Brian Kemp cheers potential Paramount move as merger divides lawmakers

Georgia could be in the running for Paramount Skydance’s worldwide headquarters. And Gov. Brian Kemp is egging it on.

Asked about the prospect Monday at the Gwinnett Chamber Governor’s Luncheon, the Republican drew laughs when he was pressed to “enlighten” the crowd on efforts to woo the media giant.

“No,” Kemp said, before adding: “I can just say it would be a great place for it. I don’t know why the hell they’d want to stay in California. And you can tell Gavin Newsom I said that.”

Consider the California Democrat apprised.

The AJC and other outlets reported last week that David Ellison, Paramount’s chair, is threatening to move its headquarters from Los Angeles to a state that’s not suing his company.

Georgia officials are taking the possibility seriously. Allie Dean of the state Department of Economic Development declined to comment on speculation about a potential move.

“However, as a major film production hub with long-term relationships with our industry partners, we welcome any such conversations,” she said.

There’s an obvious Georgia connection. Paramount has been trying to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent company of Atlanta-based CNN. A merger could also affect TBS and TNT, which are headquartered in Atlanta. Georgia’s film and television industry gives the state another selling point.

Ellison is reportedly considering a headquarters move if California Attorney General Rob Bonta doesn’t negotiate a settlement with Paramount by Oct. 1. He and 11 other Democratic attorneys general filed a lawsuit against Paramount seeking to stop the $11 billion merger.

The fight has also spilled into the race to succeed Georgia Republican Attorney General Chris Carr. Democratic nominee Tanya Miller opposes the merger, which she says could threaten Georgia jobs.

Her GOP opponent, state Sen. Brian Strickland, has said Georgia doesn’t need “an activist Attorney General that just wants to file lawsuits to make headlines while hard working taxpayers pay the bills.”

Things to know

Good morning! Here are three things to know for today:

Firing back

Credit: AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein

Credit: AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein

President Donald Trump and his allies fired back at the Georgia Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff one day after he said Trump would rather “travel with Natalie” than handle the country’s problems.

“Natalie” is Natalie Harp, Trump’s closest aide whom New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman referred to as the president’s “human binkie.” Asked about the jab on Monday, Trump brushed it off.

“You mean Pee-wee Herman?” Trump said, referring to his nickname for Ossoff based on the 1980s character created by the late Paul Reubens.

Other White House staffers went further. White House communications director Steven Cheung called Ossoff “the biggest cuck loser in politics.” Tim Murtaugh, Trump’s former campaign aide, accused Ossoff of subjecting Harp to “the oldest and most vulgar innuendo there is, simply because she’s at work seemingly all the time.”

On MS NOW last night, Ossoff was asked about why he invoked Harp’s name.

“I’ve heard this particular aide referred to as his security blanket. And I think we could say that about any number of the senior aides in the White House,” he said. “They’re not telling him what he needs to hear. They’re telling him what he wants to hear. And the nation is at war, and we cannot afford that.”

Trump, of course, has a decades-long history of crude and demeaning behavior toward women. He has repeatedly attacked women’s appearances, suggested a female moderator’s tough questioning was driven by menstruation, and bragged in the “Access Hollywood” recording about grabbing and kissing women without consent. A civil jury also found him liable for sexually abusing and defaming writer E. Jean Carroll.

End run

Credit: Abbey Cutrer/AJC

Credit: Abbey Cutrer/AJC

The MARTA board last week got rid of the “interim” tag and named Jonathan Hunt the transit agency’s permanent general manager and CEO. One of his first acts could be to go around the state Legislature.

MARTA has been asking lawmakers for years to let them put automated license plate cameras on buses so it can bust people for driving in bus-only lanes. But the state Legislature keeps balking, likely fearing the growing backlash against these cameras that have been popping up all over the place in recent years.

Now, Hunt says an opinion from the Office of the Legislative Counsel says MARTA doesn’t need lawmakers’ permission. That’s because the majority of the rapid A-line is in the city limits, meaning Georgia’s home rule authority applies.

In a board meeting last week, Hunt said city officials and MARTA staff would work together “to determine the appropriate coordination of equipment and technology capabilities necessary to appropriately and effectively enact lane enforcement.”

Listen up

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

Today on the “Politically Georgia” podcast, we dig into Ossoff’s aggressive campaign strategy and Republican nominee Mike Collins’ attempts to broaden his coalition.

You can listen and subscribe to “Politically Georgia” for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.

Have a question or comment for the show? Email us at politicallygeorgia@ajc.com or give us a call at 770-810-5297 and you could be featured on a future episode.

Special election

Early voting is now underway in the runoff to determine who will complete the late U.S. Rep. David Scott’s term in Georgia’s 13th Congressional District.

Scott’s daughter, Marcye Scott, emerged as the favorite because of strong support in the south metro Atlanta counties of the district. Her opponent, former Gwinnett County School Board Chair Everton Blair, will need strong turnout in his home county to overcome Scott’s advantage.

Early voting sites will be open through Friday. Election day is Tuesday, Aug. 25. But based on the results from last month’s special election, turnout will likely be low.

Heavenly Kimes, the reality TV star and dentist who placed third in the special election, has endorsed Blair. Kimes noted in a post on Instagram that Blair lives in the district while Scott does not, and that he has prior experience holding elected office.

Blair is “the only candidate in this race with the experience and vision to fight for us in Congress,” she wrote. “We need a fighter and that fighter is Dr. Everton ‘EJ’ Blair.”

Today in Washington

Shoutouts

Credit: Ben Hendren for the AJC

Credit: Ben Hendren for the AJC

Today’s birthdays:

Want a birthday shoutout in the Politically Georgia newsletter? There’s a form for that. It’s not just birthdays. We’re also interested in new jobs, engagements, birth announcements, etc.

Before you go

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

Kemp is rolling out endorsements of prominent Republicans this week, including Tyler Harper for another term as agriculture commissioner and John Cowan, the GOP nominee for Georgia’s 11th Congressional District.

That’ll do it for us today. As always, you can send your best scoops, gossip and insider information to greg.bluestein@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com, patricia.murphy@ajc.com and adam.beam@ajc.com.