I never thought they would somehow play a role in this runoff election:
Georgia GOP Senate candidate Herschel Walker was at a campaign rally that played a Bone Thugs-N-Harmony song and Krayzie Bone had some issues with it.
On Friday (Nov. 18), a clip surfaced of GOP Senate candidate Herschel Walker at a campaign rally doing some sort of moonwalk/pop-locking move while Bone Thugs-N-Harmony's classic elegiac song "Tha Crossroads" is playing in the background. BTNH member Krayzie Bone caught wind of the video and was not feeling Walker's dance move or the use of the group's tune.
"Yoooo what the hell is he doing?" tweeted Krayzie in regards to the Herschel Walker video.
A fan noted that Bone Thugs probably didn't give Walker permission to use their song at his rally.
"Mannnnnn I know this was not cleared at all big dawg [tears of joy emoji][cry laughing emoji] wth," he wrote.
If Krayzie Bone and his groupmates decide to pursue legal action, it would not be the first time in recent years — or even in the current election cycle — that artists chose that route to distance themselves from a candidate.
Earlier this week, the estate of Isaac Hayes announced that it was looking into options to prevent Donald Trump from using the late soul legend’s work in any future appearances. This came after Trump used Sam & Dave’s classic, “Hold On I’m Coming” during an event at his Mar-A-Lago estate where he announced his intention to run for president again in 2024.
“Stopping a politician from using your music is not always an easy task,” the Isaac Hayes estate shared via its official Twitter account, “but we are dedicated to making sure that Donald Trump does not continue to use ‘Hold on I’m Coming’ by written by Isaac Hayes an David Porter in further rallies and public appearances.”
According to Vulture, this marks no less than 22 artists and estates which have taken such action against Trump, including Rihanna, Pharrell Williams and Prince’s estate.
On Thursday (November 17), Arizona Republican Kari Lake was also hit with a cease & desist by the estate of Tom Petty after using his song “I Won’t Back Down” after it was announced that her opponent Katie Hobbs was projected to win the race to become Arizona’s governor.
Meanwhile, Governor Brian Kemp (R. GA) is out on the campaign trail to try and save Walker’s ass but Warnock and Georgia Democrats aren’t having it:
Warnock’s campaign has emphasized that he is the only Democrat to get more votes than his Republican opponent on the statewide ticket. However, he didn’t reach the 50 percent of the vote needed to win outright under Georgia law. Warnock, the senior pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, won the seat in a 2021 special runoff election, is seeking a full, six-year term.
Earlier this month, Warnock released a 30-second ad featuring a testimonial from a voter from Rossville who was “proud” to vote for Kemp but did not back Walker. “I just can’t get past Herschel Walker’s lack of character,” she says in the ad. He ran a similar ad in the run-up to the general election that featured several such voters.
Georgia Democrats on Saturday morning held an event less than three miles away from Walker’s rally, featuring remarks from voters who backed Kemp and Warnock in the election and plan to support Warnock again in the runoff.
“I’ve heard Herschel talk about redemption. But I was taught that redemption requires confession, contrition and accountability,” said Heidi Moriarty, who lives in Buckhead. “The choice is clear, Georgia. I voted for Governor Kemp and Reverend Warnock on Election Day, and I plan to once again cast my ballot during the runoff for Warnock.”
Warnock has offered a bipartisan message on the campaign trail, calling himself a “practical” senator willing to work with anyone to deliver for Georgians.
“I have a proven record of being able to work with people on the other side of the aisle to get things done,” Warnock told reporters on Friday evening when asked about Kemp’s rally with Walker and his own efforts to court swing voters.
Warnock pointed out, as he does frequently on the campaign trail, that he’s ranked the 18th most bipartisan senator in the Senate by the Lugar Center, a nonprofit founded by former GOP Sen. Richard Lugar. “No matter what my opponent says, he can’t erase that fact,” Warnock said.
Warnock on Saturday planned to make stops in several counties in the metro Atlanta area, including Gwinnett and Cherokee. Warnock won in Gwinnett by 20 points and lost to Walker in Cherokee by 38 points. He also had a rally scheduled with students at Emory University. Warnock’s campaign announced Saturday that musician Dave Matthews is scheduled to perform at a Nov. 28 get-out-the-vote rally in Cobb County.
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Georgia election workers are scrambling to review and certify the general election results under strict new deadlines required by a 2021 Republican-backed voting law while simultaneously preparing for a U.S. Senate runoff election that is happening sooner than usual, also because of the new law.
Many election staff report working 12 to 16 hours every day to finish a jumble of tasks on a compressed timeline required by the 2021 law. Those jobs include counting outstanding provisional and overseas ballots and certifying county election results; completing a hand-counted audit of the select ballot batches; inspecting and updating voting systems; and coordinating preparations for early voting in the runoff between Sen. Raphael G. Warnock (D) and Herschel Walker (R), which will begin as soon as Tuesday in some counties.
“This has probably been the hardest year I’ve ever seen in elections,” said Zach Manifold, the election supervisor for Gwinnett County, Georgia’s second most populous that forms part of the core of metropolitan Atlanta.
“I think everybody’s interested to see how the next few weeks play out,” Manifold said. “This runoff is basically telling everybody, ‘Congratulations, you did everything great in 90 days! Let’s see if we can do it in 28.’ So I think the deadlines have held up so far decently but I think you’re probably going to feel it a lot more in a runoff.”
After the 2020 presidential election, when former president Donald Trump and his allies falsely alleged rampant and coordinated election fraud, Georgia Republicans enacted sweeping legislation that overhauled the state’s voting laws. In addition to imposing new requirements for casting an absentee ballot, adding an array of rules to county election administration and increasing the power of legislators to investigate election offices, the law shortens the window between a general election and any potential runoff to about a third of the time.
The law — both in its practical effect and legal implications — has at times confused election administrators, like when state officials realized they could no longer legally offer Saturday early voting ahead of the runoff due to another law that bans voting around holidays, including a state holiday that once honored Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. After Democrats sued, a judge ruled Friday that counties can offer early voting on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
Counties are facing pressure from voting rights groups to ensure voters have as much access to the ballot as possible under the shortened timeline. Georgia’s runoff election is taking place four weeks after the midterm election. In contrast, after the 2020 election, pivotal dual Senate runoffs took place in January 2021 to determine the balance of power in the Senate.
But abortion rights remain a big issue in the runoff:
Ever since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down constitutional protection for abortion in June, both political parties have wondered whether the decision would energize abortion rights supporters — particularly women — to vote or would it fade away as they worried about inflation and the economy.
The midterm elections held earlier this month provided a partial answer. In Georgia, an Associated Press exit poll showed seven out of 10 voters said abortion was either the single most important factor or an important factor in their vote. Only the economy ranked higher.
“You saw in the midterms that people were highly motivated to make sure reproductive freedom options are preserved,” said Melita Easters, executive director of Georgia WIN List, which works to elect women who support abortion rights. “I believe they will remain highly motivated in the runoff.”
Already, abortion rights supporters and opponents are pouring money into the Georgia race
Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, which donated $5,000 to Walker’s general election campaign, announced it will invest at least $1 million to aid him in the runoff.
Planned Parenthood Votes took the wraps off a new 15-second digital ad attacking Walker and supporting Warnock. Before the runoff, Warnock had collected more than $34,000 from abortion rights political action committees such as the Planned Parenthood Action Fund and NARAL Pro Choice America.
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Boosting turnout in this runoff is important and we have to pull it off for the sake of having a Democratic Senate Majority to save Democracy. Click below to get involved with Warnock’s campaign and these grassroots organizations GOTV efforts:
Georgia
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