Georgia Republicans have maintained their grip on the state House of Representatives and ousted its leading Democrat after a years-long push by Democrats to flip the chamber fell short in the 2020 general elections.
With several thousand ballots remaining to be counted statewide Thursday, Georgia Democrats had so far only gained one new seat in the Republican-controlled House – far short of the 16 seats needed to flip the chamber.
House Minority Leader Bob Trammell, D-Luthersville, was also turned out of his rural district seat southwest of Atlanta after state and national Republicans pumped millions of dollars into defeating him.
Republicans also fended off challenges to several suburban Atlanta lawmakers to lock down the state Senate and ensure they will oversee the coveted redistricting process next summer.
Democrats were hoping to build on the 13 state House seats they flipped in the 2018 midterm elections and take control of a General Assembly chamber that has stayed in Republican hands since 2005. But Republican incumbents from Savannah to Athens to the Atlanta suburbs batted them back, said Charles Bullock, a political science professor at the University of Georgia.
“It was not the night [Democrats] were hoping for,” Bullock said. “They didn’t come up completely empty-handed but the movement in the Democratic direction dramatically slowed down from what we saw two years ago.”
As of Thursday, Democratic candidates were poised to flip two seats held by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Brett Harrell, R-Snellville, and state Rep. Dale Rutledge, R-McDonough. And they trailed by fewer than 1,000 votes in six other races with more than 60,000 ballots left to be counted across the state.
But the loss of one of their most prominent voices in Trammell marked a resounding victory for Republicans that state and national leaders trumpeted as proof a so-called “blue wave” of Democratic wins in Georgia had been halted.
“Georgia voters punished Bob Trammell yesterday for the Democratic Party’s irrational opposition to legislation that would have protected first responders from terroristic intimidation,” said David Shafer, chair of the Georgia Republican Party. “Democrats have so thoroughly embraced the ‘defund the police’ agenda they refuse to protect firefighters, ambulance drivers and paramedics.”
Trammell, who helped roll out a legislative package of criminal justice reforms in July amid nationwide protests against police brutality, was targeted as the only Democratic lawmaker holding a rural seat in Georgia that had long gone to Republicans.
The Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC), a national group focused on state legislative races, devoted nearly $3 million to hold Georgia seats including $1 million to support Trammell challenger David Jenkins, a U.S. Army veteran and air ambulance helicopter pilot.
“Georgia’s Republican leadership has been second-to-none, never giving up the fight to ensure safety and economic security for every Georgian,” said Austin Chambers, the RSLC’s president. “We could not be more proud to have been on the front lines of defending this Republican majority.”
With control of both chambers, Republican state lawmakers are poised to dominate the upcoming process to redraw district boundaries following completion of the 2020 Census last month. The political party in charge of that process could tweak the boundaries in their favor to capture potentially decisive voting blocs for the next decade.
Despite falling short of their goal, state Democratic leaders saw progress in recruiting so many new candidates to challenge Republican incumbents and pointed to future elections as more opportunities to take control of the House.
“It is a testament to the hard work and dedication of so many organizers, volunteers and candidates that more Republicans than ever were forced to play defense this year,” said Maggie Chambers, a Democratic Party of Georgia spokeswoman. “Thanks to them, Georgia Democrats have built a lasting infrastructure across the state that will continue to give Georgians a choice for years to come on who will represent them and their values.”
Lines were sparse outside the Cobb County Regional Library voter precinct through noon on Election Day, Nov. 3, 2020. (Photo by Beau Evans)
Around 200,000 ballots remain to be counted in Georgia after a hotly anticipated election Tuesday that saw record-breaking turnout fueled by mail-in and early votes.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said he is pushing for several counties with largely mail-in ballots still uncounted to wrap up work by the end of Wednesday.
“Every legal vote will count,” Raffensperger said in a news conference Wednesday morning.
Georgia’s 16 electoral votes hang in the balance with President Donald Trump leading former Vice President Joe Biden in the state by about 100,000 votes as of noon Wednesday. With several states still counting ballots, the presidential contest so far is too close to call.
The remaining uncounted ballots could also influence the contest between U.S. Sen. David Perdue and Jon Ossoff, who as of noon Wednesday trailed Perdue by about 185,000 votes and was close to forcing a runoff in January.
With national attention fixed squarely on a handful of too-close-to-call states including Georgia, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina and Pennsylvania, Raffensperger said Wednesday he feels confident the few counties with uncounted ballots will finish tallying quickly.
“We’ll be off everyone’s radar and they’ll be worrying about the states up north,” Raffensperger said.
The bulk of uncounted ballots are located in DeKalb, Fulton and Forsyth counties, with most being absentee ballots that arrived Monday and Tuesday, Raffensperger said. Those counties were swamped with mail-in votes despite being able to start processing absentee ballots two weeks ago, he said.
