023.

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DOJ Slams Fulton County for Lengthy Jail Stays in ‘Inhumane’ Facility as D.A. Fani Willis Struggles with 40,000-Case Backlog

Tom Pappert
Fulton County Jail

The report issued by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) condemning the abysmal conditions at the Fulton County Jail comes as Fulton County faces a backlog of more than 40,000 cases, which may have contributed to the concerns raised in the report about the lengthy jail stays experienced by those incarcerated at the troubled facility.

The 97-page report containing the findings from the DOJ investigation that began last year accused the jail of violating the U.S. Constitution through the physical conditions at the jail, the county’s inability to guarantee the safety of inmates, and alleged violations of laws designed to protect Americans with disabilities, but also noted inmates “spend long periods detained in the Jail.”

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Justice Department: Fulton County Jail Conditions Violate the Constitution

The Center Square

The deaths of at least four Georgia men with mental disabilities at the Fulton County Jail are “symptomatic of a pattern of dangerous and dehumanizing conditions,” the U.S. Department of Justice said.

The 97-page investigation also said inmates were not protected from harm by other inmates and the living conditions were “unsanitary and dangerous.” The conditions violate the Eighth and 14th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the Justice Department said in a release.

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Georgia Secretary of State Makes Push for National Photo ID, Citizenship Verification in Voting

Tom Pappert
Georgia Sec State Brad Raffensperger

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced “Georgia Plan” for Congress to establish national election rules on Thursday, arguing the Peach State should serve as a model for to establish nationwide regulations that enhance election integrity.

“Voters nationwide deserve to participate in elections that have both security and integrity, along with easy access for eligible voters and quick and accurate reporting of results,” said Raffensperger in a statement, after citing Georgia’s successful early voting period for “a record turnout election that was safe, secure and accurate.”

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Marjorie Taylor Greene Renews Call for January 6 Pardons as DOJ Opposes Wave of Legal Filings Citing Trump Victory

Tom Pappert
Marjorie Taylor Greene

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene on Tuesday renewed her call for President-elect Donald Trump to pardon those prosecuted under the Biden-Harris Department of Justice (DOJ) for participating in their civil unrest on January 6, 2021, in remarks delivered as attorneys representing January 6 defendants are reportedly filing to have trials moved or frozen due to Trump’s prior promises of pardons.

Greene confirmed in Tuesday remarks to CNN, which her team recorded and posted to the social media platform X, Greene confirmed she’s previously spoken with Trump about the release of January 6 defendants, and noted his campaign trail promises to pardon them.

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Donald Trump Details Plan to Create the ‘American Academy’ to Provide Free Higher Education to All Citizens

Kaitlin Housler

President-elect Donald Trump plans to assist the nation’s population without a college degree by creating the online “American Academy” which would make higher education available to all U.S. citizens for free.

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President-Elect Trump Brings Deportation Chiefs into White House, Away from Entrenched Agencies

Just the News

President-elect Donald Trump’s nods for immigration and border-related posts appear to suggest he plans to keep the major-decision making on those issues within the White House rather than in offices of executive branch agencies filled with career government employees. Trump has vowed to pursue the mass deportation of illegal aliens from the country, beginning on his first day. He has cited President Dwight Eisenhower’s “Operation Wetback” as precedent for such an undertaking.

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NeverTrumper Facing Georgia GOP Expulsion over Harris Support Acknowledges Trump’s ‘Mandate’

Tom Pappert
Geoff Duncan

Former Georgia Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan on Monday urged other “disgruntled” Republicans who opposed President-elect Donald Trump to give the incoming administration “a chance” in the wake Trump’s electoral landslide and popular vote mandate.

Duncan, who is facing expulsion from the Georgia Republican Party (GAGOP) over his endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris during the presidential election, made his remarks during a Monday interview with WABE.

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Man Who Admitted to Death Threats Against Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene Sentenced to Time Served, Supervised Release

Tom Pappert
MTG

The Georgia man who pleaded guilty to making multiple death threats to Representative Marjorie Taylor Green (R-GA-14) was reportedly sentenced on Friday to supervised released and five months of confinement, which will be credited against his time spent in custody while his case was determined, meaning no additional prison sentence was imposed.

Sean Patrick Cirillo was sentenced to three years of supervised release and five months, credited against the time he already spent in federal custody, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in its Friday reporting of the sentencing. Law360 confirmed no additional prison sentence was imposed beyond the five months Cirillo already spent in custody.

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Hearing Still on for Trump’s Georgia Case

The Center Square

Former President Donald Trump’s win on Tuesday puts a question mark on his upcoming criminal case in Georgia.

