Some Republicans fear McCain taking risk in Georgia

The DeKalb County Republican Party chairman, a long-time John McCain backer, said this week that the Republican’s campaign has left Georgia to chance.

But while Jamie Sibold and others worry McCain has taken the state for granted, campaign leaders insist that all is well, and that Georgia will remain comfortably red.

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Daniel Acker/Bloomberg News

Barack Obama has spent millions in Georgia on advertising, offices and staff. John McCain has spent considerably less and has no offices or paid staff.

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Meanwhile, Barack Obama’s Georgia operation is geared up for the stretch run, but whether the Democratic nominee puts more of his considerable resources here remains to be seen.

Two weeks out and here’s the state of the race in Georgia: McCain enjoys a lead ranging from a high of 6 percentage points to a low of 2, according to the past week’s worth of polls. Both campaigns are focused on the ground game, as early voting continues until next Friday. Turnout so far has been heavy, with a disproportionate number of votes from African-Americans, who tend to vote Democrat. One poll showed Obama with a double-digit lead among early voters.

Obama has spent millions in the state on advertising, offices and staff and has nearly 5,000 trained volunteers. McCain has spent considerably less and has no offices or paid staff. The size of his volunteer army is unknown.

There have been signs that Obama wants to target Georgia again, more than a month after ending a $2 million advertising campaign in the state. With polls showing the race here tightening, Obama national campaign chairman David Plouffe told supporters this week that “we’re always on the lookout for expansion,” after specifically mentioning Georgia.

Obama himself e-mailed supporters Monday in a last fund-raising plea before final campaign finance reports are due at midnight Thursday.

“This Friday, we’re making the very last, hard decisions about allocating our resources,” Obama wrote. “And it will all come down to where we stand financially on Thursday at midnight. … I’d like to fight for voters in every corner of the country. But the reality is that we need to focus and redouble our efforts for the final push.”

Whether a fat bank account translates into a Georgia push is unclear, and the campaign will say little about its final plans.

Little, too, is known about McCain’s plans. His campaign spokesmen will not talk on the record about what the final push will look like here, or whether they would change tactics if Obama puts more resources in Georgia.

That lack of visible planning worries Sibold, who backed McCain in 2000 and ran a phone bank for the campaign during the crucial New Hampshire primary this year. He said he fears too many people in McCain’s campaign aren’t putting the candidate’s best interests first.

“These are people who supported (former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt) Romney through the whole process and had nothing but bad things to say about McCain,” Sibold said. “It’s flat wrong.”

Sibold has long complained that the campaign has erred by not having a single field office or headquarters in Georgia. The campaign turned down offers of free office space, Sibold said, including at his county headquarters.

He understands why the decision was made — Georgia hasn’t voted for a Democrat for president since 1992 — but says that choice looks weak now that polls are worsening for McCain all over the country.

“Look at every red state now and how blue they’re becoming,” Sibold said. “If they’d done more blocking and tackling early on, we’d be better off.”

Sibold is putting off a volunteer trip to Virginia for at least a week to concentrate on getting out the McCain vote in DeKalb. “I can’t go to where they need me the most to play offense, because I’m staying here to play defense,” he said.

McCain continues to lead here, although polls that less than a month ago showed him with a double-digit lead now shows the race within about 6 percentage points.

That should be enough, said Jim Beck, chairman of the Georgia Christian Coalition. But, Beck said, it’s closer than it should be.

“I understand a campaign has to prioritize, but I think they made a strategic decision that Georgia was going to be OK, and why spend any effort?” Beck said, who noted the nearest campaign office is in Tallahassee, Fla., where decisions on the Georgia campaign are made.

“It’s a long drive from Atlanta to Tallahassee,” Beck said.

Nancy Boynton, 52, a Republican voter from Atlanta, is similarly concerned. A McCain volunteer, she sees Democrats outworking Republicans.

“Every vote is crucial and I think that Republican voters need to be encouraged and reminded how important their votes are,” Boynton said. “This is not the time for apathy or defeatism.”

David P. Welden, 65, of Powder Springs, hopes Georgia Republicans are taking notes.

“The Georgia Democratic Party is continuing to grow, and this year is going to be a close race,” said Welden, who thinks McCain will probably win. “Georgia’s GOP needs to look at itself and, without significant reform in the near future, the state will soon return to Democratic control.”

Other Republican voters are more confident.

“Senator McCain is applying his resources in areas where they can help the most,” said Carl Merritt, 47, of Warner Robins.

McCain’s resources are limited, at least compared to Obama, who on Oct. 1 had $133 million left to spend, compared to $47 million for McCain. And because McCain opted to accept public funding of his campaign, he can’t raise more money for himself, although he can — and has — coordinated fund raising on his behalf through the Republican National Committee.

That’s the key, other Georgia Republicans said.

Randy Evans, the Georgia GOP’s general counsel, said McCain is “stuck to putting the money where it needs to go. Georgia is not a place where it’s needed.”

Even without the money, McCain has developed a solid organization, said Mike Beaudreau, who leads McCain’s efforts in the 7th District, which includes Gwinnett County.

“I don’t think we can be any better off,” Beaudreau said.

Obama’s efforts here have attracted much attention. McCain’s plan, Beaudreau said, was always different.

“McCain’s effort tends to be more decentralized and says, ‘Here’s the goals we want to accomplish, we know you know your area better than we do. Go do it.’”

Buzz Brockway, a conservative blogger and former Gwinnett County GOP chairman, said he sees great energy among McCain’s team in Gwinnett.

“They’re going to door to door, knocking on doors, putting yard signs out,” Brockway said. “They’re at every festival and fair that will let them in.”

And frankly, Brockway said, “if McCain was spending lots of money in Georgia, I’d be upset, because he needs to be spending it in Virginia.”