State election officials will start auditing election results on Friday and have until Nov. 13 to certify all results, Raffensperger said.
Beyond the uncertainty in the presidential and Senate races, Raffensperger noted elections ran smoothly throughout the state with short wait times on Election Day and droves of voters casting ballots during the three-week early voting period and by mail.
Nearly 4 million Georgians had voted before Election Day even started, which Raffensperger said helped ease pressure on county officials and poll workers to manage polling places safely amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We held an election that was a safe, sensible and responsible election for every eligible voter to access,” Raffensperger said. “Your vote counts.”
Andrew Clyde, a Republican and gun store owner, won election to the 9th Congressional District seat representing Northeast Georgia on Nov. 3, 2020. (Clyde campaign photo).
Gun store owner Andrew Clyde appeared headed for a convincing win against his opponent Tuesday in the race for the vacant 9th Congressional District seat to keep Northeast Georgia in Republican control.
Clyde, who fended off more well-known Republicans in the June primary, was poised to claim the district seat currently held by U.S. Rep. Doug Collins, R-Gainesville, who declined to seek reelection so he could run for the U.S. Senate.
Clyde, who was running his first political campaign, was leading with nearly 80% of the vote just before midnight in Tuesday’s general election. He faced Democratic candidate Devin Pandy, an actor and U.S. Army veteran Devin Pandy, in a district stretching from Gainesville and Athens northeast to the South Carolina border.
Clyde’s campaign touted hallmark Republican positions including protections for gun ownership, opposition to abortion and reducing government spending. He has also called for dismantling the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in favor of a “FairTax” levy targeting consumption only.
A U.S. Navy veteran, Clyde gained political exposure in recent years by pushing Congress to pass legislation limiting the IRS’s powers for civil asset forfeiture after the agency seized nearly $1 million from his gun store.
Clyde credited the experience with inspiring him to run for office, saying in a debate last month that it “showed me there’s a very thin line between we the people running our government and our government running us.”
Clyde grew a small firearms business he launched in his Athens garage in 1991 into a nationwide company with two locations, following three combat deployments in Iraq and Kuwait.
Ahead of Tuesday’s victory, Clyde defeated several prominent state Republican contenders including three current state lawmakers to capture the nomination.
Among them were state Rep. Matt Gurtler, R-Tiger, who fell to Clyde in an August runoff. Gurtler’s reputation for frequently voting against GOP-backed bills prompted many state Republican leaders to support Clyde.
Last month, Clyde batted down attacks from Democratic nominee Pandy who slammed the gun-store owner for suing Athens-Clark County officials to keep his business open during the county’s shelter-in-place order in March.
Clyde also faced criticism for his positions on climate change, which he said last month he does not think exists beyond the normal four-season cycle each year.
“I will hold court with those scientists who don’t believe in man-made climate change,” Clyde said during an Oct. 12 debate with Pandy.
Clyde’s likely win maintained Republicans’ strong hold over North Georgia along with a victory for businesswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene in the neighboring 14th Congressional District stretching from Paulding and Haralson counties north through Rome, Calhoun and Dalton to the Tennessee line.
Greene gained national attention over past online videos in which she appeared to promote the anti-government conspiracy theory QAnon and dismiss the racial-justice underpinnings of the Black Lives Matter protest movement.
She defeated Republican opponent and neurosurgeon John Cowan in an August runoff and has been the presumed winner since her Democratic opponent dropped out of the race in September.
Carolyn Bourdeaux and Dr. Rich McCormick are vying for the 7th Congressional District seat in Georgia in the Nov. 3 general election. (Photos by candidate campaigns)
The race for the hotly contested 7th Congressional District seat in the suburbs north of Atlanta was too close to call Tuesday just before midnight with thousands of ballots still left to be processed in Gwinnett County.
Campaign spokespersons for Dr. Rich McCormick, a Republican, and Carolyn Bourdeaux, a Democrat, indicated a final decision in the race likely would not be known until at least Wednesday.
Thousands of ballots still need to be counted in Gwinnett County due a software error, according to media outlets. Both campaigns said late Tuesday night they are assessing the situation to determine a timeline for when to settle the election.
The 7th District, which covers most of Gwinnett County and part of Forsyth County, has trended more Democratic in recent years after a long stretch of being reliably Republican territory.
Current seat-holder U.S. Rep. Rob Woodall, a Republican who did not seek re-election, narrowly defeated Bourdeaux in 2018 by fewer than 500 votes to win a fourth term.
Bourdeaux, a Georgia State University professor and former state budget advisor, emerged again from the primary in June to compete for the suburban Atlanta congressional seat against McCormick, an emergency room doctor who fended off a slew of Republican challengers.
