By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
AUG. 19, 2022 | Cogitating today on the race for governor in less than three months: it appears that the race will be close.
When Brian Kemp first went into office four years ago, some thought that he would serve for only one term, since his Democratic challenger, Stacey Abrams, had run a close race, would probably be more powerful in 2022, and clip his wings. Meanwhile, Ms. Abrams has become the darling of many people in the country, as reflected in the vast amount of money she had raised for this race, and for other pro-Democratic causes. She seemed to be flying high.
Yet now that we are in the midst of the actual 2022 election year, Ms. Abrams is not polling as strong as we had thought she might. She seems to have lost a little all-out support among voters, and more importantly, among Black voters.
Of course, that’s what you might expect in a race against a sitting governor. A person in that office can wield tremendous support from different groups often by the appointments he makes, the inclinations he shows, and the money he raises. These are mighty symbols of power from the influence of a sitting governor, and can turn into votes.
Kemp
Brian Kemp is playing his cards in an all-out effort. Remember him sending a tax rebate to most Georgians? That’s tremendous political candy. And now he has announced another $350 return to low income residents. Can that be turned into votes? Possibly.
This comes in a year when his Republican colleagues in the Legislature have passed a bill (which Kemp signed into law) that won’t even allow someone to give a bottle of water to people waiting in line to vote, which makes that rebate even more flabbergasting.
Money OK, but water no?
You mean people can’t give a bottle of water to someone, and the governor can make headlines approving state checks to Georgia votes?
What’s wrong with this logic?
Remember, as noted above, the sitting governor has tremendous power.
Abrams
The recent polls show that the current governor’s campaign is certainly a close one. Will Georgia shift to a Democratic governor by one or two percentage points? And come November 8, it may not be decided. After all, the Libertarian Party is offering a slate of candidates for statewide offices, and could throw the election into a runoff….meaning the governor’s race outcome might not be decided until December 6.
There’s another major element that could impact the next governor’s election: the race for U.S. Senate between Sen. Raphael Warnock and football star Herschel Walker. That, too, could be a close race, and certainly will have nationwide attention, with the Senate up for grabs.
There’s talk of the possibility of a lot of people in Georgia splitting their ticket among the two parties, complicating everything. You can bet there will be a lot of money thrown at this race, too. Get ready for almost continuous political ads interrupting your television watching. And your Post Office box will be stuffed with a continuous barrage of mailings from candidates.
Meanwhile, the big overall question locally is whether Georgia will generally go blue in the two major races, for governor and the Senate. While the Legislature will certainly remain Republican, change is on the horizon. Will it come now, or later? The next three months will tell.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
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