Georgia has been a tough state for Democrats in recent elections. It was once a cornerstone of the (bad old) “Solid South” but in 1964, when the Republicans put themselves squarely against the civil rights movement, it voted Republican for the first time in its history. In 1968 it stood with George Wallace (with Humphrey coming in 3rd), and in 1972 Nixon wiped out McGovern in Georgia by a 3-1 margin.
Then, favorite son Jimmy Carter reversed all that in 1976, winning his home state 2-1, even carrying counties that had voted 90% Republican four years earlier. He won the state by 15 points in 1980. In 1984 Reagan won the state by 20, and in 1988 George H. W. Bush rolled up a similar margin. In the three-way split of 1992 Bill Clinton won a razor-thin victory in Georgia, only to lose narrowly in 1996. In 2000 G. W. Bush won by almost 12; in 2004 he won by 16.
And then things started to change a little. Barack Obama lost the state by only 5 in 2008, and lost it by 8 in 2012. And in 2016, Hillary Clinton lost by only 5 points. (Thanks as always to Dave Leip’s Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections, an outstanding resource.)
In 2016, the Georgia counties won by Clinton were: Baldwin, Bibb, Burke, Calhoun, Chatham, Clarke, Clay, Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, (part of Atlanta/metro Atlanta) with 79.1% of the vote, Dougherty, Douglas, Fulton (Atlanta) with 67.7%, Gwinnett (second-most populous county), Henry, Jefferson, Liberty, Macon, Muscogee, Newton, Randolph, Richmond, Rockdale, Sumter, Talbot, Taliaferro, Terrell, Warren, and Washington. Counties where Clinton was competitive were Baker (-8.7), Dooly (-2.1), Early (-8.0), Mitchell (-10), Peach (-2.9), and Twiggs (-1.5). In the small rural counties Clinton was crushed.
Then in 2018 the brilliant, electrifying Stacey Abrams came within 1.4 percentage points of victory in an election for Georgia governor her opponent was in charge of supervising. Fewer than 53,000 votes separated her and the corrupt Republican Brian Kemp. The Democrats flipped one U.S. House seat and came within 400 votes of flipping another. It sent a clear signal:
GEORGIA IS WINNABLE—if we work for it!
Here are some key demographic facts about the state, courtesy of World Population Review:
Median age: 36.2
Females 51.3%, Males 48.7%.
Ethnic breakdown:
- White: 59.04%
- Black or African American: 31.46%
- Asian: 3.91%
- Other race: 2.75%
- Two or more races: 2.45%
- Native American: 0.33%
- Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander: 0.06%
Here are some facts about the Georgia electorate in 2018, courtesy of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
- Voter turnout skyrocketed statewide by more than 10 percent from 2014 to 2018. Turnout increased by at least 20 percent in 81 counties. Kemp won 71 of those counties, which tended to be exurban or rural.
- The electorate was less white than it has ever been. About 59 percent of Georgia voters were white. That’s down from 61 percent in 2016 and 64 percent in 2014.
- Georgia voters were also older this year. People 52 and older made up 52 percent of the electorate, which was a 5 percent increase from 2016. Millennials were not much of a factor. Voters 18-34 were 19 percent of the electorate – about a 3-percentage point drop from two years ago.
- Voters in Georgia’s most populated areas are becoming more Democratic. Stacey Abrams outperformed Hillary Clinton’s 2016 rates in all 25 counties with at least 100,000 residents. Meanwhile Kemp underperformed Trump’s totals in the state’s 18 top populated counties.
- There was not a huge surge in new voters. About 7 percent of voters registered in 2018. In 2016, 12 percent of voters registered.
Other key facts: Male 44%, Female 55%. White, 59%, Black 29%, Latino and Asian 2% apiece. Ages 18-34 19%, 35-51 29%, 52 and older 52%.
