An Axios focus group of Georgia swing voters is encouraging for Sen. Raphael Warnock’s runoff bid, providing a window into how at least a handful of generally conservative voters—who voted for Donald Trump in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020—are viewing the race. It’s definitely anecdote and not data, but the 12 Trump-to-Biden swing voters who participated had all voted in the midterms and are “just as committed” to voting in the Dec. 6 runoff.
In this group, Warnock would win. The feedback from the focus group indicated they were “largely influenced by issues of character, experience and trust, and none plan to change their votes. There were eight Republicans, two Democrats, and two independents and eight of the group voted for Warnock the first time around, several citing Republican Herschel Walker’s “character” issues and fitness for the job.
“I doubt Walker really understands a lot of normal people, regular people. I just don’t think he’s in touch with the real world,” said Susan O. of Augusta. She said she is a Republican but voted for Democrat Stacey Abrams for governor and Warnock. Another participant said “I don’t think I felt comfortable trusting Walker at all,” and a third said Walker was “propped up there to be a Republican puppet.” He added allegations of domestic abuse by Walker was disqualifying for him. “I would never feel good about voting for somebody like that and look my daughter in the eye.”
We only have a few short weeks of overtime to get Warnock back in the Senate. We don’t need to remind you of just how enormous the stakes are, and how little time we’ve got. Please donate $10—or $20, or even $100 if you’re able—to help Raphael Warnock win a full six-year term!
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Then there’s the damning by faint praise from Angela G. of Albany. “I believe in redemption, and I wanted to vote for the Republican party. And even if he is a puppet, at least maybe his values align with mine.” Another was a nose-holding Republican. “I voted for the Republican Party through Walker,” Derrick D. Said.
In this group, the holding your nose and voting GOP wasn’t the norm. “Georgia swing voters brought very specific concerns about character into the voting booth with them: Walker’s character, not Trump’s or Kemp’s—and to a lesser degree Warnock’s, not Biden’s or Abrams’,” said Rich Thau, president of Engagious, who moderated the focus groups.
The focus group was conducted before Democrats’ control of the Senate was determined by Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto’s win in Nevada. That’s one fact that could keep one of the Warnock voters in the group on board. He would consider switching to Walker, Andy J. said, if that would mean Republicans would have the majority, because “A pure democracy is having the right and the left — not the extreme of either, but the normal right and the normal left.” Okay. Sure.
All of this is really encouraging for Warnock, since it was mostly Republicans they were talking to and it seems like the majority are sticking with him, but it’s also entirely anecdotal. It’s far from a guarantee that all the voters supporting Warnock will be there for him in three weeks’ casting their ballots again. We need to help make sure that Warnock’s campaign reaches them, turns them out again, and returns the good reverend senator to Washington, D.C.
There are plenty of opportunities to help get out the vote in Georgia, and we’ve made it easy for you to find them. Just go here, scroll down to learn more, and sign up!
Holy crap, what an amazing week! Where do we even begin this week's episode of The Downballot? Well, we know exactly where: abortion. Co-hosts David Nir and David Beard recap Tuesday's extraordinary results, starting with a clear-eyed examination of the issue that animated Democrats as never before—and that pundits got so badly wrong. They also discuss candidate quality (still really important!), Democratic meddling in GOP primaries (good for democracy, actually), and "soft" Biden disapprovers (lots of them voted for Democrats).
