Georgia politicians court midterm voters amid shutdown blame game

Greg Bluestein, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Oct 4, 2025

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ATLANTA — As the federal shutdown grinds on, Georgia Democrats are seizing the moment to highlight the thousands of federal workers sidelined and deep cuts to health care spending that triggered an ongoing budget impasse with far-reaching implications.

Former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan and ex-state Sen. Jason Esteves held campaign events Friday at health care centers to press the party’s demands to extend expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies that could push thousands of Georgians off insurance rolls.

And Democrats turned their annual fundraising gala into a show of defiance against President Donald Trump, with speeches from Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff and others who slammed the White House’s approach.

“President Trump allowed his minions in the House and Senate to shut down the government despite controlling the House, Senate and White House,” Ossoff said in video remarks, “proving once again that he is unwilling or unable to lead and to govern.”

Top Georgia Republicans embraced the White House’s campaign, which has already resulted in billions of dollars in cuts to projects in Democratic-led states. U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, a Republican competing to unseat Ossoff next year, wagered that voters would blame Democrats for the fallout.

“The Peach State has a long memory,” said Carter. “And we will not soon forget who abandoned us to serve their own self-interest.”

The events showcased how Georgia Democrats are rallying behind the party’s strategy as Trump threatened mass layoffs and other cuts across the federal government. With both sides digging in, the stalemate in Washington showed little sign of breaking.

Still licking their wounds from Trump’s return to power last year, Democrats see the shutdown as a rare chance to punch back.

“Democrats have not shut down the government. Donald Trump has picked a fight with Americans,” said Duncan, a former Republican who is now a leading Democratic contender for governor.

“So the only thing left to do is stand up for the American people. The American people deserve better than to be mistreated,” Duncan said during a visit to Mosaic Health Center in Clarkston, which serves uninsured Georgians.

The shutdown began Wednesday when Democrats demanded that Congress extend more than $1 trillion in health care spending, while refusing Republican demands to pass a short-term spending plan without those concessions.

They want an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies that lowered premium prices and out-of-pocket costs for many. About 1.5 million policyholders in Georgia benefit from the subsidies, which are set to expire Dec. 31 if Congress fails to reach a deal.

Republicans, who control Capitol Hill and the White House, aren’t committing to any spending increases until the government is reopened. And Trump is trying to make it as painful as possible for Democrats.

The White House is preparing to shed large numbers of federal workers while freezing or canceling previously approved spending.

White House budget director Russ Vought already announced plans to withhold billions of dollars in infrastructure projects in states represented by Democratic U.S. senators. On Friday, Vought said he would freeze another $2.1 billion for a transit project in Chicago.

“All around the country right now, real pain is being endured by real people because the Democrats have decided to play politics,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.

At the Democratic gala, Pritzker warned that yielding to Trump would be a mistake. He cited Chicago’s pushback against Trump’s threat to deploy the National Guard as evidence that standing firm works.

“If we don’t have the courage to say out loud what our own eyes can clearly see, then we cross the line from cowardice to complicity,” Pritzker said, calling Trump’s actions “treasonous.”

In Georgia, the Democrats’ fight is just as personal. Esteves, another gubernatorial contender, met Friday at Manuel’s Tavern in Atlanta’s Virginia Highlands neighborhood with about a dozen Centers for Disease Control and Prevention staffers who were either recently laid off because of Trump’s budget cuts or furloughed because by the shutdown.

“The president is weaponizing despair. He’s weaponizing silence. He wants us to give up. We have to stand up, speak out and fight,” said Esteves, who was asked whether the Democratic strategy could come back to haunt them.

“The only thing that’s going to backfire is the fact that 1.5 million Georgians are going to be impacted,” he said. “And we can prevent that if Republicans stop playing politics and focus more on people.”