There are a handful of districts around the state, mostly in metro Atlanta but also Savannah and Augusta suburbs, that may act as a tell come next week when results start rolling in. These districts may show whether November ends up in a blue wave or if the GOP can pull out a win again like in 2016. There are a few of these seats that the GOP is privately conceding may be gone but a handful, such as Senate District 32 in Metro Atlanta, will be a bellwether of how deep Democratic gains may be.
Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick
Senate District 32 is basically the East Cobb Senate district. East Cobb is famously Republican. In 2016, then-Senator Judson Hill faced no competition in a primary, and current Senator Kay Kirkpatrick beat challenger Christine Triebsch 57% to 43% in the generally big Democratic year of 2018. It is not necessarily on anyone’s seat flip Bingo card but a big showing by Triebsch is possible and Kirkpatrick is taking nothing for granted.
Kirkpatrick has since become one of the prominent voices at the capitol, one of few Republican women currently holding office in the General Assembly and as a doctor and healthcare expert, frequently discussing healthcare issues in her two years at the Gold Dome so far.
Triebsch is again challenging her this year. Triebsch is a family law attorney and says she is a “champion of women’s issues and affordable, quality healthcare.” Her husband is a middle school teacher in Cobb so education is another important issue for Triebsch.
In a time of ultra-divisive politics, garnering attention for a state level race – not a statewide race mind you – can be a difficult proposition. Much of the attention and money is flowing to the presidential and statewide races, local coverage which formally would have come from robust newspapers is, let’s just say, less than robust. In Covid-19 times, getting out there is even more difficult.
“Campaigning is really different this year for a few reasons. My campaign is walking neighborhoods but we are not knocking on doors, just hanging campaign literature on doors,” said Kirkpatrick. “People are working at home, kids are in school at home and there is the underlying concern about COVID. The weather has been good so we are still able to safely reach a lot of voters who are out walking or doing yard work. Big campaign events and other live events is very limited due to the virus.”
Generating knowledge and interest in her race is difficult and Kirkpatrick is seeing the impact of the big races. “The top of the ticket races are really generating a lot of calls, ads, texts, mail, etc. so it does make it harder to get a message out about a local race. And the top of the ticket races will definitely influence the down-ticket races.”
One thing that has surprised Kirkpatrick is just the level of early voting going on. With concerns about Covid and potentially long lines on Election Day, early voting is seeing massive turnout. “The most fascinating thing is that many/most people have already voted, either absentee or early, which is different than previous years,” said Kirkpatrick. “The drop boxes have been a great addition since many people are worried that their absentee ballot would not arrive in time to be counted.”
“I am pretty happy with how my race is going, primarily because I am staying positive, talking about my successes, running a full campaign and hope it will pay off on November 3.”
