Georgia’s governor’s mansion
By Elliott Brack
Editor and publisher
AUG. 7. 2018 | Today let’s look at the November election.
But first, how about a nice applause for Sen. David Shafer for the gracious way he handled his surprising loss to Geoff Duncan in the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor.
Getting 49.9 percent of the vote, and with this less than 1 percent difference in the vote, he could have demanded a recount. He did not, saying: “The Good Lord has a plan for each one of us. With the counting of the provisional ballots complete, it is clear that His plan for me does not include being Lieutenant Governor of Georgia.”
Some candidates might have complained about a voting machine snafu that could have cost them the race. Or they could have said the election was unfair for a number of reasons.
But Gwinnett’s David Shafer did none of those. Instead, he graciously exited the contest. This ought to stand him in good stead for running for office in the future. Attaboy, David.
NOW, LET’S LOOK to the November election in two races.
For governor, with Georgia being considered these days a Republican state, Brian Kemp must be considered the favorite. The Democrat, Stacey Abrams, while exciting some people as her party’s nominee, seems to have a long way to go to topple the GOP.
Having said that, still Mr. Kemp should be a little on edge at the tremendous outpouring of votes for Ms. Abrams in the Democratic primary. In doing so, she defeated her well-thought-of opponent by a 3:1 margin! She has Democrats buzzing, and brought along many newcomers to win Democratic races.
Mr. Kemp also can no longer absolutely count on the big Metro Atlanta suburban counties going the Republican way. The 2016 presidential race showed Gwinnett and Cobb in favor of the Democrats. And the growing diversity in other suburban counties brings them into question.
One of Brian Kemp’s hopes is to carry conservative South Georgia. Yet that is the very place where Ms. Abrams has spent a lot of time and money, visiting all these counties, and racking up big vote margins in the primary.
While we still question if Georgia is ready to turn Democratic for the governor’s race, this may be a closer race than many had anticipated. Not only that, but will disillusioned Trump supporters go again with the GOP, or vote against Trump’s endorsement? Lots can happen in three months. It’s a long way to go.
LOCALLY, ANOTHER RACE of interest is the contest for 7th District Congress, with a majority of the district in Gwinnett. Similar to the governor’s race, again the Republican incumbent, Rob Woodall, may be almost unworried about his chances, especially since he also represents a big bloc of voters in Forsyth County, considered GOP territory.
Yet his Democratic challenger, Carolyn Bourdeaux, has heavily spent in this race, and plans even more. She also has the endorsement of the candidate she beat 52-48 in the runoff, David Kim. With Democrats on the rise in Gwinnett, the question may become can Ms. Bourdeaux win enough Gwinnett votes to more than offset what is expected to be a Republican majority in Forsyth County?
It appears that right now Mr. Woodall will return to the Congress. Yet the overall Democratic turnout throughout the state may turn several elections.
For both Ms. Abrams and Ms. Bourdeaux, they may remember how Sonny Perdue, virtually unknown and without a lot of money, surprised Roy Barnes by coming out of nowhere and beating him.
Now, your turn. Give us your thoughts.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Follow Us