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DEL.ICIO.USThe connection between Obama and the U.S. Senate race in Georgia
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
While we’re talking race, the computer nerds of politics have been poring over the black-and-white breakdowns of the November general election, which have become available only in recent weeks.
The figures have everything to do with Barack Obama and Democrats’ chances of defeating Republican incumbent Saxby Chambliss in the ’08 race for the U.S. Senate.
Consider:
— In House District 56, occupied by Democrat Kathy Ashe of Atlanta, 43 percent of white voters cast a ballot. Only 24 percent of black voters did the same.
— In Senate District 39, represented by Democrat Vincent Fort of Atlanta, white turn-out was 49 percent. African-American turnout was 38 percent.
— In the Fifth Congressional District, belonging to U.S. Rep. John Lewis, white turnout was 54 percent. Black turnout was 41 percent.
— In the Eighth Congressional District, where Democratic incumbent Jim Marshall won by the smallest of margins, African-American turnout was only 43 percent. White turnout was 54 percent.
On and on it goes. Across the state, African-American voters were uniformly unenthusiastic about last year’s slate of candidates, led by Mark Taylor’s campaign for governor.
How’s that connected to an ’08 Senate race in Georgia?
Obama has dropped broad hints that, with him as presidential nominee, African-American participation in Georgia balloting would jump 15 percent or so.
That’s enough to give a fighting chance to a Democrat in a race to unseat Saxby Chambliss — particularly a white Democrat who can peel off conservative independents in Sam Nunn-like fashion.
This presumes that it’s possible for a white Democrat to get past Vernon Jones, CEO of DeKalb County, in a primary. Remember that the first priority of Jane Kidd, the new chairman of the Democratic party in Georgia, is to eliminate a costly intra-party confrontation in that race.
It also means that, as far as Georgia Democrats are concerned, be they white or black, it’s essential that Obama survive the presidential primary process relatively intact.
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By KEITH
April 2, 2007 10:25 AM | Link to this
With obama as the dems nominee or even as a vice-presidential nominee the black vote would go sky high in georgia in ‘08 & the only way vernon jones can be beaten in a democratic primary if you put up a credible, conservative black democrat like mike thurmond, or a sanford bishop because they can appeal to white conservatives in rural georgia & blacks that make up 47% of voters last time I checked in the primary & either thurmond, or bishop can beat chambliss with I project between 53% to 57% of the vote with possibly 25 to 30% of the republican vote.