GEORGIA'S THREE TOP GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATES RELEASED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS -- GUESS WHICH ONE IS CONTROVERSIAL?

Here are some headlines:

So what's the big news? From AP:

When Democrat Stacey Abrams first ran for Georgia governor in 2018, her lackluster personal finances and a hefty bill from the IRS gave Republicans fodder to question how she could manage a state budget when she struggled with her own debts.

As she launches a second bid this year, that’s no longer an issue.

Abrams now says she’s worth $3.17 million, according to state disclosures filed in March. That’s compared with a net worth of $109,000 when she first ran four years ago.

Her rapid ascent into millionaire status corresponds with her rise in national politics. Since her 2018 defeat to Republican Brian Kemp, Abrams has become a leading voting rights activist. She was considered as a potential running mate to President Joe Biden and is widely credited with organizing voters in Georgia to help him become the first Democrat to carry the state in the presidential vote in 28 years.

So that's how she made money? If you've read this far, you'd think so. But in fact:

Along the way, she has earned $6 million, mostly driven by $5 million in payments for books and speeches.

Right. Her 2021 novel, While Justice Sleeps, was a #1 New York Times bestseller. (Years ago she was a romance novelist, using the pen name Selena Montgomery, so she knows how to write publishable fiction.) Her 2020 nonfiction book Our Time Is Now was also a Times bestseller. If people buy your books, there's nothing suspicious or underhanded about an increase in your income.

This is, for some reason, a national news story. This, on the other hand, seems to be a news story only in Georgia:

Gov. Brian Kemp’s latest financial report reveals his wealth has grown by more than $3 million since he took office in 2019, thanks partly to a string of real estate holdings and business investments that appreciated in value.

The Republican filed paperwork Thursday that showed a net worth of roughly $8.6 million that included more than $4.6 million in various properties and a roughly $420,000 stake in a stone supply firm. In his 2018 disclosure, Kemp reported a worth of $5.2 million.

Oh -- so Kemp also had a large increase in his net worth, only his came during his time in public service. Also, he's still worth a couple mil more than Abrams is.

Though his principal rival for the Republican nomination, the Trump-endorsed David Perdue, is even richer:

Abrams’ other Republican rival, former U.S. Sen. David Perdue, reported Wednesday a net worth of roughly $50 million in his financial disclosure....

Perdue’s fortune included roughly $17 million in cash on hand, a Sea Island estate valued at $2.4 million and an additional $21 million in investments....

He reported earning about $6 million from investments in his last four years in the U.S. Senate.

The New York Times reported in 2020:

Early this year, Senator David Perdue, Republican of Georgia, sold more than $1 million worth of stock in the financial company Cardlytics, where he once served on the board. Six weeks later, its share price tumbled when the company’s founder announced he would step down as chief executive and the firm said its future sales would be worse than expected.

After the company’s stock price bottomed out in March at $29, Mr. Perdue bought back a substantial portion of the shares that he had sold. They are now trading at around $120 per share....

Investigators found that Cardlytics’ chief executive at the time, Scott Grimes, sent Mr. Perdue a personal email two days before the senator’s stock sale that made a vague mention of “upcoming changes.” The timing of the message prompted additional scrutiny from investigators in both Washington and Atlanta. But ultimately they concluded the exchange contained no meaningful nonpublic information and declined to pursue charges, closing the case this summer.

Also that year:

Senator David Perdue ... began making large and ultimately profitable purchases of shares in a Navy contractor in 2018 just before taking over as chair of a Senate subcommittee overseeing the Navy fleet....

Mr. Perdue, a millionaire and formerly a prolific trader of individual stocks, announced in May that he would divest from his large individual stock holdings after questions were raised about his well-timed purchases of Pfizer stock in February, after senators were briefed on the coronavirus threat.

So these guys have been doing quite nicely for themselves, even while holding public office. Yet the Abrams disclosure is the biggest story, even though she seems to have made her money from her own labor.

To sum up: Republicans' investments are, ultimately, not to be questioned. Writing books people want to read? Awfully suspicious!