Trump was indicted on 18 counts accusing him of interfering with the 2020 presidential election. Two of the charges against Trump were dismissed in September. He has pleaded not guilty to the rest.

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Trump’s 2026 Celebration Plans Include Great American State Fair, Patriot Games, and More

Kaitlin Housler

A video of former and president-elect Donald Trump has resurfaced since Tuesday’s election of him pledging to honor America’s 250th birthday by working with all 50 governors to hold a “Great American State Fair” in 2026 if he were elected.

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Trump Victory in Georgia Accompanied by Record Voter Turnout with Over 5 Million Ballots Cast

Tom Pappert

Georgia was one of the first states to be called for President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday, and the Georgia Secretary of State reported Wednesday that Peach State voters cast a record 5,287,085 million ballots recorded at press time, breaking a the last turnout record set during the 2020 election.

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Virginia A.G. Miyares Concerned over Potential Foreign Money Seeping into U.S. Election via ActBlue

Just the News
Virginia A.G. Jason Miyares

Virginia GOP Attorney General Jason Miyares said this week that he is worried about the potential influence of foreign money impacting U.S. elections through the Democratic online fund-raising platform ActBlue that he is investigating.

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Georgia Supreme Court Rules County May Not Count Absentee Ballots Received After Election Day

Just the News
Ballot Counting

The Georgia Supreme Court ruled Monday that Cobb County may not accept absentee ballots after Election Day.

Last Thursday, the Cobb County Board of Elections said that it had not sent out more than 3,000 absentee ballots in a timely manner and would mail them via express shipping or overnight delivery the next day, according to Democracy Docket. Three voters sued, arguing that there was not enough time to ensure the ballots would be received in time to be counted. 

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ACLU Sues Georgia County over Alleged Failure to Send Out Election Ballots in Timely Manner

Just the News

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Southern Poverty Law Center sued a Georgia county on Friday, over allegations that it failed to send out approximately 3,000 absentee ballots by a requested deadline.

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Georgia Supreme Court Says Strip Club Tax Is Constitutional

The Center Square
Georgia Supreme Court

A tax on strip clubs that goes into a fund to help child sexual exploitation victims is constitutional, the Supreme Court of Georgia ruled.

Georgia voters approved the tax through a ballot question. The collections go to the Safe Harbor Commission, which helps child exploitation victims and raises awareness of trafficking.

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From ‘Deplorables’ to ‘Nazis’ to ‘Garbage,’ Democrats Embrace Insults, Intolerance in the Trump Era

Just the News

Since former President Donald Trump’s first presidential run in 2016, his opponents have thrown an endless series of derogatory terms toward him and supporters. But while some terms attracted scandal eight years ago and even energized the Trump base, the Democrats’ penchant for smearing MAGA supporters and other dissident groups has become a central part of their messaging as Trump appears poised to make a return to the White House.

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‘I’ve Heard It All Before:’ CNN Analyst Scott Jennings Lists Republicans Who Democrats Compared to Hitler in Recent Election Cycles

Daily Caller News Foundation

Republican strategist Scott Jennings said Wednesday night that he’s “heard” comparisons of prominent Republicans to German dictator Adolf Hitler going back to the George W. Bush administration during a panel on CNN.

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Georgia GOP Demands Election Nonprofit Dissolve After Secretary of State Sends Fundraising Pitch Condemning ‘Election Deniers’

Tom Pappert
Josh McKoon

Georgia Republican Party Chair Josh McKoon on Tuesday called for an election nonprofit to dissolve or distance itself from the fundraising email sent by Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on its behalf.

McKoon issued his statement after Women for America First Executive Director Kylie Kremer surfaced the email written by Raffensperger. The email revealed that the secretary used a personal email to solicit funds for the Election Defense Fund, Inc., a purported nonprofit 501 (c) (4), a distinction that allows it to raise money without revealing its funding sources.

McKoon issued his statement after the email written by Raffensperger was surfaced by Women for America First executive director Kylie Kremer, revealing the secretary used a personal email to solicit funds for the Election Defense Fund, Inc., a purported nonprofit 501 (c) (4), a distinction that allows it to raise money without revealing its funding sources.

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Georgia Supreme Court Blocks Republican Push to Hand Count Ballots

Daily Caller News Foundation

The Georgia Supreme Court blocked a Republican effort Tuesday to require poll workers to hand-count the number of ballots cast, upholding a lower court’s decision.

A Georgia judge previously blocked a state election board rule that would have required counties to hand-count ballots on Election Day. The Republican National Committee (RNC) and Georgia GOP appealed to the state’s highest court, requesting a quick reinstatement of the rules during their ongoing legal challenge, Politico reported.

