Everybody is talking about the January 5 runoff elections in Georgia, because wins by Democrats Jon Ossoff and Reverend Raphael Warnock would make MVP Kamala Harris the deciding vote in a 50-50 Senate and would ensure Democratic control of the chamber. But this is not what this diary is about. For some reason, Georgia has two runoff dates: The statewide races on January 5, all the other races on December 1, today. Two races are of special interest.
Democrats Kwanza Hall and Robert Franklin face each other to fill the final month of the late John Lewis’ term in Georgia’s 5th Congressional District. The AP reports:
Former Atlanta City Council member Kwanza Hall and former Morehouse College President Robert Franklin are contesting a runoff election. The men finished first and second, but no one won a majority in a first round of voting in September among seven candidates.[...]
The 5th Congressional District includes most of the city of Atlanta, as well as some suburban areas of Fulton, DeKalb and Clayton counties. Turnout could be light, after fewer than 31,000 people voted in September. [...]
Franklin and Hall share similar positions on issues, but Franklin, now a theology professor at Emory University, preaches a higher cause as well. [...]
Franklin has raised $282,000, including $65,000 he loaned his campaign, while Hall has raised $194,000.
The winner will be one of the shortest-ever serving Congressmen, as Nikema Williams, who won the regular election for the next Congress in GA-05, will be sworn in on January 3.
The other key race is for the DA for the Western Judicial Circuit, responsible for two counties, deeply blue Athens-Clarke and deeply red Oconee. Democrats are running a very strong candidate, Deborah Gonzalez, who would become the Latina DA in Georgia history. Take a look at what Stacey Abrams says about Deborah Gonzalez:
Polls are open from 7AM to 7PM. We should know the winners of both races tonight.
Whether or not they have a local election, Democrats across Georgia will be working hard today, as the registration deadline for the January 5 election is coming up in less than a week. Can you chip in to support Democratic County Committees via ActBlue? They are doing the hard work on the ground, often in deeply red areas.