In Georgia governor's race, women could cast deciding vote

Oct 12, 2018

2 min

With the 2018 midterm elections looming less than a month away, Georgia gubernatorial candidates Stacey Abrams and Brian Kemp are neck-and-neck according to the latest Atlanta Journal Constitution/Channel 2 poll.

In an election year with record voter registration numbers in the Peach State—and amid allegations of voter suppression—women voters could cast the deciding vote.

But for which side?

To find the answer, says Dr. Mary-Kate Lizotte, associate professor of political science at Augusta University, look to the issues.

“Women, in particular Republican and Independent women, differ from men of the same party on the issues of government spending on childcare, public schools, welfare, social security, and aiding the homeless,” Lizotte said. “Women typically favor increased spending on the issues.”

Examining data from 1994 to 2008, Lizotte, an expert on gender differences relating to public opinion, found that women are also more liberal than men of the same party on the issues of gay rights, government-guaranteed standard of living, and on the provision of more government services.

“For races where these issues have become salient, it might be the case that women would be more likely to be motivated to turn out to vote and to vote for candidates that have liberal positions on these issues,” she said.

That could be excellent news for the Abrams campaign, which has emphasized public education funding.

“Women in Georgia who believe in increasing public education funding should be more likely to vote for Abrams,” Lizotte said. “This may also be the case for several House races where the issue of tax reform and tax cuts has become salient.”

The confirmation of Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court earlier this month could also sway election results, albeit in less clearly defined ways.

Lizotte said the confirmation could either motivate conservative women voters to turn out or, alternatively, dissuade Republican women with Pro-Choice leanings from voting entirely. The expectation is a little more cut-and-dry for liberal women voters.

“The Kavanaugh confirmation is just one more reason to expect an increase in voter turnout among liberal women,” she said. “The Women's March in 2017 and 2018 along with the increase in female interest in running for office all indicate that the Trump election and presidency had already galvanized liberal women voters.”

Finally, Lizotte said, although white women are divided politically—with college-educated white women swaying Left and those without a college degree favoring the Right—there was no such division among African American women voters.

“And as we've seen, African American women turnout at high rates and can influence elections like the Alabama Senate race,” she said.

Dr. Lizotte is available to discuss:

"Gender gaps" on various issues leading up to the 2018 midterm elections
The role of women voters in State and National elections
The perception of voters, in terms of public opinion, toward candidates in Georgia's gubernatorial election.

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Mary-Kate Lizotte, PhD

Professor of Political Science

Lizotte is an expert in public opinion and is an expert in gender in politics and voting.

American Political BehaviorVoting BehaviorPublic OpinionGender DifferencesWomen and Politics

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Aug 20, 2026

3 min

AU Hosts Congressional Hearing on 'Building an AI-Ready America'

The U.S. House Committee on Education and Workforce held its first artificial intelligence field hearing of the year, titled "Building an AI-Ready America: How AI Is Creating Opportunities Across America's Workforce," at the Georgia Cyber Center at Augusta University on July 24. U.S. Rep. Rick W. Allen, who represents Georgia's 12th District and chairs the committee's Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions, chaired the hearing. He was joined by U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina and U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath of Georgia. Jeffery Talbert, PhD, chair of Augusta University's Department of Artificial Intelligence and Health at the Medical College of Georgia and a Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar, served as one of four witnesses at the hearing. "Today, we examine how artificial intelligence, AI, is creating economic opportunities for American workers, job creators and our communities," Allen told the committee. "There's no better place to hold this hearing than right here in Augusta." Allen said the combination of the Georgia Cyber Center and Fort Gordon provides the expertise needed to discuss AI. "Fort Gordon is just a short 30-minute drive from where we currently sit," he said. "It hosts the Army Cyber Center of Excellence and is home to Army Cyber School, which trains, educates and develops the Army's Cyberspace and Electronic Warfare workforce. Every year, thousands of people leave Fort Gordon looking for work." He added that the Georgia Cyber Center "was created to meet this growing demand and drive collaboration between academia, government and industry stakeholders to equip a superior cybersecurity workforce with the skills they need." Augusta University President Russell T. Keen told the committee it was an honor for AU's Georgia Cyber Center to host the hearing. "Congressman Allen has long recognized the important role that education, innovation and workforce development play in strengthening our state and our nation," Keen said. He added that AI "will continue to change how we live, how we learn, how we work and how we solve problems," and that Augusta University "intends to lead in that transformation in ways that strengthen our workforce, advance discovery, improve lives, change lives and save lives." Talbert, who has more than 30 years of experience in biomedical informatics, has published approximately 260 times and has led more than 100 funded research projects totaling more than $130 million. He told the committee that in health care, AI is demonstrating its greatest value through augmentation, helping professionals "work more effectively, reducing administrative burdens, improving patient outcomes and expanding workforce capacity." He pointed to ambient documentation technology, which converts clinical conversations into draft notes clinicians review and approve, as one of the industry's most successful AI applications. "Multiple studies show these tools reduce documentation burden, after-hours work and burnout," Talbert said. "One multisystem implementation found clinician burnout fell from approximately 52 percent to 39 percent." He also cited studies showing AI-assisted breast cancer screening detecting approximately 29 percent higher cancer rates, "helping more patients benefit from earlier diagnosis and treatment." America's opportunity, Talbert said, "is not simply to adopt AI, but to lead its responsible development, education and implementation." He pointed to Augusta University's Department of AI and Health, the first of its kind in Georgia, as an example of that approach. Allen closed the hearing by cautioning against a one-size-fits-all approach to AI policy. "The needs of a family farm are not the same as those of a hospital, a manufacturing plant or a small business," he said. "Congress must pursue flexible policies that allow businesses to adopt AI in ways that best suit their industry and workforce." JagWire has the full recap of the hearing and the Augusta Chronicle, Innovation & Entrepreneurs News and Traders Union also covered the field hearing. Augusta University experts in artificial intelligence, healthcare innovation and workforce development are available for interviews. If you're covering similar stories, reach out to schedule time.

