The Georgia Vote
In the spring of 2024, I was assigned to help create a new show for WXIA - with the focus placed on Peach State politics. This came as the “Race for the White House” was heating up in this pivotal swing state.
The result - “The Georgia Vote”!
My initial goal when we started in late-April was to bring a program that’s on a higher plane than the run-of-the-mill newscast and have it continue beyond the November general election.
“Mission Accomplished” on all fronts.
“Voice of the Voter” Special
We say it every week on our show: “You can’t have ‘The Georgia Vote’ without the Georgia voter.”
… and that’s where our “Voice of the Voter” segment in each show comes in! We go to where the voters are and hear what’s guiding the decisions they plan to make in the ballot box.
As the “Race for the White House” in 2024 entered its final weeks, we invited back four of our past voices back for an open examination on how their views on the campaigns had changed since we first met them. This special aired in-full on our digital platform, with parts produced for our newscasts.
To watch the full show, click here.
Trump Victory
In the end, the result came in faster than most of the nation expected. Donald Trump winning a second 4-year term as President of the United States.
Now, the real analysis began.
We spent the first show after the election breaking down the role Georgia played in his win, how the Democrats need to pivot from the loss, and even take a first look at the 2026 midterms.
The campaign season never stops … and, “The Georgia Vote” will be along for the ride.
To watch the full show, click here.
Stumping in Georgia
By the time we were past Labor Day, visits to Georgia by the candidates for president and vice president were on a routine basis. It seemed that every other day found metro Atlanta hosting not just the candidates, but the national press corps and the rest of the campaign entourage.
For this show, we had multiple visits from Donald Trump, an all-star rally for Kamala Harris, and stops from JD Vance and Doug Emhoff. Added to this, plenty of the analysis which sets our show apart as a premier political program
To watch the full show, click here.
Assassination Attempt
We normally tape our shows on Friday afternoons. On July 12th, our crew put together a solid show and we were happy with the result
All that changed a little more than 24 hours later, when the news cycle was shaken to its core by the assassination attempt on Donald Trump.
For me, that meant our planned political show the next morning had to be scrapped. “The Georgia Vote” was live this morning - and our team pulled together a bold show in a short amount of time.
This meant tearing up the planned rundown and devoting our first 10 minutes on giving a breakdown of what we knew, while keeping a Georgia-based focus in mind.
My colleague Zach Merchant worked the phones and quickly lined up a solid roundtable, with two top-shelf analysts. Their perspective was paramount in providing the context our viewers deserve to have.
I think I can hold my head up a little with this one.
Perfect? No. Excellent? Damn close.
To watch the full show, click here.
After the Convention
The Democratic and Republican national conventions offered our political team wonderful opportunities to keep the spotlight bright on our Peach State politicos, while also monitoring the major headlines which garnered national attention.
This was our show after the Democratic National Convention, and we were glad to have Sen. Raphael Warnock as our newsmaker for the show. He had just returned from Chicago and made it a point to appear on our air. This was a moment that raised “The Georgia Vote” to a level of importance for the state’s top lawmakers.
To watch the full show, click here.