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Commentary: Protect Georgians’ Prescription Drug Access

Georgia Star News Staff
Greg Tapley

As the vice president and Chief Financial Officer of a Middle Georgia ambulance service, I’ve seen firsthand how the exorbitant cost of healthcare is a heavy burden on Georgians from all walks of life. This isn’t just a problem for the sick or the elderly, it’s a shared struggle we must all confront together. 

A recent study ranked Georgia as the worst state in the nation for healthcare, a stark reminder of the urgent need for change. The study cited high costs, the lack of doctors (particularly specialists), and unaffordable insurance as the prime reasons for this designation. Nearly fifteen percent of Georgians deferred seeing a doctor within the last twelve months due to concerns about costs, and almost one in seven residents lacked health insurance. 

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Nathan Wade Claimed ‘Minimum Contact’ with Office of Fani Willis, but Joined D.A. for Daughter’s Arrest Last Month

Tom Pappert
Nathan Wade Fani Willis

Nathan Wade, the former special counsel appointed to prosecute former President Donald Trump in Georgia, told the U.S. House Judiciary committee he’s had “minimal contact” with the office District Attorney Fani Willis, but police cameras recorded the attorney joining the district attorney during a traffic stop where her daughter was arrested.

In his opening remarks during his October 15 deposition, Wade told the committee he has, “had minimum contact with the Office of the District Attorney of Fulton County,” since he resigned after Judge Scott McAfee issued a “distasteful dicta” that required he or Willis to resign from the case against Trump and those who helped him contest the 2020 election results in Georgia.

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Trump Leading Harris in Georgia Two Weeks Before Election Day, Poll Finds

Daily Caller News Foundation
Donald Trump and Kamala Harris

Former President Donald Trump is leading Vice President Kamala Harris in Georgia as election day draws closer, according to a Tuesday poll from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC).

Trump is leading at 47% while Harris is at 43%, which is outside of the poll’s margin of error of 3.1 percentage points, according to the AJC. Of likely voters that were polled, 8% said that they are still undecided.

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RNC and Georgia Republicans Appeal Judge’s Ruling Tossing Out Seven Election Rules

Just the News
People Voting

The Republican National Committee (RNC) and the Georgia Republican Party on Thursday appealed a judge’s decision that invalidated seven election rules passed by the state’s election board.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thomas Cox on Wednesday determined that the new rules are “illegal, unconstitutional and void,” because the state board did not have the authority to create such orders.

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Georgia Judge Tosses Order to Count Ballots by Hand

The Center Square

After weeks of chaos surrounding the Georgia State Election Board, a judge blocked its order requiring all ballots be counted by hand.

Judge Robert McBurney of the Superior Court of Fulton County issued the stay on Tuesday, just weeks after the Election Board first approved the measure. He said the additional step of counting ballots by hand as well as electronically would lead to “administrative chaos.”

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Accused Apalachee High School Shooter Created ‘Shrine’ to Past Attacks, Left Notebooks and Apology Letter: GBI Agents

Tom Pappert
Colin Gray

Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) special agents offered new information about Colt Gray, the 14-year-old accused of killing four at Apalachee High School on September 4, during a Wednesday hearing in the case against the teen’s father, Colin Gray, who is faces second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, and cruelty to children charges for allegedly giving his son the rifle authorities say was used at the school.

Investigators stated that Colt Gray left a note for his family at his father’s home, owned at least four notebooks with drawings and writings that related to school shootings or the September 4 attack, and created a “shrine” with more than a dozen photographs and news clippings from previous attacks on schools.

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Fani Willis Asks Appeals Court to Reinstate Three Election Charges Against Trump

Just the News
Fani Willis

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis late Tuesday asked the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals to reinstate three election subversion charges against former President Donald Trump, and three against his allies.

Judge Scott McAfee dismissed six charges against Trump and his allies over their alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election in March. McAfee determined at the time that there was not enough evidence of an underlying crime that that the group was soliciting from a public officer.

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Trump Urges Georgians to Vote Early amid Record Breaking Turnout, Hand-Count Ruling

Just the News
People Voting

Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday night urged Georgia residents to turn their ballots in early, after the state counted a record-breaking 300,000 votes cast during the first day of early voting and a state court blocked a hand-counting ballot rule. 

Georgia Secretary of State Chief Operating Officer Gabriel Sterling confirmed the number in a social media post, saying the number was “123% higher than the old record for the 1st day of voting.” Tuesday was the first day of in-person early voting in the Southern state, and the first day voters could return absentee ballots. 