A majority of Georgians disapprove of President Donald Trump’s performance in the White House and he appears to be facing a hard fight against each of the five top Democratic candidates seeking to replace him, according to an exclusive Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll.
In head-to-head matchups, former Vice President Joe Biden ran strongest against Trump, leading the president 51% to 43%, fueled by solid support from women and independents. Other matchups against South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg and U.S. Sens. Kamala Harris, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren are much tighter.
Biden is running even in Georgia. We can DO this!
Starting to see the possibilities?
If you want to get involved, try these groups:
THE BIG ONE: Fair Fight, Stacey Abrams’ organization, which is in it to win it! They are fighting against every nasty, ugly, anti-democratic tactic the Republicans are employing.
Democratic Party of Georgia.
The Democratic Party’s County Committees in Georgia.
Young Democrats of Georgia.
Activist Organizations in the Atlanta Area.
Better Georgia.
Progressive Directory.
Indivisible.
ActLocal. (Big list!)
So there’s all kinds of ways to get involved.
We saw the fiasco of the Georgia primary. We saw black voters standing inline for 3 hours for their chance to vote. We saw foul-ups and DELIBERATE voter suppression. And yet, our voters turned out in record numbers. An even greater effort will win us the state this time. AND THERE ARE TWO SENATE RACES, EMINENTLY WINNABLE ONES. We can DO this. Jon Ossoff is already at work! Let’s DO this.
VOTER INFORMATION from the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office.
MORE VOTER INFO.
CHECK YOUR VOTER REGISTRATION STATUS OR REGISTER TO VOTE.
Georgia has 16 electoral votes. If we rally younger voters, minority voters, women (especially suburban women), and voters in populous counties, those 16 electoral votes can be ours!
And...as always:
Try these links.
POSTCARDS TO VOTERS.
VOTE FORWARD’S LETTERS TO VOTERS.
TEXT OUT THE VOTE.
THE MoveOn TEXT TEAM
And don’t close the door on canvassing just yet! There are safe ways in which this can be done!
Our Target Groups: WHERE THE VOTES ARE
ID REQUIREMENTS FOR EVERY STATE, HOW TO OBTAIN VOTER IDs
1. Information from The National Conference of State Legislatures, located here. This is an excellent source.
2. Information from Ballotpedia, here. This has a wealth of detail.
3. VoteRiders will help people obtain voter IDs. Take a look here.
ABSENTEE BALLOT REQUIREMENTS
Vote.org
Absentee and Early Voting
REGISTERING TO VOTE
1. State voting requirements can be found at U.S. Vote Foundation, located here.
2. You can register people to vote at Vote.Org, located right here.
3. You can not only register to vote at this site, you can check your current eligibility, right here.
WORKING WITH DEMOCRATIC GROUPS AT THE LOCAL LEVEL
1. Act Local put this guide out last year. It has plenty of good information, and I’m sure they’re already cranking up for 2020. Take a look here.
2. You want to be part of a fighting organization? Check out Indivisible, right here.
3. Check out Wave 2020, right here. Their list of local organizations is here.
4. Take a look at SwingLeft, right here. And their swing state project is HERE.
5. The Action Network has links to let you volunteer in key states.
FOR AMERICANS ABROAD AND MEMBERS OF THE MILITARY
And Democrats Abroad has valuable information.
And take a look here:
The Campaign Workshop: GOTV for Democrats
Nuts & Bolts, right here on DKos.
Progressives Everywhere
National Democratic Training Committee
Progressive Turnout Project
For the Win (county-wide GOTV)
Daily Kos Groups (from Kossack mettle fatigue)
Sister District Project (for winning state legislatures)
Joe Biden’s Take Action Page.
And MICHELLE OBAMA is ready to go BIG on GOTV!
Here are ALL of the state Democratic parties!
We need your help BIG TIME this year! Never think we’ve got this in the bag. We need to be fighting EVERY day.
And your money is vital as well. ActBlue is a handy-dandy way to contribute.
