Election Day in Georgia today will be about more than just the Presidential race between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. Even though – and rightfully so– the race for President is pulling in most of the attention, there are several down ballot races across the state that could have big consequences in Georgia.
One of those is for Georgia House District 42 which takes in a big portion of Cobb County. The race features 27-year-old Democratic Socialist Gabriel Sanchez and Republican Diane Jackson – who are both vying for their first term in the Georgia legislature.
Sanchez is the first Democratic Socialist to win a state primary in Georgia, according to the Atlanta chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America. In the May primary, he defeated incumbent Rep. Teri Anulewicz, who has served in the House since 2017. District 42 has not been represented by a Republican since 2012 and overwhelmingly voted for Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election.
Another race drawing attention is Georgia House District 53 in Sandy Springs, which often acts as a bellwether for the state. Incumbent Rep. Deborah Silcox, a Republican, is vying for her second term representing District 53 against Democrat Susie Greenberg.
This race is one of the most competitive in the state, and one of the most expensive legislative battles. Silcox flipped the district Republican in the last election, winning by fewer than 1,500 votes. Greenberg has raised nearly $432,000, according to her most recent campaign filing, more than four times Silcox’s $103,000 from this year’s campaign.
Silcox previously represented House District 52 but lost to State Rep. Shea Roberts, a Democrat, in 2020. Silcox notably refused to concede for over six months following the election, after a lawsuit was filed by a Sandy Springs resident alleging that voter fraud had occurred in the district. The case was eventually dismissed by the Georgia Supreme Court.
Several local district attorney races have also garnered a lot of press leading up to today’s election.
In fact, outside political action committees have spent approximately a quarter of a million dollars on two of Chatham County’s most closely-watched races – one of those being the DA’s race.
Safer Georgia spent $148,858 in October on fliers and video ads that assail incumbent Chatham County District Attorney Shalena Cook Jones. Contributors to the group include former U.S. Senator Kelly Loeffler, Gov. Brian Kemp’s own PAC, as well as Savannah business leaders William “Bill” Dickinson and Bert Brantley, who is Kemp’s former deputy chief of staff.
Cook Jones’ bid for a second, four-year term as district attorney is being challenged by Republican Andre Pretorius. Cook Jones is seeking a second term to advance her “smart-on-crime” agenda, which calls for shifting resources from prosecuting non-violent crimes to trying violent ones. Pretorius, meanwhile, has highlighted many shortcomings of the incumbent during her tenure. She has been sanctioned by a judge and heavily criticized for significant turnover of veteran prosecutors. He is running on a traditional Republican tough on crime agenda.
Reports indicate that in June 2023, Safer Georgia received $140,000 from Kemp’s two state PACs, Hardworking Georgians Action and Hardworking Georgians, Inc., in addition to $25,000 from Loeffler.
The PAC first targeted a progressive district attorney in Athens-Clarke County in the spring. Voters will decide between incumbent Democrat Deborah Gonzalez and challenger Kalki Yalamanchili – another race to watch today.
Gonzalez has come under fire from Republicans who have attacked her prosecutorial record and approach to immigration cases. Four years ago, Gonzalez became the first elected Latina district attorney in Georgia. Voters bought into her approach to criminal justice, which included more diversion programs and shorter sentences for nonviolent offenders. She promised to put resources toward root causes that lead to criminal behavior, with an emphasis placed on marginalized communities.
But Yalamanchili has called Gonzalez’s term a failure. He cited staff shortages, courtroom losses and repeated violations of the mandate to keep victims informed about their cases and notified of their rights.
