ATLANTA – The race to fill former U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson’s seat permanently looks to remain a free-for-all “jungle” primary involving candidates from all parties at once after legislative changes to that format were shelved Tuesday.
Under House Bill 757, special elections in Georgia for suddenly vacated offices would require a party primary to be held prior to a general election in the fall.
Currently, special elections do not include party primaries, instead pitting all candidates who qualify against each other simultaneously in the general election.
Changes to the bill introduced Tuesday would apply the party-primary format to special elections starting in 2021. That timing would keep this year’s U.S. Senate contest to permanently replace Isakson as a free-for-all special election with no party primary.
The party-primary bill became a political hot potato last month when U.S. Rep. Doug Collins, R-Gainesville, announced his bid to unseat appointed U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler. Gov. Brian Kemp tapped Loeffler late last year to fill Isakson’s seat until the Nov. 3 election.
The bill was initially amended to require a party primary for the Senate race. Several of Collins’ supporters including Georgia House Speaker David Ralston, R-Blue Ridge, favored the change.
Many lawmakers and observers at the state Capitol speculated restoring the election format to a traditional primary could boost Collins’ chances to beat Loeffler before competing against the Democratic candidate.
Without the changes, the November free-for-all election will likely result in a January runoff. Special elections require the leading candidate to secure more than 50% of votes to avoid a runoff.
The revised bill would also apply the party-primary format for special elections to state House and Senate seats. Some state lawmakers worried Tuesday that adding more primaries for local elections could be too expensive for many counties.
Originally sponsored by Rep. Barry Fleming, R-Harlem, the bill’s changes in recent weeks have been brought by Rep. Shaw Blackmon, R-Bonaire.
At a House Governmental Affairs Committee meeting Tuesday, Blackmon said the latest changes aimed at pushing back the start date were “requested by members of our body” and took into account how the race “is playing out in the Senate.”
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who favored holding off on the changes until next year, said the slower approach to tweaking elections in Georgia is prudent. He also called for creating a commission to keep studying the issue after the 2020 legislative session ends.
“It’s a very broad issue that deals with several different races,” Raffensperger said. “It’s not just a one-off for a congressional seat.”
Critics, meanwhile, wondered why the changes could not take effect in time for this year’s elections.
“If the policy is good for Jan. 1, 2021, then it should be good for now,” said House Minority Leader Bob Trammell, D-Luthersville.
The race between Loeffler and Collins has heated up amid rounds of political advertising. Collins has lampooned Loeffler’s touting her upbringing on a farm in Illinois, despite now being a wealthy CEO from Atlanta. Loeffler’s allies have cast Collins as too enmeshed in the politics of Washington, D.C.
Aside from Republicans Loeffler and Collins, and Democrat Raphael Warnock, the U.S. Senate race has drawn two other Democratic challengers so far: Matt Lieberman, the son of former U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, and Ed Tarver, a former U.S. attorney and state senator from Augusta.