McCormick touted his first-hand experience treating patients infected with COVID-19 since March as proof he knows how to combat the disease in hospitals and in the economy.
Bourdeaux accused McCormick of downplaying the issue of coronavirus despite his experience with the virus’ health impacts, a stance which she described as “shocking” in a recent debate.
She highlighted a letter signed by dozens of doctors and health-care advocates urging the Medical Association of Georgia to pull its endorsement of McCormick due to his comments on COVID-19.
McCormick cast Bourdeaux in the mold of more progressive Democratic leaders whom Republicans have accused of adopting socialist stances on issues like health care and government spending.
Bourdeaux and McCormick also contrasted in how best to expand access to health care and insurance coverage, unemployment benefits amid COVID-19 and immigration policies.
In particular, the two differed in whether to keep the 287(g) information-sharing program between the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a key issue in a district with a growing Latino population.
McCormick supported the 287(g) program, while Bourdeaux opposed it.
Voting patterns in the 7th District have been closely watched as Democrats gain ground in suburban parts of the state, positioning Georgia as battleground territory that boosted Democratic hopes of capturing the presidency, two U.S. Senate seats and control of the state House of Representatives.
The suburban area north of Atlanta has trended parallel to the neighboring 6th Congressional District, which Democratic U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath won against Republican former U.S. Rep. Karen Handel in a close 2018 race.
McBath appeared headed for victory against Handel in a rematch Tuesday in a bid for her second term in Congress.
U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler (left), U.S. Rep. Doug Collins (center) and Rev. Raphael Warnock (right) are competing in the Nov. 3 special election.
U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler and challenger Rev. Raphael Warnock appear headed for a runoff in one of two hotly contested Senate seats in Georgia.
U.S. Rep. Doug Collins, the firebrand Republican challenging Loeffler for her seat in a free-for-all election, called Loeffler to concede and support her campaign around 10:30 p.m. on Election Day after results indicated she will advance to the runoff. His campaign confirmed the call.
Warnock, who has mustered a staunch coalition of Democratic support in Georgia and nationwide, was likewise well on his way to gathering enough votes to face Loeffler in what will be a closely watched runoff race in January.
“We’re going to be successful, but we’ve got a long road ahead,” Loeffler said late Tuesday night. “So we’ve got to come together.”
Rallying with supporters Tuesday hours before results arrived, Warnock cast the special election for Loeffler’s seat and others Democrats are trying to claim as something of a spiritual as well as political quest.
“I know it’s been a long, dark night,” Warnock said. “But joy comes in the morning. And we are on the verge of morning in Georgia and in the United States of America.”
In a Twitter post just after 10:30 p.m., Collins said he will back Loeffler in her runoff campaign against Warnock.
“She has my support and endorsement,” Collins said. “I look forward to all Republicans coming together.”
The race for one of Georgia’s two Senate seats has been dominated for almost a year by the fierce intra-party battle between Loeffler and Collins, who repeatedly scorched each other in television attack ads and social-media posts.
All the while, Warnock has sought to take advantage of the Republican spat that has largely shielded him from direct campaign attacks and allowed him to broadcast consistent messaging on health care, voting rights, criminal justice and workers’ rights issues.
Speaking Tuesday, Warnock said he plans to stick with that campaign strategy while incorporating more ways to “draw a contrast between my record” and his runoff opponent.
Loeffler was appointed in January by Gov. Brian Kemp to hold the seat vacated by retired Sen. Johnny Isakson, who stepped down due to health concerns with three years remaining in his term.
Whoever wins the runoff in January and claims Isakson’s old seat will need to run again in 2022 for a full six-year Senate term.
The special election held Tuesday involved around 20 candidates including Loeffler all on the same ballot, marking a free-for-all ballot format that prompted the intense campaigning between Loeffler and Collins.
For months, the two Republicans opened fire on their personal and political records, each seeking to portray the other as the less conservative candidate while trumpeting loud support for President Donald Trump.
Loeffler, a wealthy Atlanta businesswoman, has touted legislation she filed on protecting local police budgets, prohibiting COVID-19 aid for abortion providers and barring transgender girls from playing in public-school girls’ or women’s sports.
She faced controversy in April amid allegations she made stock trades to isolate her and her husband’s assets from damage from the COVID-19 pandemic, shortly after she and other senators received a private briefing on the virus.
Though a federal investigation found no evidence of wrongdoing, Collins and Democratic leaders frequently used the incident to bludgeon Loeffler as an out-of-touch elitist concerned more about her own financial interests than public service.
Loeffler, who has pumped $23 million of her own money into her campaign, embraced her wealth by portraying herself as a self-made political outsider in the mold of Trump who would not be shackled to any campaign donors.
