ATLANTA — Georgia House Democrats met for the first time since last week’s election swept them into the majority.
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Channel 2’s Richard Elliot reports their leader is now one step closer to making history in Georgia.
In the House of Representatives, there are portraits of the late Tom Murphy and the late David Ralston, both of them former House Speakers.
But now Columbus lawmaker Carolyn Hugley is poised to make history and become the first Black woman to get elected speaker.
She walked into the House chambers using a favorite phrase of the current Republican House Speaker Jon Burns: “This is a great day to be a Georgian, don’t you think?”
Inside, her Democratic colleagues were holding their annual caucus and electing new leaders, leaders who will be in the majority for the first time in more than 20 years.
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An hour later, those same Democrats walked out of the chamber, having nominated Hugley to be the first Democratic speaker in decades and the first Black woman to hold that post in Georgia history.
“So I’m overjoyed. I’m so excited. Look at what God has done,” Hugley said.
Speaker-nominee Hugley, as she came out of the House, spoke about the weight of history behind her nomination.
“It’s such a tremendous opportunity. And as I think about the speakers who came before me and the strong women in the house that have come before me, I owe them a debt of gratitude,” she said.
But now comes the hard part, working to get her agenda and the agenda of Gov.-elect Keisha Lance Bottoms passed.
Newly elected Democratic Majority Leader Rep. Stacey Evans says she can work with Republicans on issues that will affect Georgians, including, she says, Medicaid expansion.
“And I happen to be an optimist and think that there are a lot of Republicans who really want to focus on families, too, and more than anything, to change the tone and tenor that has taken over in our politics,” Evans said.
While the Democrats hold the house, Republicans still hold the Senate. But several Senate Republicans have expressed a desire to expand Medicaid.
Evans also says it will be a top priority to overturn Georgia’s six-week abortion ban, but Republicans have said that’s one area where they won’t budge.
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