Interesting movement on the Georgia U.S. Senate race next year:
http://www.ajc.com/...
The two prominent Democrats eyeing a run for U.S. Senate next year, John Barrow and Michelle Nunn, are planning to meet soon to discuss which one will run, Democratic insiders tell the AJC.
Barrow's camp played down the talk, saying there is no such meeting on Barrow's schedule. This weekend he will be at the tree festival in Baxley and the Masters golf tournament in Augusta, said Barrow spokesman Richard Carbo. "That's not to say one couldn’t eventually happen, but he has no plans to meet right now," Carbo said. - Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 4/12/13
I'll be interested to see how this goes. By now, a lot of you are familiar with who Blue Dog Congressman John Barrow (D. GA-12) is. For those of you who don't know who Michelle Nunn is, she's the daughter of former U.S. Senator Sam Nunn (D. GA) and is the CEO of volunteer service organization Points of Light. I wrote about her recently:
http://www.dailykos.com/...
It's important that Georgia Democrats find the best candidate for this race, especially since this race could help push Georgia into the Purple category:
http://saportareport.com/...
This is the first time the national Democratic Party has taken the lead in attempting to recruit a Senate candidate in the state, which is also a sign of its willingness to spend money here next year if it can get a competitive race. Of the states that went to Mitt Romney in last year’s presidential election, Georgia had the second-highest percentage of support for Barack Obama behind North Carolina, and that was with without any support from the Obama campaign. With Democrats facing a tough challenge defending their Senate majority, that’s evidence enough for the party to devote more resources to Georgia in 2014 than it has in years.
“You’re going to see a lot of effort in 2014 and 2016 in the South because it’s the only place where Democrats can get Senate pickups,” said Georgia Democratic Chairman Mike Berlon, who thinks his party could have a candidate by the end of May.
With Republicans in sight of gaining a super majority in both chambers of the General Assembly next year, the ripple-down effect of that national money and organizational clout could be crucial for Democrats in the state. One big reason Sonny Perdue was able to break the Democrats’ lock on the governor’s office in 2002 was the Bush Administration’s determination in helping Saxby Chambliss unseat Cleland in that year’s Senate race. The Democrats have to be more modest about their expectations next year, but the synergy of a competitive U.S. Senate race could be significant for them all down the ballot.
Just as important for the Democrats’ future is the ripple of Republican ambition that this open-seat Senate race is likely to cause. - Saporta Report, 4/8/13
Plus a nasty, crowded primary on the GOP side will play a big role in this race:
http://saportareport.com/...
There is much scuttlebutt surrounding the Republican primary and the merry-go-round of career politicians that have expressed an interest in the Senate race and possible subsequent open seats as a result.
Declared candidates include Congressman Phil Gingrey (R-Marietta) and Congressman Paul Broun (R-Athens).
The noncommittal but curious crowd include Congressman Jack Kingston (R-Savannah) and Congressman Tom Price (R-Roswell) and former Secretary of State Karen Handel who lost the gubernatorial Republican primary run-off by a mere 2,000 odd votes.
The Republican primary will inevitably turn into a litmus test of true conservative values and verbal sword fights in defense of the U.S. Constitution.
In a recent Washington Post article on Broun’s Senate candidacy, an anonymous Georgia GOP insider quipped, “He’s going to say things that are going to make him unelectable, even in an ultraconservative GOP primary in Georgia.”
While the chances of a Democrat winning Saxby’s Senate seat are slim — even with a “right, right” Republican primary, the right candidate and a robust ground game could lay the foundation for a highly contested 2016 Presidential election and the 2018 statewide constitutional officer elections. - Saporta Report, 4/8/13
Plus there's one more key aspect that could help swing the Peach State for Team Blue:
“Demographics is helping Democrats, but demographics needs help,” said Georgia House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams.
Abrams believes the ripple-down effect of the Senate race will provide that kind of help, creating opportunities in districts that would have been out of reach for another election cycle or two.
It isn’t likely Democrats will be able to capitalize on many of these opportunities, just as it’s a long shot they can win the Senate race. But the cumulative effect of all these races should be to generate Democratic candidates, at least some of whom will play in the evolution of the party in coming years.
That’s the biggest reason the Senate race could mean more to the Democrats than the more solidly entrenched Republicans. Besides, they could get lucky. - Saporta Report, 4/8/13
After the 2012 election, I wrote about how much I want Democrats to win this seat:
http://www.dailykos.com/...
There truly is nothing sweeter than beating Republicans on their home turf. Plus I want to make their worst nightmare come true where changing demographics will now put their turf into play. Georgia, Kentucky and South Carolina are the three big Southern states that Democrats have their eyes on and I for one want to see these races flip blue in 2014. Hopefully Barrow and Nunn will be civil in their decision on who is to run but a primary between the two might be a good thing. Our primary will not be as crowded or nasty as the GOP's primary but if Barrow wants the nominee, he needs to earn it and win over progressive Democratic voters. I don't know yet if Nunn will be that candidate who will push him to the left or even win the nominee but I am looking forward to what the Georgia Democratic Party has to offer in their chance to revive themselves.