A look back at the year’s top stories in Georgia politics

Looking back, a year that started with the funeral of the only Georgian to ever serve as president and snow storms in the South was destined to be an especially wild ride.  But some stories stood out amid the chaos of 2025. Here is our list of the biggest, most memorable moments of the year.  […]

U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene broke with President Donald Trump and later announced her resignation. The year started with the funeral of former President Jimmy Carter. House Democrats staged a walkout during a vote on one of this year's most controversial legislative proposals. And Gov. Brian Kemp decided to sit out the 2026 U.S. Senate race. Photos by Ross Williams and Jill Nolin

Looking back, a year that started with the funeral of the only Georgian to ever serve as president and snow storms in the South was destined to be an especially wild ride. 

But some stories stood out amid the chaos of 2025. Here is our list of the biggest, most memorable moments of the year. 

Georgia says goodbye to native son Jimmy Carter

Former President Jimmy Carter died in late 2024 at the age of 100 as the longest-lived president in American history. His death prompted international mourning and a six-day funeral procession. A motorcade left Americus in early January for Atlanta, with mourners paying tribute all along a route with stops representing key moments in his life – including the state Capitol, where he served as a state senator and a governor. Services were held in Washington before Carter was brought back to Plains to be buried alongside former first lady Rosalynn Carter, who died in 2023. 

Election interference case is dismissed

It wasn’t looking good for the Fulton County election interference against President Donald Trump and his allies going into 2025 after an appeals court disqualified District Attorney Fani Willis in late 2024. But any chance of getting the case back on track evaporated when Willis was unsuccessful in challenging her disqualification and a special prosecutor who took over in November ultimately recommended the case be dropped. But the case now lives on in other ways. Fulton County taxpayers could be on the hook for the defendants’ legal fees because of a new state law passed in early 2025, and a GOP-led state Senate committee continues to investigate Willis’ office, leading to an explosive encounter with the district attorney in December. 

MTG announces plans to resign

There were early signs in 2025 that Georgia’s most famous conservative firebrand, U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, was starting to break from the GOP and President Donald Trump. There was her open disapproval of the U.S. strikes on Iran and her comments calling the crisis in Gaza a “genocide.” That escalated with her push for the Justice Department to release the Jeffrey Epstein files and her searing criticism of her party’s handling of the expiration of health care subsidies. By November, Trump had withdrawn his support for the lawmaker, who had once been one of his most prominent and ardent supporters, labeling Greene a “traitor” and vowing to back a primary challenger. That same month, Greene announced the stunning news that she plans to resign on Jan. 5. A special election will be set once she vacates the office, and time will tell what the future holds for Greene, who has expressed an interest in running for higher office. 

Georgia Democrats show signs of momentum

Peter Hubbard and Alicia Johnson went into November’s Public Service Commission election in an unusual position for Georgia Democrats: They were seen as the favorites to win. Their perceived advantage was partly due to the coinciding municipal elections happening in left-leaning areas like vote-rich Atlanta (and in fact we did find voters who said they saw the PSC election as secondary to the local issues that drove them to the polls). The two Democrats did win, but the stunning part was by how much: They dominated the races with 25-point margins, handing Republicans a pair of defeats in a statewide election. Part of their success has been attributed to their focus on utility affordability on the campaign trail. In December, Democrats scored another upset in an Athens-area state House race when Eric Gisler defeated the Republican candidate. Gisler campaigned on health care access and addressing the rising cost of living. 

Kemp skips U.S. Senate race

There has been a lot of speculation in recent years over what Gov. Brian Kemp will do next. A two-term governor who is barred from seeking another term, the popular Georgia Republican was seen as a formidable challenger to take on Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff next year. But Kemp made big news in May when he announced he would pass on running for the seat. Instead, the governor backed attorney and former football coach Derek Dooley to run. Kemp’s support for Dooley didn’t settle the GOP primary race though, and with the election less than a year away, there is still no clear frontrunner on the Republican side. 

Alleged Ponzi scheme

A politically connected lender, Newnan-based First Liberty Building & Loan, and its founder, Brant Frost IV, were accused in a lawsuit by federal regulators in July of running a $140 million Ponzi scheme. Frost allegedly donated more than $570,000 of investor funds to conservative groups and causes across multiple states. Work is underway – and likely will be for a long time – to recover donations and defaulted loans to go toward repaying the victims. 

Adriana Smith is kept on life support

Adriana Smith, a pregnant 30-year-old mother and nurse, was kept on life support for months after being declared braindead in mid-February. Her case became a flashpoint in the debate over reproductive rights and Georgia’s six-week abortion ban after family told news outlets that doctors told them that although she had no chance of recovery, Smith’s organs would be kept functioning so as not to violate Georgia law. The baby, Chance, was delivered by emergency cesarean section in June. 

The GOP focus on transgender issues intensifies

Gov. Brian Kemp’s all-in push for new limits on lawsuits in Georgia may have officially been the big-ticket item of the 2025 legislative session, but the slate of GOP bills focused on transgender Georgians also dominated lawmakers’ time and was at the center of one of the most tense moments of the session when House Democrats walked out on a vote. In the end, bans on transgender athletes in girls sports and gender-affirming care in state prisons made it into law, but other proposals remain alive for the 2026 session. A federal judge recently struck down the ban on gender-affirming care in state prisons, but the state has appealed the decision. 

Mining company agrees to sell its property near the Okefenokee Swamp

A proposal to mine near the Okefenokee Swamp National Wildlife Refuge had appeared to be on the verge of getting the green light when it was announced in June that Alabama-based Twin Pines Minerals had agreed to sell its property to a conservation group. Environmental groups are now pushing for permanent protections for Trail Ridge, a mineral-rich geologic feature that acts as a barrier protecting the swamp. 

Trump 2.0

The biggest overarching storyline of the year, of course, has been the return of President Donald Trump to the White House and the flurry of directives and changes coming from his administration – and what it all means for Georgia. There have been National Guard deployments to Washington and to assist with immigration enforcement, cuts to public media, research, clean energy and Georgia’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and much more. Several Georgians – like former U.S. Rep. Doug Collins, ex-U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler and former state Sen. Brandon Beach – also joined Trump’s administration.