Athens’ Republican state legislators have huge fundraising advantages over their Democratic challengers headed into the fall election.
Rep. Houston Gaines (R-Athens) raised a modest $22,825 in May and June, according to documents filed earlier this month with the Georgia Campaign Finance Commission. But he didn’t need much: Gaines had more than $647,000 cash on hand for his re-election campaign as of June 30. Gaines’ top contributors included the Georgia Association of Professional Bondsmen PAC, which gave his campaign $5,000. He was one of the main proponents of a new state law expanding cash bail and restricting charities from bailing out indigent defendants. Critics say the law punishes the poor before they’re even convicted by keeping them in jail before trial if they can’t pay bail.
State Rep. Marcus Wiedower’s campaign coffers are nearly as full at $404,258. The Watkinsville Republican raised $36,600 during the last reporting period. Wiedower—who introduced an unsuccessful bill to legalize gambling on sports in 2023, with revenue going toward education—received $3,300 each from the Sports Betting Alliance and gambling website FanDuel. He also received $1,000 from Koch Industries.
Rep. Trey Rhodes (R-Greensboro) took a small chunk of Athens after Republicans shored up Gaines’ district during the last round of redistricting in 2022. Rhodes raised just $4,389 from May 1 to June 30 and had $55,890 on hand.
Sen. Bill Cowsert (R-Athens) had $288,846 on hand after raising $9,000 and spending $23,123. Sen. Frank Ginn (R-Danielsville) had $74,428 in his campaign bank account. He raised $36,650 and spent $54,898, mostly to ward off a GOP primary challenger. As chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, Ginn’s top donors included Belmont Construction Group ($5,000) and Engineering Management Inc. ($3,500).
Democrats in these races are severely underfunded by comparison. Gaines’ opponent, Andrew Ferguson, raised $4,816 and had $4,538 on hand. In Rhodes’ district, Melanie Miller did better, raising $9,562, but had already spent $7,834. Eric Gisler—who replaced Courtney Frisch on the ballot to challenge Wiedower after Frisch dropped out in late May—raised the not-very-high amount of $420. Conolus Scott Jr. didn’t fly much higher, raising $737 for his race against Ginn, and had $2,165 on hand. Gareth Fenley raised $4,802 to run against Cowsert and had $2,282 on hand.
Why such a wide disparity? The party in power always has a fundraising edge, because lobbyists who want bills passed like to keep the majority party happy. In addition, Athens’ incumbents have been able to amass significant influence over multiple terms in office. And even if they don’t need to spend them, they’re generally happy to take any contributions to ward off serious competition, help colleagues in closer races and pay for expenses like attending conferences.
Those incumbents also represent districts that were gerrymandered to be a safe shade of red, so they don’t need to spend much to be re-elected. That’s one reason why Democrats struggle to raise money, too—liberal donors often prefer to focus on more winnable races.
A Safer Atlanta Highway?
State and local transportation officials will be coming to the Athens-Clarke County Commission in September with plans for safety improvements on Atlanta Highway.
He said he didn’t have many details yet, but ACC Transportation and Public Works Director Stephen Bailey told the Athens in Motion committee, an advisory board, that the Georgia Department of Transportation wants to make upgrades to traffic signals, improve handicapped accessibility and fill in sidewalk gaps along part of Atlanta Highway and West Broad Street—a state-owned highway also known as U.S. Route 78. The recommendations stem from a safety audit GDOT conducted in 2021, walking the road from Epps Bridge Parkway to Hancock Avenue along with local transportation, school and hospital officials.
GDOT will be asking the local government for a match of about $3 million to $4 million to fund bike and pedestrian improvements and lighting, Bailey said. The local contribution would bump up the project on GDOT’s list of priorities.
TSPLOST, the voter-approved 1% sales for transportation, could be a source for matching funds. The county set aside $8.9 million for the Atlanta Highway corridor in 2022. Specifically, the project concept calls for a multi-use path along the busy road between Timothy Road/Mitchell Bridge Road and Hawthorne Avenue/Alps Road.
Athens in Motion Chair Lauren Blais called the news “very promising.”
“I’m doing a little dance,” she said.
Atlanta Highway, which is up to eight lanes across in places, is one of the most dangerous roads in Athens due to its width and lack of crosswalks. Pedestrians are routinely killed trying to cross on foot.
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