The bickering and mud-slinging between Republican gubernatorial candidates Casey Cagle and Brian Kemp is a well documented phenomenon. Over the last nine weeks, the runoff foes have attacked one another with the ferocity that is usually reserved for President Trump attacking America’s greatest allies. It is clear that both candidates believe that winning this primary is worth whatever cost it incurs, regardless of how moral, ethical, or unprecedented that cost is. What is less clear is how this behavior will affect whichever candidate emerges victorious.
This is not the behavior that helped Governor Nathan Deal win his primary in 2010, nor is it the behavior that helped former Governor Sonny Perdue win his primary in 2002. It is, however, precisely the behavior that helped Trump win his primary in 2016. Of course, Georgia’s electorate is not precisely that of the United States as a whole, nor is Democratic nominee Stacey Abrams the same as former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Cagle and Kemp have cozied up to Trump and emulated his style, but Trump aside, voters are not always so keen to elect blustering, bomb-throwing politicians.
And throw a bomb is exactly that Trump did when he endorsed Kemp last Wednesday. Breaking norms is nothing new for Trump, but to endorse Kemp only days after Deal endorsed Cagle is worth noting. The president went against a sitting governor from within his own party, in a conservative southern Red state. Trump is the anti-Deal and the fringe element of the party loves him for it.
However, there is a reason Deal holds an 85% approval rating with Republicans and a 48% approval rating with Democrats among Georgia voters. He has effectively bolstered Georgia’s economy, helping to make it one of the best states in the country to do business. He has also shown a willingness to reach across the aisle, his working relationship with former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed being the best example of that. Will Kemp or Cagle foster such a relationship should they win in November?
Cagle and Kemp have both embraced an extreme, far-right agenda in which pointing a gun at a child is only one of the more moderately embarrassing events in this election cycle. When candidates have shifted so far to the right and so far away from basic respect, how can it be possible to credibly turn back and appeal to the vast majority of voters who don’t participate in GOP runoffs?
I am glad that I am not the GOP political consultant who will be forced to come up with that answer.
Tharon Johnson is a consultant with Paramount Consulting Group and a Democrat strategist.
