Last fall attorney Leah Aldridge won the Republican vote in a special election in Senate District 6 (part of Cobb County and Sandy Springs) where there were five GOP candidates. The Democrats only had three, so do the math. The Republicans won a majority of votes (51 percent) and Aldridge led the GOP pack, but because of the GOP split the election was won by Democrat Jen Jordan. However, Aldridge is running again for the seat, vowing to unseat Jordan.
To defeat Jordan in November, though, Aldridge must first defeat another Republican in the May 22nd primary— John Gordon.
Gordon’s campaign drew first blood with a mass mailing declaring that she “donated money to a Democrat in Atlanta.” ($500.) Perhaps Gordon should have left that issue alone. Aldridge shot back with her own mail/social media barrage, noting that: 1) Gordon voted in a Democrat primary, 2) publicly praised former President Barack Obama on Facebook and 3) was a major donor to several Democrats. She concluded: “We don’t need another Democrat representing us.”
What about Gordon’s charge that she gave money to an Atlanta Democrat? It’s true, Aldridge says. Here’s her explanation on her Facebook page:
“As a volunteer healthcare advocate, I assisted in the passage of a REPUBLICAN sponsored law to support breastfeeding moms and babies. Rep. Sheila Jones, a Democrat, crossed party lines to be a leader in support of this Republican-sponsored bill, which (former District 6 Senator) Hunter Hill voted for. I have donated to all the leaders on the issue – one of the four was a Democrat. I remain proud of Rep. Jones’ courage in working with the Republicans, as should you. … Politics may be a bare-knuckled brawl at times, but our children shouldn’t be the ones with the bruises.”
Primary voters will have to decide which of the two is has committed the lesser sin when working with Democrats. Republican voters also must decide if a conservative female would be the better candidate when running against a liberal female in the fall campaign.
