Georgia editorial roundup

Recent editorials from Georgia newspapers:

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May 28

Savannah Morning News says the rise of gubernatorial candidate Stacy Abrams adds intrigue to the governor’s race:

State political pundits predict Georgia is still an election cycle or two away from going “purple,” or one where Republicans and Democrats are similarly supported by the voting populace.

Stacey Abrams may be accelerating that transformation.

The newly crowned Democratic gubernatorial nominee easily won her primary contest against Stacey Evans a week ago. Even more impressive - and no doubt more concerning to Republicans - were the voting numbers.

More than 553,000 Georgians cast Democratic ballots. That’s up 45 percent from four years ago, albeit in a year when the candidate ran unopposed, and 29 percent from 2010, the last time the governor’s seat was open.

Chatham County’s blue poll wave was even more pronounced, with 19,531 voters casting Democrat ballots, up from 9,844 four years ago and 11,342 in 2010.

Abrams’ get-out-the-vote approach, with a particular appeal to African-Americans and women, obviously succeeded. She garnered 423,000 votes statewide herself, more than the combined totals of the seven candidates eight years ago.

Abrams’ primary opponent, Stacey Evans, proved to be more than a gracious loser - she endorsed Abrams during her concession speech. She encouraged her fellow Democrats to rally behind “a unified voice” going into the November election.

Abrams’ focus is already on the general election showdown. …

“We are writing the next chapter of Georgia history, where no one is unseen, no one is unheard and no one is uninspired,” Abrams said. “And I know for the journey ahead, we need every voice in our party - and every independent thinker in the state.”

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Abrams’ last admission, the part about attracting “every independent thinker in the state,” signals her next challenge.

Even with the strong Democrat turnout, more Georgians cast Republican ballots in the primary than Democratic. More than 607,000 conservatives went to the polls last Tuesday, up from 596,000 four years ago.

Still, there’s room for Abrams to gain support. The 2010 primary saw 680,000 Republican ballots. The 70,000-vote decrease in Republican participation over the last eight years could prove significant.

Nathan Deal won the last two elections by fewer than 250,000 votes. Combine the uptick in Democrat voters, the drop in Republicans and an energized African-American voting bloc - more than 1 million registered African-American voters stayed home in 2014 - and Abrams becomes a real threat to break the Republican hold on the governor’s mansion.

She’ll need to moderate her message, though, to attract those “independent thinkers.” She campaigned as an unapologetic progressive in the primary and is on the record as saying “the approach of trying to create a coalition that is centered around converting Republicans has failed Democrats in the state of Georgia for the last 15 years.”

The flaw in that logic is the Republican party is currently as fractured as it’s been in generations. Between those disgusted by President Donald Trump’s behavior and those disappointed in the identity politics played by the Republican candidates, many who traditionally lean right will head into the November election as free-agent voters.

This presents a tremendous opportunity for Abrams, but she must convince those Georgians that she is not a Nancy Pelosi or Hillary Clinton clone. …

Count on the Republican nominee, be it Casey Cagle or Brian Kemp, to relentlessly link Abrams to Clinton.

Just as Trump benefited greatly from the voting populace’s repudiation of Clinton in the 2016 presidential race, the Republican challenger can leverage voter angst over Abrams’ leftist positions in the general election.

Abrams’ primary election platform stood on stricter gun control, greater financial aid for low-income Georgians and the decriminalization of marijuana. She was endorsed by Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Planned Parenthood and LGBT advocacy groups.

Abrams’ opponent will ruthlessly splash those facts across television screens and radio signals in the months ahead. Her stances and affiliations will scare away many independent voters, particularly should Cagle win the Republican runoff. The lieutenant governor can appeal to moderates in ways Kemp can’t given the far-right image he’s cultivated while chasing the Republican nomination.

To turn Georgia prematurely purple, Abrams is going to have to reach out to red voters. She better start stretching now.

Online: http://www.savannahnow.com

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May 29

The Brunswick News says the time to prepare for a hurricane is now:

Given recent history, we are sure there will be plenty of local folks on pins and needles for the next six months.

Many people who were displaced by flooding or storm damage during Irma last year are just now getting back into their homes. Others may still be displaced.

But hurricane season waits for no one. It begins Friday and lasts until Nov. 30. Forecasters are predicting this season will produce 14 named storms, seven of which the experts believe will turn into hurricanes. Three of those could become major storms, according to Colorado State University’s storm researchers.

Since 2016, we have been directly impacted by four storms and received plenty of rain and other nasty weather by storms passing off the coast or swirling in the Gulf of Mexico. Already this year Alberto, a subtropical storm in the Gulf, has brought us plenty of rain.

But those impacts pale in comparison to what Irma and Matthew in 2016 brought. Those are the types of storms our county Emergency Management Agency and other first responders and officials were preparing for last week during a hypothetical exercise to prep for the upcoming season.

We are keeping our fingers crossed we do not get hit by another named storm this year, but we are well aware now that Coastal Georgia is not as hurricane-proof as people were once inclined to believe.

We may sound like a broken record every year, but it is with good reason. Now is the time to prepare for a hurricane.

