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DEL.ICIO.USJohnson appeals for McKinney’s support
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Working on about 90 minutes sleep, Hank Johnson, the Democratic nominee for the 4th District Congressional seat, visited television news studios early Wednesday, beginning a series of interviews about his win over U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney.
It was 6:45 a.m and the 51-year-old Johnson was worn out. But his strong victory in Tuesday’s runoff election attracted national attention, and everyone in the local news media wanted to hear from him.
“I’m feeling pretty good. I’m tired but happy,” he said between interviews, vowing to rest later. “I’m judging things not in weeks or months but hours.”
For his win over McKinney, Johnson credited his strategy of campaigning across the 4th Congressional District, which includes DeKalb County and parts of Rockdale and Gwinnett counties.
“We went out to all parts of the district and met the voters and asked them for their support,” said the former DeKalb County commissioner. “And we shared our views with them. I think from that people began to see Hank Johnson is the type of guy who would make a good representative.”
A preliminary Atlanta Journal-Constitution analysis showed that about 64,000 people voted in the 4th District primary on July 18, but more than 70,000 voted in Tuesday’s runoff. The key to Johnson’s victory was the support he received in Gwinnett and Rockdale, where voters came to the polls in surprising numbers. Johnson carried those areas overwhelmingly, while also making inroads into McKinney’s traditional political strength in key parts of DeKalb.
Johnson said he would like to have McKinney’s support against Republican Catherine Davis in the November election. But he said he has not yet heard from the congresswoman.
“I would like for her supporters to be our supporters,” he said.
Later Wednesday morning, he said: “When and if she calls , we will accept her call. I would expect that if we are going to communicate, she would make the first move.
He said he hopes McKinney would cooperate in the transition if he wins in November.
“I think it would be in the best interests of our consituents that there be a smooth transition and we that we be fully briefed on where the affairs of her district are in so far as her office and her efforts are concerned, so we can move forward.”
“I would love for her supporters to be our supporters,” Johnson said. “I’m sure we will have a conversation when she is ready.”
It was not immediately clear what plans McKinney has for today. Late Wednesday morning, an aide at McKinney’s campaign headquarters in Decatur said the congresswoman and her campaign manager, John Evans, were not there and that no one else was available to talk to reporters. The aide also instructed another volunteer not to talk to reporters.
But a few of McKinney’s campaign volunteers talked about her upset outside the building, expressing shock and disappointment. They were waiting for the campaign to issue them checks for working at polling places yesterday.
“It’s terrible,” said Michael Scott, a retired cook from DeKalb County, who waived a McKinney campaign sign and handed out flyers for her at a polling station yesterday. “She got a raw deal as far as I am concerned.
Scott said he voted for McKinney because she has “an outspoken mind. I love a person who speaks their opinion… She was for the people.”
Scott said he won’t support Hank Johnson in the general election, adding that he plans to vote for the Republican, Catherine Davis, instead. Like Scott, Leonard Bolton) predicted McKinney still has a future in politics if she wants it.
“I was shocked. I was looking for her to win,” said Bolton, of Stone Mountain, who works as a vendor at the Georgia Dome. “She has a strong future ahead of her.”
The election loss was the second for McKinney, a six-term congresswoman and outspoken critic of the Bush administration.
Rather than addressing her loss late Tuesday night, McKinney responded by heaping more criticism on the White House.
During the runoff campaign, Johnson accused McKinney of not taking the primary seriously, saying she “ran a stealth campaign.” He said he used that to his advantage for his victory Tuesday night.
“I think she bought the line that the pundits were spinning - that she was unbeatable; there is really no need to give this guy any attention, and we already have our support locked up,’” he said.
McKinney’s controversial style also became an issue in the campaign. During a televised debate Saturday, for example, Johnson called her March confrontation with a Capitol Hill police officer an “embarrassing debacle.”
“She has a history and a record also. And so the voters were able to contrast her style and her record with mine,” Johnson said. “And they made a choice for new leadership.”
After finishing at WSB-TV, Johnson and his entourage went to the FOX 5 studio for another interview. He had a radio interview scheduled for later in the morning followed by a visit to CNN.
Johnson said he has been so busy since his victory Tuesday night that he has not had time to process what it all means.
“I tell you this time last year we were not thinking about Congress. And so it is amazing what can take place within the space of a year,” he said. “I guess my feeling right now is one of ‘I’m still kind of taking it all in.’”
He said he stuck with an election tradition and went to his DeKalb home to sleep in his own bed after his victory. But he said he got only about 90 minutes sleep.
“I had too much adrenaline flowing, so I had to sit up and do some channel surfing,” he said. “I just insist on sleeping in my own bed after a victory. I did that in my first [DeKalb County] Commission race and my second race. We always go home. We do not allow ourselves to party all night if you will. We like to call that to an end and try to get back into a regular routine. And that to me means coming home and sleeping in my own bed.”
He said he plans to go out of town with his family for a few days of vacation before starting Monday to prepare for the general election.
“We will go somewhere. But at this point we don’t even know where — not too far, though,” he said. “We have never been in this position before. We will survey the landscape and make all appropriate decisions probably come Monday. We will probably sit down on Monday and have a leadership team meeting and talk about our future at that time.”
Johnson said he expects his race against Davis to be “spirited.”
“We are not going to take any voter for granted. We have to go out and earn the votes,” he said.
Johnson noted that he has received calls of congratulations from U.S. Reps. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., the Democratic House Whip, and John Lewis, D-Ga. He also got a call from John Coyne, who placed a distance third in the Democratic primary with McKinney.
Johnson’s wife, Mereda Davis Johnson, admired her husband from behind the cameras as he did his interview with WSB-TV.
“I’m just really proud of him,” she said. “He’s a handsome man.”
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