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Court in Fulton County Rules Georgia Officials Can’t Delay, Refuse to Certify Election Results

Just the News

Local election officials in Georgia cannot delay or refuse to officially certify election results, according to a state court ruling on Monday.

“Election superintendents in Georgia have a mandatory fixed obligation to certify election results,” wrote Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney in the ruling. “Consequently, no election superintendent (or member of a board of elections and registration) may refuse to certify or abstain from certifying election results under any circumstance.”

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Chaos Swirls Around Georgia Election Board, Election Measures

The Center Square
Person Voting

The Georgia State Election Board has faced backlash and lawsuits over the last few months, especially after passing a number of election rules just weeks before Election Day.

The Republican-majority board had a win this week though when a Fulton County judge dismissed a lawsuit on Wednesday put forward by Democrats.

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Ex-Special Counsel Behind Georgia Trump Prosecution to Testify in U.S. House for Second Time Before Election

Tom Pappert
Nathan Wade

Former Fulton County special counsel Nathan Wade is reportedly scheduled to testify before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee on next week, narrowly affording the Congress the opportunity to hear from Wade prior to Election Day.

Wade will be deposed, offering closed-door testimony to the committee led by Representative Jim Jordan (R-OH-04) on October 15, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

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Georgia State Election Board Subpoenas Fulton County 2020 Election Records

Just the News
Georgia State Election Board

The Georgia State Election Board voted to subpoena Fulton County’s 2020 election records amid a legal fight over election monitors.

The board voted 3-2 on Tuesday to subpoena all election records from the 2020 election in Fulton County, the Associated Press reported. The vote came a day after Fulton County filed a lawsuit claiming that the board does not have the authority to make the county “accept, and Fulton County to pay for, additional monitors for the 2024 election that have been hand-picked by certain State Election Board members.”

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Harris-Walz Court Georgia’s Black Farmers Months After Court Blocks Biden Ag Program Exclusively Aiding Minority Farms

Tom Pappert

The Harris-Walz campaign reportedly drew more than 100 black farmers and supporters in Byromville, Georgia on Sunday as it targets rural voters in the Peach State in a bid to repeat the party’s 2020 victory.

Huffington Post deputy editor Philip Lewis reported the Harris-Walz occurred at Jibb’s Vineyard, which he described as a black-owned vineyard, and said it focused “on rural Black farmers.”

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FEMA Reportedly Turning Away Donations for Victims of Hurricane Helene in North Carolina: Report

Kaitlin Housler
Hurricane Helene Donations

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is reportedly turning away donations for victims of Hurricane Helene in North Carolina, according to a report from an on-the-ground volunteer who attempted to deliver a caravan of essential supplies to local residents on Saturday.

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Ex-Atlanta BLM Leader Lands 3.5-Year Prison Sentence Using Charity’s Money to Buy Guns, House, Prostitute

Tom Pappert
Tyree Conyers-Page

The former leader of a nonprofit named Black Lives Matter (BLM) of Greater Atlanta was sentenced to over three years in prison on Thursday after he was found guilty of financial crimes for using his charity’s money to live a luxurious lifestyle after raising more than $400,000 following the death of George Floyd.

Tyree Conyers-Page, who used the name Sir Maejor Page when representing BLM of Greater Atlanta, was sentenced in Ohio on Thursday to 42 months in federal prison, or three-and-a-half years, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, over what prosecutors successfully argued was a scheme to defraud donors to Black Lives Matter.

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Teen Accused of Georgia School Shooting Allegedly Threatened Mother with Rifle Three Weeks Earlier

Tom Pappert
Colt Gray

The teen accused of killing four at Apalachee High School on September 4 reportedly used a rifle to force his mother out of his bedroom just three weeks before the devastating attack, his grandmother said in a report published Thursday.

Just weeks before authorities say 14-year-old Colt Gray attacked Apalachee High School, the teen apparently used a rifle to force his mother out of a bedroom during a fight, his grandmother Debbie Polhamus told The Washington Post.

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Trump Widens Georgia Lead over Harris as More Voters Now Hold Positive View of Former President, Quinnipiac Poll Shows

Tom Pappert
Donald Trump and Kamala Harris

Former President Donald Trump has widened his lead in Georgia over Vice President Kamala Harris, according to data released by Quinnipiac pollsters on Wednesday that also shows more Georgians now hold a favorable view of the Republican than his Democratic opponent.

The Quinnipiac University Poll data for Georgia found Trump now leads with the support of 50 percent of likely voters in the Peach State, while Harris trailed at 44 percent, with an additional 3 percent supporting other candidates.

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