GA-Sen A & B: Vanity Fair Highlights Why White Suburban Women Are Abandoning The GOP In Georgia
Vanity Fair has a great piece about the all the political turmoil the good state of Georgia is facing. Governor Brian Kemp (R. GA) has royally fumbled reopening the state during the coronavirus pandemic and U.S. Senator Kelly Loeffler (R. GA) has been tarnished by scandals over her insider trading. There’s also the tragic shooting of jogger Georgia is a growing a state and it’s getting closer to becoming a bluer state but as the article points out, it’s not just newer voters that are Democratic, the GOP is losing this key core block of support:
The first test of that blueing trend will come on June 9, in the Democratic primary to choose an opponent for incumbent Republican senator David Perdue. State and national Democrats tried to recruit Abrams to challenge Perdue, but she declined and is now angling for a vice presidential slot alongside Joe Biden. So Jon Ossoff, who came close to winning an upset bid for a congressional seat in 2017, is the front-runner. Former Columbus mayor Teresa Tomlinson, however, has been attempting to make inroads with black voters by talking up the Arbery case.
That’s the simple campaign. Analyzing the other Senate contest requires diagrams. In December 2019, Senator Johnny Isakson resigned, citing health problems. As his replacement, Kemp picked Loeffler—over the objections of Donald Trump, who preferred conservative Georgia congressman Doug Collins. Kemp’s theory was that Loeffler would appeal to the younger, more moderate, suburban white women whom Republicans need to win statewide elections. But Loeffler, in earning her Republican stripes, has alienated many of those voters by moving to the right on issues like abortion.“You’re seeing an influx of new voters to the state, but what you’re really finding is white women switching,” says a top Georgia Democratic strategist. “They were solidly, reliably Republican until Trump and Parkland. Those two things have turned those voters. They’re embarrassed by Trump, and I think there’s an argument to be made that they’re also embarrassed by Kemp and Loeffler.”
Because Isakson quit early, Loeffler is running in a special election, which by Georgia’s rules means a nonpartisan “jungle” primary in November, with a January 2021 runoff between the top two finishers likely. That’s the top two out of the 21 candidates on the ballot—including Collins, who has been beating Loeffler in some polls. Much of the Democratic establishment has coalesced behind Reverend Raphael Warnock, the senior pastor at Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church. Warnock, 50, has the key backing of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and has been endorsed by Abrams; he’s raised the most money, though he will need to raise a whole lot more; and he has the highest name recognition of the Democratic contenders. Warnock’s greatest appeal, however, might be his virtuous image. “Running against Doug Collins, who has been part of a corrupt system for years, and against Kelly Loeffler, someone who has benefited from it for years, you’ve got a guy who has literally been in the church and who thinks public service is a way you live your life,” a top national Democratic operative says. “You couldn’t write it more perfectly.”
Give the article a read and let’s help Joe Biden and these Georgia Democrats flip the state blue. Click below to donate and get involved with Biden and these Georgia Democrats campaigns:
Senate A (Against Perdue):
Senate B (Against Loeffler)
Congress:
