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Georgia Democrats seeing blue for 2010, Rasmussen Poll disagrees
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At last month’s Jefferson-Jackson Dinner in Atlanta, the annual Democratic get -together to honor high achievers within the party, the Georgia Democrats were reportedly giddy. Maynard Eaton reported in the Atlanta Voice that the mood was electric when talks turned to the upcoming 2010 gubernatorial and congressional elections. In the last election in 2008, Georgia Democrats came intensely close to snatching up one Senate seat from Republicans as well as turning the state blue for Barack Obama.
There was a palpable buzz of excitement and expectancy in the air as the Democratic gubernatorial hopefuls jockeyed for position and money in a ballroom packed with some 2000 or more young and old, black, white and brown Democrats from all across Georgia at the annual Jefferson-Jackson Dinner. Out of power for more then six years in Georgia, they smell GOP blood in 2010. (…) A sense of euphoric enthusiasm enveloped the event (…). The party faithful were bubbling with glee over the election and the continued popularity of President Barack Obama. (…)."In our tiny county in north-east Georgia more people voted for Obama then they did for whoever the previous Democratic presidential candidate was. So if it happens in north Georgia, it happens everywhere," said Brooks Franklin, a former Atlanta defense attorney who now farms in Rabun County. (…)"What you see in this room is Georgia (…); we’ve got good principles, good values," [said] Atlanta state senator Vincent Fort. "We are excited because we are going to get the ‘Big House’ back," opined political consultant Brenda Cornelius. source: The Atlanta Voice
[This is an exact quote from the newspaper; the examiner author will not correct grammatical errors if they are included in the original quote].
But there might be a problem with this logic, and a pretty obvious one. Barack Obama was and is an iconic figure for many Americans, but especially African-Americans. The first black post-primary Democratic presidential candidate drew record numbers of supporters in all states, also in Georgia, which prides itself in a very large African-American community.
Despite that, Obama trailed his challenger by about 5 points, and a 54 % Georgia majority voted for John McCain. The byproduct of the close presidential contest ended up being an extremely close race in the Senate election between Saxby Chambliss (R) and Jim Martin (D). The results were too close to call, and another Senate election was held in December. And here comes the problem: Chambliss won by 11 points.
The reality is that the reason Georgia came even remotely close to Purple or Blue in 2008 was Barack Obama. The African-American community did not support Jim Martin, they voted for him because they vote Democratic. To actually assume that in 2010 the African-American community is going to come out in the same numbers as in ‘08 (when Democrats STILL fell short) is not realistic.
As a sign of even more problems for Democrats in Georgia, today a new Rasmussen poll reported that among likely Georgia voters more trust GOP to handle the economic crisis: “For Georgia voters, the state of the economy has critical importance and will affect which candidates get their vote. On the question of handling the state's economic crises, 48 percent of likely Georgia voters told Rasmussen Reports the Republican Party had their trust, while 41 percent said they trusted the Democrats.” source
Democrats have been out of power in the state for roughly 6 years, and even then they were barely holding on. Roy Barnes (D), former one term Governor who’s actually running for the same office again next year and appears to be the front runner among Democrats, was defeated by the sitting Governor Republican Sonny Perdue after just 4 years in office. Georgia is still a very conservative state. In the 2012 election cycle, when Barack Obama is on the ticket again, is when Georgia Democrats will get another shot. In 2010 – not a chance.
QUOTE SOURCE: THE ATLANTA VOICE, June 5-11 issue, article: Georgia Democrats smell victory - and money
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