But, yeah, you're right, there's a good chance that Democratic outside groups lavish money on Nunn and Jason Carter as well. Nathan Deal hinted as much last night, lamenting how outside dollars from both sides of the spectrum will seek to define the race.
I was just trying to look that up - it's at my fingertips.
A Democratic group has already jumped in on Nunn's side. I'm trying to remember the name. Greg?
Hey Abo, Hank faced one of the biggest challenges yet. But most of the Democratic establishment - including the White House - lined up behind him. Plus, many of Brown's supporters were conservatives or independents more likely to vote in GOP race. That didn't help him at all.
There are many, many more conservative GOPers in the Legislature, and Ralston will still need to give them a say in matters. The difference, I think, is the entry of the business community into Republican primaries. Conservative House Republicans now have to take that into account....
For Centrist: Demography is everything in politics, and long-term, Georgia is headed toward swing-state status.
To The_Centrist, a lot of it depends on how bruising this Senate runoff is. If Perdue and Kingston tear each other apart, it gives Nunn more time to build her case - and avoid the brunt of GOP sniping.
To FlournoyRJ: This is where it gets very interesting. Mike Buck is John Barge's chief of staff, and supports Common Core. Richard Woods is anti-Common Core. If the tea party can regroup and get behind Woods, he'll have the advantage. But your business types -- specifically the Georgia Chamber of Commerce -- will make sure Buck has all the money he needs.
On the superintendent race, it's all about name recognition. Richard Woods ran in 2010 so he has some lingering ID help. And Mike Buck is already well-known in education circles and was the leading vote-getter. His opponents tried to target him as "Barge 2.0" - a reference to the current superintendent.
Possibly. But in my experience, the issue of ethics falls to the wayside in a hyper-partisan contest, which this will certainly be.
Probably not. I think the best that Carter can hope is that the 25 percent of Republicans who didn't vote for Nathan Deal will stay home in November. Deal's opposition (at least David Pennington's) didn't think the governor was conservative enough.
It's funny you ask that, RRC. I can't imagine many tea party types gravitating toward Carter over Deal, but there's a persistent rumor that some tea party organizers will stay out of the race altogether, driving down turnout and depressing Deal's support.
And Perdue was including Handel as one of the "three career politicians," even though the former Secretary of State also tried running as an outsider.
“You know one thing we did do tonight,” Perdue told his cheering supporters in Buckhead. “We retired three career politicians. And we’ve got one more to go.” See the rest here:
One factor in the fight for votes in Atlanta suburbs will be the matter of endorsements. Handel isn't ready to make one. Gingrey said he "probably" won't. You have to wonder how Perdue will fare if they change their minds. The main point of last night's speech: "Last night we got rid of two career politicians. One more to go."
Yep, you can see on that map how Kingston's big turnout in south Georgia helped offset Handel's success in the core metro Atlanta counties.
And Perdue won Cobb County outright, coming a few hundred votes ahead of Handel and about 5,000 above Phil Gingrey, who represents that county in Congress.
That's a good question. Perdue was able to squeeze Handel's support in the burbs. He finished only a few thousand votes behind her in Fulton. So I agree - Perdue definitely has a leg up on the metro crowd.
Right now, you'd have to give the edge to Perdue. He seems to have good suburban appeal, and even bested Handel in Cobb County. Kingston has some work to do north of I-20 before July 22.
Reader West Cobber submitted this question earlier this morning: In the GOP primary for the Senate the map shows that Fulton and Gwinnett
went for Karen Handel. To whom do you think those counties will go in
the runoff between Perdue and Kingston?
Good point. The GOP, at least on the statewide ballot, will be an all white and all male ticket.
Greg: Also remember that state Rep. Willie Talton of Warner Robins, the only black GOP member of the Legislature, was defeated last night. Another blow to those trying to build diversity within the Georgia Republican party.
Whoops. To continue. Kingston's race had a precedent -- Erick Johnson's 2010 GOP race for governor, where he was edged out by Handel for a spot in the runoff against Nathan Deal. Johnson is an important adviser in the current Kingston campaign.
In the superintendent race, both Bell and Johnson were considered top contenders for the gig, and both are black Republicans who offered a way for the party to build inroads to minorities.
Probably Jack Kingston's U.S. Senate performance in south Georgia, where he racked up enough votes to offset anything that Karen Handel produced in metro Atlanta (where she was squeezed by David Perdue.) One thing you have to remember is that Kingston's race had a precedent.
I'll go a bit down-ticket for this one. I was shocked that neither Fitz Johnson or Ashley Bell made the runoff in the GOP superintendent race.
What were the biggest surprises of the night?
(This is Greg by the way:) So that's exactly why Perdue and Kingston both said early this morning they would court Handel. And neither has sought to distance themselves from the tea party, they are just generally more linked to establishment causes. In Perdue's case, he's a lifelong businessman whose cousin is the former governor. And Kingston's long tenure in the House and his backing by the U.S. Chamber makes him friendlier to the establishment.
Greetings, all. So what do you want to know?
Last night's outcome was seen as a rebuke to the tea party. None of the movement's preferred candidates made the Senate runoff, David Pennington never mounted a serious challenge to Gov. Deal and they lost a host of down-ticket races. Still, Karen Handel, Paul Broun and Phil Gingrey supporters tallied more than 40 percent of support - enough combined to easily get in the runoff.
This question was submitted earlier from a reader: Given that that so-called Tea Party backed candidates are not in the GOP primary run-off, what role/impact do you see the Tea Party having as Perdue/Kingston face off in July?
Does either candidate create a net benefit in courting Tea Party Support?
