Closing arguments in Nov. 4 general election campaign hit Georgia television today.
Early this morning, we pointed you to the final argument of Jason Carter, the Democratic candidate for governor. So we'll lead this post with what Republican incumbent Gov. Nathan Deal hopes will be his final say in the contest.
Closers are usually upbeat, an attempt to give voters a reason to vote for the candidate. But Deal couldn’t resist a final shot at Carter:
Here’s the needle: “My opponent’s false attacks? Camouflage for his four years of no accomplishment and no leadership. But that’s just Jason.”
***
Democratic U.S. Senate hopeful Michelle Nunn has launched her closing positive ad, via Politico. The key line: "America is better than our Congress right now." Watch:
***
David Perdue, the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, has also offered his final say. In what certainly is a Georgia first, Perdue brings up our favorite disease from west Africa: "Do you trust President Obama and the Washington politicians to deal with the problems we face -- too much debt, not enough jobs, terrorism and Ebola coming at us from overseas."
***
In addition to his bittersweet closer, Republican incumbent Gov. Nathan Deal has launched this shot at his Democratic opponent:
The HOPE scholarship attack is nothing new. This line is: Jason Carter -- his false attacks are fueled by political ambition. Fueled by Carter's desire to hide his vote against capping the state income tax..."
Actually, Carter voted in favor of the proposed constitutional amendment, which will be up for voter approval on the Nov. 4 ballot. Here's the evidence. From Bryan Thomas, spokesman for the Carter campaign:
"False, desperate attacks. That's all the governor has left, because he can't defend his record of bringing Georgia to the bottom. This last ditch attack is a pathetic admission that the governor has no path to victory on Election Day."
***
In a Sunday interview on C-SPAN, U.S. Chamber political director Rob Engstrom was asked about his organization's lack of support for David Perdue, the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate. Engstrom gave some indication that the Chamber might rethink its isolation of Perdue, who beat the Chamber-endorsed Jack Kingston in a July primary, if the race comes down to a Jan. 6 runoff:
***
The liberal Super PAC Patriot Majority is throwing money into anti-David Perdue ads. A new FEC filing shows the group is spending $435,000.
The New York Times first reported Tuesday that Patriot Majority is teaming up with abortion rights group Emily's List on a $1.4 million buy hitting the now-familiar outsourcing theme.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee, meanwhile, is adding $50,000 to its buy against Michelle Nunn -- bringing its total spending this year to $4.62 million.
***
A war of words has erupted between two state legislators after Democratic state Rep. Stacey Evans wrote a lengthy missive on Peach Pundit defending Jason Carter's stance on HOPE. The argument is worth noting -- because it offers up a reason behind Carter's lack of high-profile accomplishments in the state Capitol. He was on the governor's "no-go" list.
In her PeachPundit post, Evans described the Democratic state senator as a behind-the-scenes influence in convincing Gov. Nathan Deal to restore lower GPA requirements for tech school students to keep the scholarship and allow some top performing students to receive full tuition under the program.
"Without him," she wrote, "Deal would have gutted the lifeblood—and salvation—of countless rural kids yearning to be their family’s first college graduate, like myself. Jason pushed the idea for the good of the State, not his resume."
That led to a brutal response from Republican state Rep. Earl Ehrhart, the chair of the House's budget-writing committee for higher education. He pronounced himself shocked by her "blatant untruths" and wrote that, in private, she was actually frustrated by Carter's "grandstanding" during those negotiations.
"I thought Rep. Evans cared about these students and not about political ends. This is why I helped her every step of the way and why Governor Deal agreed as well," he wrote. "I truly thought she was working in good faith on a mutual issue of concern. Little did I know that she was merely a shill for Jason Carter and his political machine?"
Answered Evans:
"You know as well as I do that Jason worked with me on HOPE. We were partners on HOPE work from day one of our time at the Gold Dome. I said it then and I say it now. I was told he needed to step aside for the bill to move forward and he did."
***
"If you are on Section 8, EBT Food stamps ... Your benefits are at risk if Michelle Nunn & Jason Carter are not elected."
That was the message posted on Facebook by state Rep. Dexter Sharper that was making the rounds in GOP circles this week. The Valdosta Democrat had taken down the message by the time we checked it late last night, but a Republican operative took the screen shot.
Among the responses was from state Rep. Jay Roberts, an Ocilla Republican who wrote he was "disappointed" in his fellow legislator.
"I have no problem with you supporting your candidate of choice, but for you to tell this lie is astonishing to me," he wrote. "Just sad!"
***
Georgia Republicans are peeved that a man in Douglas County was told he must remove his National Rifle Association instructor hat before voting because: "It's perceived to be Republican Party."
Georgia GOP chairman John Padgett sent this along:
"Gun ownership is a constitutional right that Georgians - regardless of Party affiliation - support, promote, and work hard to protect. We stand with Mr. Cobb and support his right to vote wearing the letters of an organization whose sole mission is to protect our Second Amendment rights. We encourage Georgia voters on the right, left, and center to join us."
***
Your Election-Day forecast: The Weather Channel says Tuesday will be partly cloudy and mild, with no rain in the picture.
***
Here's actor and comedian Ed Helms' sitcom-like take on Georgia's gubernatorial race: Republican Gov. Nathan Deal is the crotchety uncle who is angry at his uppity nephew, Democrat Jason Carter. For the record, Deal is 72, while Carter is 39.
“It has a generational feeling to it,” Helms told the AJC's Jeremy Redmon, who is embedded with the Carter campaign this week. Helms is an Atlanta native best known for his roles in “The Daily Show” and “The Hangover” films. “And it feels like Jason is just this spring of positive energy and the governor has this cantankerous, get-off-my-yard vibe."
Helms offered his thoughts after having breakfast with his mother, Pam, and Carter at The Flying Biscuit Café off Piedmont Avenue NE. Helms has donated to Carter’s campaign.
“Maybe it is more of the crotchety-next-door-neighbor kind of feeling,” Helms continued, “and Jason is the energetic young one who is out there just enjoying the world.”
“It’s also a disposition thing. I really feel like the governor has a kind of a curmudgeony energy at this point and it might just be where he is feeling cornered in the campaign.”
***
Today's print column pointed you to the sure winners on Tuesday: Johnny Isakson, Hillary Clinton and maybe Kasim Reed. In Creative Loafing, longtime political observer Steve Anthony, formerly chief of staff for House Speaker Tom Murphy, writes in a similar vein, advising resurgent Democrats to adopt the strategy that served them well in the 1990s:
Southern Democrats successfully espoused this philosophy in the last 40 years of the 20th century. At the same time, they were moving forward on social issues, atoning for past sins, such as Jim Crow laws. This strategy — later used by Bill Clinton with much success — was not part of "mainstream" northern Democrats' game plan, but it worked. The Georgia GOP had neither room to the right on most issues nor allies in the business community, which always caters to the party in power.
***
Brian Kemp, the secretary of state in charge of Tuesday's elections, is also a Republican candidate for re-election. And he may be engaging in a campaign first -- radio ads aimed not just on radio stations aimed at African-Americans and Hispanics, but stations catering to Korean and Vietnamese immigrants as well. Complete with translations:
A Vietnamese version:
A Korean version:
About the Author
