The Democratic National Committee is having its summer meetings this week in Atlanta, in part to show its intention to commit resources to making Georgia competitive.
DNC chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, of Florida, told reporters at a news conference today that the party has hired a "Voter Expansion Coordinator" in Georgia as part of its efforts to register and turn out the hundreds of thousands of new voters Democrats need to make this election -- and future ones -- close.
Here's Wasserman Schultz:
"There is a reason that we are in Georgia. A year ago, in Arizona, I promised that Democrats were committed to planting our flag in every corner of the country. We are here because the DNC is expanding the map, spreading the Democratic message, and we plan to turn Georgia blue."
She was joined by DNC secretary Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, the Mayor of Baltimore, and Democratic Party of Georgia chair DuBose Porter. The Dems also have a handy website where folks can find out voting rules and regulations in their state: IWillVote.com -- or, depending on your language of choice, VoyAVotar2014.com.
Meanwhile, the Georgia AFL-CIO announced its slate of endorsements Thursday. Not surprisingly, it's all Democrats, starting with gubernatorial hopeful Jason Carter and Senate candidate Michelle Nunn.
Georgia AFL-CIO president Charlie Flemming said in a phone interview that he has $150,000 to spend on a voter program, mostly contacting the 210,000 union members in the state and their families. That will be done with phone banks, leaflets at work sites, mailings and "knock and drag" on Election Day.
Flemming said there has been limited interest from the national AFL-CIO -- which would come with far more money.
"We're not what we'd call a Tier 1 [state] yet. We are definitely, right now basically a Tier 3, where they're watching it very closely. ... We're trying to encourage them more."
But missing from the endorsement list is centrist Rep. John Barrow, D-Augusta, who is in the only seriously competitive U.S. House race in the state this year. Flemming said that is because Barrow didn't show up to meet with the union leaders, and they could end up endorsing him down the line:
"The local labor movement over in Augusta supports John, but we as a state body decided not to make the endorsement because John didn't come attend our screenings. We endorsed John in the past, and we've also been a little bit disappointed in John in the past."
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