NPR’s Scott Simon speaks to reporter Greg Bluestein about Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who says her party needs to end the government shutdown and work with Democrats on health care.
SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene told NBC News this week…
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MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE: I’m not some sort of blind slave to the president, and I don’t think anyone should be. And I am not elected by the president. I am not elected by anyone who works in the White House. I am elected by my constituency. This is what I work for. And I was elected without the president’s approval. And you know, I think that’s served me really well.
SIMON: Rep. Greene is calling on her fellow Republicans to end the government shutdown by working with Democrats to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies. His outspokenness on this and other issues is just one part of Georgia politics today. We’re joined now by Greg Bluestein. He is chief political correspondent for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Thank you very much for being with us.
GREG BLUESTEIN: Thank you for inviting me.
SIMON: How does this most recent break with Republican leadership fit into Marjorie Taylor Greene’s broader moves?
BLUESTEIN: I mean, she’s always been a maverick in Georgia politics. But lately, it’s really felt like she’s been even more unpredictable since she decided not to run for the U.S. Senate for the position challenging Sen. Jon Ossoff, perhaps the most vulnerable Democratic incumbent in the midterms. Since making this decision, she’s even more of a maverick, even more of a wild card. For the first time, really, that I can remember in Georgia politics, a group of Democrats are now praising Marjorie Taylor Greene, saying, “I didn’t think we could ever say this, but I agree with Marjorie Taylor Greene.”
SIMON: How did his voters react?
BLUESTEIN: Well, it’s in a very, very red district in northwest Georgia. There have been Democratic opponents who have raised a lot of money but really made no progress. She is therefore politically secure. His voters – according to him, about 60% of them agree with his position. Time and time again, we’ll talk to her constituents who say they may not like everything she says on Twitter, on social media or on TV, but they agree with most of her votes. According to some projections, the end of these federal subsidies could affect more than 1.4 million Georgians. So, for many of her constituents, she doesn’t just speak as a legislator; she speaks as a mother whose children will have to pay more for health insurance.
SIMON: And, of course, this comes as there are two big races next year in Georgia for Senate and for governor. So far, what seem to be the major themes of these two campaigns?
BLUESTEIN: Well, the biggest theme, I think, is that it’s wide open for both races. Besides Jon Ossoff, the incumbent Democratic senator, there appears to be a candidate for each path. You have candidates in the gubernatorial race from the far left to former Republican Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, now a moderate Democratic candidate. And then, of course, on the Republican side of the governor’s race, you have the MAGA allies. You also have Brad Raffensperger, the secretary of state, who defied Donald Trump’s demand to find just enough votes to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia.
SIMON: What about the economy? What kind of problem is this?
BLUESTEIN: Yeah. In all the polls I’ve seen in Georgia, the economy, jobs and inflation have always been the top issues, and I don’t think that’s going to change. But we have started to see – at least in polls of Democratic voters – that number two is holding up to Donald Trump. And it reflects the fact that many Democratic voters — especially more liberal and progressive ones — want a more confrontational and aggressive approach to the president. And there are candidates who are promising to do this in 2026, and there are others who are saying, no, look, we have to find ways to work with Republicans.
SIMON: Okay. And what are the issues on the Republican side?
BLUESTEIN: Trump overshadows everything, too. Regarding the Senate race, for example, there is currently a three-way race to secure Donald Trump’s support. There’s former football coach Derek Dooley and Congressmen Mike Collins and Buddy Carter. Derek Dooley is probably the least known of them. He has a famous last name, thanks to his father, the legendary University of Georgia football coach. However, he has the approval of Governor Kemp, which helps him a lot. On the other side, the other two candidates, Collins and Carter, both present themselves as MAGA warriors who will be President Trump’s biggest ally in the Senate if they win.
SIMON: Where do Georgians currently see themselves in the national political landscape?
BLUESTEIN: You know, we started from a state that was an afterthought – I remember in the 2016 presidential election, neither Trump nor Clinton even came to Georgia after the primaries. They never conducted substantial operations in Georgia or large campaign rallies, and they didn’t really need to. I mean, Donald Trump was always favored to win Georgia. He did it. But during 2016, he lost the Atlanta suburbs, and that was the first real inkling that Georgia was competitive. And now we are used to being competitive. Today, voters are even tired because there have been so many competitive elections.
You know, almost a billion dollars was spent in Georgia in the 2020 election campaign. About 500 million was spent in 2022. So we’re heading into 2026 – yes, Georgia is still a battleground. Is it blue? No, is it red? No. It’s probably kind of a darker shade of purple right now, but it’s certainly still one of the most competitive places in the country.
SIMON: Greg Bluestein is chief political correspondent for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Thank you very much for being with us.
BLUESTEIN: Thank you for inviting me.
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