Get a hurricane kit ready now. Don’t wait until the storm is on top of us. The kit should include essential things like toiletries, non-perishable food, water, prescription medication and anything you might need for your pets, among other things.

You should also have an evacuation plan ready for you and your family. We have evacuated each of the past two hurricane seasons and may have to again.

Everyone should be fully aware now of the impacts that even the edge of a downgraded storm can bring.

So take the advice EMA director Jay Wiggins gave The News last week.

“Preparation is always the key,” he said. “These are things to take care of before the storm approaches.”

Online: https://thebrunswicknews.com

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May 25

Gainesville Times says voters are bracing themselves for the second round of the state primary:

With the state primary races done and July runoff looming, the analysts now begin looking into the tea leaves to determine what it all means and what comes next. Calling the shots in politics is no easier than in football or horse racing, so best take it all with a grain of salt.

In poring over the numbers, we seek answers to these questions:

Was last Tuesday a win for Casey Cagle?

Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle entered the Republican field for governor after 12 years in office with name recognition, a rich war chest and support of most major Republican backers statewide.

But these days, being the establishment Top Cat is a liability. As the front-runner, Cagle became the target of others aiming to reach a runoff. He was painted as the “career politician” soft on conservative issues compared to those driving a “Deportation Bus” and wielding shotguns, despite the fact he was endorsed by the NRA.

On primary day, Cagle finished with 39 percent of the vote, Brian Kemp with 26 percent, likely a tighter margin than many expected, though Cagle himself had said winning outright was next to impossible. More surprising is that Cagle won just 49 percent in Hall, a baffling total in his home county, even in a multicandidate field. Perhaps ads by Kemp and others had an effect among many conservative voters.

In 2010, Nathan Deal’s first primary race for governor, some 19,000 Hall Republicans cast votes, 64 percent (more than 12,000) for Deal. On Tuesday, Cagle got 7,623 votes out of 15,488 cast. So there was an enthusiasm gap there, for sure.

Will turnout decide the runoff?

Tuesday’s turnout in Hall was about 18 percent, a percentage point lower than four years ago when Deal was unopposed in the primary for re-election. Turnout was weaker despite a contested race involving another Hall County native. Part of that could be blamed on the rainy weather, or perhaps having a primary the last week of school before Memorial Day vacations when people are distracted by other priorities.

It’s traditionally harder to get folks to the polls a second time. In 2014, 19 percent came out for the primary, 14.5 percent in the runoff. That always depends on the races left to be decided; that year, a U.S. Senate race on the Republican side still drew interest, with only about 1,000 fewer casting votes in Hall between May and July. Most major Democratic races that year were decided in the primary and drew scant interest.

Since Georgia was forced by the courts to move its runoff further from the primary, the races now will be settled July 24, just weeks before the start of school in the midst of summer vacations. Thus, it may be difficult to get people who already may be fed up with political ads, robocalls and the like to muster the inspiration to head back to the polls.

Are Democrats gaining ground?

The 2014 primary had about 600,000 votes cast on the Republican side, 328,000 for Democrats. On Tuesday, the number of GOP ballots was a few thousand higher, but the Democratic votes swelled to 550,000, an increase of more than 200,000.

Part of that may be attributed to a governor’s race between Stacey Abrams and Stacey Evans, two popular, well-funded candidates. How that will play out in November remains a wild card in a state that has trended heavily Republican for nearly two decades.

To say Hall is the reddest of Georgia’s Republican counties isn’t exaggerating. Even with a high profile contest, only about 3,500 Democratic ballots were cast for governor, compared to more than 15,000 for GOP candidates. But while Republican votes were up a bit from the 13,597 cast four years ago, that Democratic increase was more than double the 1,254 Democratic votes in the 2014 Senate race. Thus, it appears Democrats may be increasing their numbers and support, but slowly.

When will young people begin voting in bigger numbers?

For years, the talk nationwide and in our state has been how a tide of young adults, many of them minorities, would swell the voting ranks and boost Democratic fortunes. So far that trend has yet to match the tidal wave seen in 2008 and 2012 when Barack Obama was on the ballot.

In 2014, the turnout of voters younger than 30 in Hall was minuscule, about 3 percent among Republicans and less than 1 percent among Democrats (fewer than 100 total), and they were no more inspired in the runoff. But those older than 50 continued to vote, particularly Republicans; 31 percent of voters older than 65 cast more than 10,000 ballots in the Hall GOP primary, well above the overall turnout numbers.

We don’t yet know the demographic breakdown of Tuesday’s primary vote, which will indicate whether that millennial “bump” has arrived. Yet until young people become more involved, get registered and show up to vote, Georgia elections will remain decided mostly by seniors who stay engaged while interest among their younger peers peaks and wanes.

OK, let’s blink back into focus here as we look away from the microscope. While the numbers might show certain tendencies, they don’t weigh the true deciding factors in any race: The candidates themselves. Endorsements aside, what Cagle and Kemp do and say between now and July 24 in their campaigns, on the airwaves and in debates can best sway voters their way. After that, the cycle begins again when the winner faces Abrams.

Voters should watch carefully, evaluate and stay plugged in. This yearlong ride has just passed the first turn and there’s a long way left to go in this race.

Online: https://www.gainesvilletimes.com