Aug 17, 2026

2 min

The Real Risk of AI in the Classroom Isn't the Tool, It's the Shortcut

Artificial intelligence has moved from novelty to daily habit in classrooms across the country, and the debate over what that means for learning shows no sign of slowing down. Some schools have built AI into their curriculum. Others have banned it outright. Caught in the middle are students trying to figure out where the technology actually helps and where it quietly gets in the way. Trent Kays, PhD, an assistant professor and Director of Professional Writing and Rhetoric at Augusta University, has spent time researching exactly that question, and he recently sat down with FOX54 News to talk through what he's seeing firsthand. Kays, who also serves as a faculty affiliate in Women's and Gender Studies and specializes in digital rhetoric and machine writing, says students are already using AI for far more than quick homework help, from brainstorming and studying to building out entire lesson plans on their own. The bigger concern, according to Kays, isn't misuse in the obvious sense. It's what he calls cognitive offloading, students handing the thinking itself over to the machine. "Students are essentially using AI to do their thinking for them, which is not something that they should do," he said. It's part of why he keeps AI out of his first- and second-year courses entirely: those early classes are where students build the critical thinking skills they'll need before a tool can actually help. "They have to be able to think critically first before they can ask a tool to help them." Accuracy is its own problem. AI tools have gotten sharper, but Kays points out they still fabricate information regularly, including sources that were never real to begin with, something students are far less likely to catch than an instructor who actually reads the citations. None of this means Kays thinks AI belongs outside the classroom. He describes it as a potential process partner, something that can push a student's thinking further rather than replace it, as long as the structure around it is clear. As he put it, what schools need now is to "craft clear guidelines and structures for students to follow so that they know how to use it and how to use it well." Read the full interview and FOX54's coverage here: AI in the Classroom: Augusta University Professor Explains the Benefits and Risks Dr. Trent Kays is available for interviews on AI in education, digital rhetoric, and responsible AI use in academic settings. If you're covering similar stories, click on this icon to schedule time with him.

Jul 9, 2026

1 min

Augusta University's Simon Medcalfe on the Real Economics of Hosting the World Cup

With the World Cup underway across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, Dr. Simon Medcalfe, economist at Augusta University's Hull College of Business, wrote for Augusta Business Daily about why FIFA's headline economic projections for the tournament don't hold up. His piece breaks down why most of the spending tied to hosting the event isn't new activity but rather it's money that would have been spent elsewhere regardless. As Medcalfe put it: "New spending is not created; it is just moved around." Read his full column in Augusta Business Daily : Dr. Medcalfe is a Professor of Economics and Finance at Augusta University, with research spanning sports economics, community and economic development, and social determinants of health. He holds a PhD in Business/Managerial Economics from Lehigh University. If you're covering the economics of hosting major sporting events, public subsidies for host cities, or the gap between projected and actual tourism impact, Dr. Medcalfe is available for comment. Click on the contact button in his profile below.