Voter anger a factor in races for House, Senate

By Aaron Gould Sheinin

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

It's conventional wisdom in politics that having a little "i" next to one's name on the ballot is a huge advantage, but incumbents this year might be more likely to find themselves tagged with an "e" for "endangered."

And while the enmity directed at elected officials has in some ways been centered on those who work in Washington, signs point to voter anger being directed closer to home, too.

"I have no idea what happens, but I know incumbents are particularly unpopular," said John Garst of Rosetta Stone Communications, a Republican polling firm based in Atlanta.

Garst regularly polls legislative races across the state. In each he includes what's known in the industry as a "re-elect" question, which asks whether a voter's state senator or representative deserves to be re-elected.

"The re-elect numbers I' m seeing from across the state are at least 15 to 20 percent lower than they were in 2008 or 2006," Garst said. "It's universal, across the board."

Voters across the state confirm Garst's polling.

"They're working to stay in office, not for me and you," said Leon Cochran, a hardware store owner in Kingsland, in South Georgia. Cochran said he might vote for some incumbents, but he'd like to see new people in office.

In Middle Georgia, construction worker Todd Hogan of Dublin finds politicians out of touch. And in Dalton, retired city employee Johnny Mills said not enough incumbents are being challenged in the upcoming July 20 primaries.

"That makes me wonder if we're starting to just accept things the way they are," Mills said.

Unfortunately for Cochran and Mills, there are few incumbents facing primary challenges.

In the Senate, where there are 56 seats, there are 13 Republican primaries, four involving incumbents. There are also seven Democratic primaries, four involving incumbents. In the House, where there are 180 seats, there are 34 Republican primaries and 23 Democratic primaries. Thirteen Republican incumbents have primaries, compared with 16 Democrats.

In Cobb County, Lindsey Tippins decided not to accept the way things are. He is challenging incumbent state Sen. John Wiles in the Republican primary for Senate District 37.

"I sense that there is uncertainty in the voter base," Tippins said. "People are very, very concerned about the economic situation. There are a lot of people looking for different solutions, and in this race they definitely have a choice."

But while Tippins is a challenger in this race, he's not a political neophyte. He served 12 years on the Cobb County Board of Education and said his previous service prompted supporters to urge him to run against Wiles, who was elected to the Senate in 2004 after spending 10 years in the House.

While Tippins declines to criticize Wiles directly, he said: "A lot of people encouraged me to consider getting in this race. There is a difference in the style in which John and I operate."

Wiles was elected to a Senate Republican leadership post toward the end of the 2010 legislative session amid the fallout over the defection of several Republicans on a bill that created a tax on some hospital revenue. Supporters of the legislation, including Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and other top Republicans, call it a fee, not a tax, that helped balance the state budget.

Wiles said he hasn't encountered voter anger. Just the opposite, he said.

"They're happy with what we did" in the General Assembly, he said. "The feedback is you did a good job. They're happy with transportation [legislation], they're happy we handled the water bill and they're happy we didn't raise taxes."

Voters, Wiles said, understand "the difference between Washington and Marietta and Kennesaw and Acworth and Atlanta."

"They're happy we dealt with the issues rather than borrowing money," Wiles said. "They understand there is pain."

Much of the story line involving voter anger has centered on the Republican side of ledger as the growth of the tea party movement has roiled the GOP grass roots. But Democrats are feeling the heat from their own, as well.

Jim Coonan, a Democratic political consultant who specializes in legislative and municipal races, said it's important to distinguish between the idea of "anti-incumbency" and "revolution." He believes the Georgia electorate is in the mood of kicking out incumbents, but not just for anyone with a tea party sign.

"It's not a good time to be an incumbent," he said. "But that doesn't mean you need to run around with a three-corner hat on with tea bags on it. It means you need to talk about how to make traffic run better. That's what people get unhappy about."

Voters, he said, want more than a slogan.

"There's this kind of feeling now that it's OK to boot somebody who's an incumbent," Coonan said. "Ordinarily, you have an expectation that you have to have a good reason to boot them."

The Rev. Kenneth Samuel believes he has a reason to be challenging incumbent Democratic Rep. Earnest "Coach" Williams in DeKalb County's District 89 primary.

"While I have a lot of respect for Coach Williams for the years he served, I do think his initial resistance to stand in solidarity with teachers, public school teachers, who were mandated to take a furlough ... I didn't think that served the interests of teachers and  public education well," he said.

Williams, however, points out that Republicans are in control at the Capitol and Democrats' ability to influence legislation is limited. The real work for the district, he said, takes place at subcommittee and committee meetings.

"Everybody is entitled to run [for office], but I don't see anything he can bring to the table that we're not doing already," Williams said of his opponent. "We've built great relationships across the aisle."

In the neighboring House District 94, which covers parts of DeKalb and Rockdale counties, four Democrats and a Republican are vying for the open seat left vacant when Rep. Randal Mangham (D-Decatur) decided to run for governor.

One of the candidates knows firsthand how voter sentiment has changed. Andrew Bostic of Lithonia challenged Mangham in the 2008 primary and is running again.

Voters, Bostic said, "feel disenchanted, disconnected from government. There's a different level of anger there. And rightfully so."

The Georgia Times-Union, Macon Telegraph and Chattanooga Times Free Press contributed to this article.