For a couple of years now, Georgia has had the reputation of being a purple state or at least a swing state. Recent election results have contributed to this narrative, but it’s not exactly the reality.
Georgia is more of a red state than most pundits are willing to give it credit for; however, the outsize influence of metro Atlanta, other urban areas, and college towns has helped Democrats get more of a leg up in recent years. Be prepared for a lot of background to follow, but recent history can show how the “purple state” moniker doesn’t easily fit the Peach State.
Here’s how the last couple of elections gave Georgia that purple-state reputation. In 2020, a lot of suburban voters didn’t care for the way Donald Trump criticized Gov. Brian Kemp (R-Ga.) and the way he opened the state back up from COVID lockdowns earlier than any other state. That led to a lot of Republicans staying home or skipping the top election on the ballot.
The specter of 2020 election shenanigans loomed over the 2021 Senate runoff, in which both of our senators were up for reelection (one in a regular election and the other in a special election). Thanks to worries of vote-stealing, exacerbated by Democrat billboards that discouraged Republicans from voting because “they’re going to steal your vote,” 750,000 GOP voters stayed home from the runoff, giving us two Democrat senators.
The 2022 Senate election saw a different issue that hurt the Republicans. Herschel Walker, the Republican candidate, couldn’t shake a constant barrage of allegations against him as well as doubts that he would be an effective legislator. Walker is a childhood hero of mine — for football, not politics — but he was a weak candidate, and voters thought so, too. His was the only statewide race where the Republican lost; all other GOP candidates won by impressive margins. […]
— Read More: pjmedia.com