Collins, a four-term congressman and U.S. Air Force Reserve chaplain, pushed to chisel his image as the more grassroots conservative candidate compared to Loeffler, who he accused of being too cozy with the oft-vilified Planned Parenthood and Georgia Democratic star Stacey Abrams in her role as co-owner of the Atlanta Dream women’s professional basketball team.
But aside from sniping at each other’s personal backgrounds, Collins and Loeffler largely shared similar conservative views on key issues like abortion, gun rights and economic security from China.
By contrast, Warnock used his platform to condemn his Republican opponents for opposing the Affordable Care Act and supporting Trump’s latest U.S. Supreme Court justice pick following the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in September.
Warnock, who is the senior pastor at Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, has pressed for boosting health-care access through Medicaid expansion and by shoring up the Affordable Care Act with a public option. He has also called for national rules on certain police activities including a ban on chokeholds and third-party probes of officer-involved killings.
Though the clear Democratic frontrunner in the race, Warnock was not immune to challenges from within his own party. In particular, he faced competition from educator and health-care consultant Matt Lieberman, the son of former U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut.
Lieberman, who drew a scant share of the vote Tuesday, refused to exit the race after many prominent Democratic leaders urged him to clear the way for Warnock in a bid to help the frontrunner gain enough votes – more than 50% of the total – to avoid a January runoff.
Former U.S. Attorney and state Sen. Ed Tarver also competed in the race as a Democrat. Former Lithonia Mayor Deborah Jackson also pulled a fair number of votes as a Democratic candidate.
Lines were sparse outside the Cobb County Regional Library voter precinct through noon on Election Day, Nov. 3, 2020. (Photo by Beau Evans)
Georgians fearing the worst for Election Day 2020 woke up to find swift lines and few headaches as voters shuttled in and out of polling places up and down the state on the way to record-breaking turnout.
Even before Tuesday, Georgia voters had cast nearly 4 million ballots by mail or during the three-week early voting period that wrapped up last Friday.
With upwards of 2 million more ballots anticipated, the state looked well on track to passing the 4.1 million record turnout for the 2016 presidential election.
Faced with huge lines during early voting and in the June 9 primary, election officials across the state warned Georgians in recent weeks to prepare for lengthy waits outside voting places as poll workers grappled with high volumes, new machines and safety precautions amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
LaToya Jefferson, who lives near her precinct at Cobb County Regional Library in Mableton, said Tuesday she had watched the long lines of early voting since Oct. 12, when voters waited outside the library for as many as eight hours.
Jefferson decided to wait until Election Day to vote, despite remembering the tough conditions during the 2016 election when she had to wait for hours in the rain. But come Tuesday morning, it took her about 10 minutes to vote at the library.
“I was surprised,” Jefferson said. “I kept seeing that line and seeing that line last week. But I was in and out today.”
By the lunch rush, when lines tend to run long, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s office estimated wait times statewide stood on average at just four minutes to vote. Election officials primed for a repeat of problems seen in June were starting to breathe sighs of relief.
“We’re hearing good things all over the state,” said Walter Jones, a spokesman for Raffensperger. “Everything is humming along.”
Even the worst line offenders in Atlanta were running smoothly. Poll workers at the Park Tavern precinct, where people waited for hours in line during the June primary, had been moving voters through with no slowdowns and no technical issues by 2 p.m.
Officials said few polling places opened late on Tuesday, eliminating a major source of bottlenecks that have plagued past elections. Machine problems had also been sparse aside from a glitch in Spalding County with voter access cards, but which was largely fixed by afternoon.
Raffensperger and other officials credited the thousands of volunteers who have pitched in as poll workers and technical assistance with helping ease the voting process, as well as an avalanche of early and mail-in votes. Counties like Fulton also took key steps to resolve past problems, Raffensperger said.
Gabriel Sterling, the voting system manager with Raffensperger’s office, said around 3:30 p.m. that “everything is steady as she goes” across the state with the average wait time having fallen to a mere two minutes. The longest afternoon wait time was about an hour in Coweta County, Sterling said.
“It’s exceeding our expectations given the situations we saw in June,” Sterling said. “We’ve hit all of our marks. The counties have done an amazing job. The state’s worked with them to make sure they have all the resources they need.”
Voting rights advocates have pressed state and county election officials for months to reduce line times that drew accusations of voter suppression.
Rev. Raphael Warnock, the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate and senior pastor of Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, said during an Election-Day campaign stop that “we are clearly on our way to record turnout and that’s a good sign.”
Campaigning Tuesday with Stacey Abrams, the 2018 Democratic gubernatorial candidate who founded the voting rights group Fair Fight, Warnock praised the quick voting times but cautioned Georgians to remain vigilant about potential acts of alleged suppression.
“We’ve seen the collision of voter passion and voter suppression,” Warnock said. “Hopefully, at the end of the day, the passion will overcome the suppression.”
