Nobody thought we would be here with the press calling us a purple state. For the first time in almost 20 years, Georgia had 2 democratic senators and voted for a Democrat for president. I am a long-time radio host in north metro Atlanta and the north Georgia mountains, and we are in a congressional district that is over 70% Republican. The idea that an appointment to the Senate by the Governor in December 2019 to replace the most popular Republican in the state (BC, Before Covid) would not be elected to finish out the term in a special election or the sitting senator would lose to a “33-year-old intern” was unthinkable. Further, it was unthinkable there would be two runoffs held in January 2021 in our state that determined the balance of the Senate. But it happened and here’s what has happened since.
Things have not gotten easier. There is a real divide in the Republican party in Georgia. The state party machine has all but endorsed the Trump candidates even though they are supposed to stay neutral. There is a sense the Trump endorsement in many of our races is less important than it was 3 months ago, and it will be even less important three months from now depending on what happens in our primary on May 24th. And these primaries are important to my listeners who are Georgia Republicans and some Democrats who know our policies have made Georgia the best place in the country to do business for the last 8 years and in their view, we have to unite after the May 24th primary and runoffs to keep this progress going.
I can only tell you what my listeners are saying and how that has changed since election 2020. There are still those that hold on to the idea that the elections were stolen but with every case dismissal, that number is less. There is this large number of Trump supporters in my audience that will also be voting for people they know in the May 24th primary regardless of whether they have the Trump endorsement or not. It seems to them that if a candidate is known and has produced for the constituent, like Governor Brian Kemp, it matters less what former President Trump thinks about them. If they know you, they are judging based on what they know.
I have gotten sideways with a few my listeners who think I have sold out. What happened is I looked at all the evidence and compared it to data and came to the conclusion that legal loopholes were used to maximize Democratic voter turnout. We (Republicans) were out worked. That will not happen again. Currently, there is a “huge” increase in voter turnout during early voting and people are exercising their right to vote at record levels.
So, what do my listeners think today? The challenger to Governor Kemp, former Sen. David Perdue, is losing support or at least not gaining any. Many more of my listeners are calling to say, they loved Perdue as a Senator and they may think President Trump got a raw deal in the 2020 election, but they also think Governor Kemp managed “lives and livelihoods” through the Covid-19 pandemic and he has kept his promises on other issues. They understand many of the things the former President was asking of him were not things he could act on.
The biggest controversy was over whether to call a special session or not to look at the 2020 results. While it is true, the governor could call one, he believed, and people believe him that it would not have changed anything on the ground and would have caused more division. They trust that the passage of SB 202 to close some of the loopholes the 2020 election exposed was the way to move forward legally.
Former Senator Perdue’s assertion he is the one to unite the party by challenging a sitting governor, is not flying with people either. They do not believe it and Sen. Perdue has not given an answer to that question that satisfies most people. Bottom line, the average person in the most conservative listening area in Georgia has moved on and that is evidenced by the increase in turnout in early in person voting in Georgia. Candidate for Senate and Trump endorsed Herschel Walker responded to the 45th President’s threat that if he does not get movement on election fraud, he will tell voters not to vote in 2022 by saying he was his own man and the only way to change things is to vote.
We understand we are in the eye of the storm in Georgia, and we are going to be there for the next few cycles. Georgia is a great place to live, work and play and people are moving especially to north Georgia because of the beautiful scenery, idyllic towns, and nice people as well as low taxes and relative safety.
I will be on every morning talking to candidates, callers, texters and emailers and listening to the folks of north Georgia just like I have done for most of my adult life. It is a great place to be. Turnout is exceeding all expectations in the primary early in person and absentee voting even with no opposition at the top of the Democratic primary ticket. I cannot wait to count the votes.
