The Georgia and national media will be analyzing yesterday’s Democratic presidential debate in Atlanta, and rightly so. The 10 candidates made their pitches and the ups-and-downs of their candidacies will continue for awhile. But as January 2020 dawns, the field should be somewhat diminished.
But what is clear now, however, are several major developments affecting Georgia’s Democrats:
· Defeated 2018 Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams continues to angle to be a vice presidential candidate of whoever eventually emerges as a potential presidential nominee. Her so-far-effective PR machine periodically keeps her in the news.
· Former Vice President Joe Biden appears determined to press forward, with Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms continuing to be one of his major Southern surrogates.
· “We’re going to win Georgia,” declares Democratic U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, who Washington sources report is still interviewing potential candidates to run for the open seat of soon-to-be-retiring GOP U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson. (Republican Gov. Brian Kemp is tasked with soon appointing a new U.S. senator who will be on the ballot next November.)
· Democrats will have a hard time next year trying to defeat GOP Sen. David Perdue, one of President Donald Trump’s favorite lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Over the past few years Perdue has enjoyed a 49-50% approval rating in internal polling. Also, the incumbent has over $6.3 million cash on hand, and has raised more in just the past third quarter of this year—more than all of his announced Democratic contenders combined.
· Speaking of Democrats seeking the party’s nomination to run against Perdue, two are especially on the defense for being too radical and even socialists. Teresa Tomlinson says people should “stop complaining” about the sky-high taxpayer cost of the Green New Deal and she claims to be “the most progressive candidate,” which can only erode support from moderates and independents. Ted Terry openly says he wants to eliminate all private health insurance (including the popular Medicare Advantage) and replace it with a government command-and-control system. Jon Ossoff announced his candidacy on MSNBC TV from New York, not Georgia— which Republicans have been gleefully pointing out of late. And defeated 2018 lieutenant governor candidate Sarah Riggs Amico is distracted by having to answer questions about her bankrupt company that’s facing allegations of harassment and racial discrimination. Perhaps another Democrat candidate, one more moderate, could announce soon.
