Qualifying for the hundreds of political offices up for grabs begins this morning and stretches until Friday. Here are five things to watch as major party candidates face the big deadline:
1.) If Georgia Democrats want to prove they are an ascendant force in state politics, they'll need the candidates to back that claim up. They've already nailed down the top of the ticket with Senate candidate Michelle Nunn and gubernatorial challenger Jason Carter, but they've struggled to attract top-notch candidates down the rest of the statewide ballot, as well as for the three open U.S. House seats and state legislative races that could be in play. This week presents a big test for the party.
2.) Expect the turnover rate in the Legislature to ramp up. The Senate is already losing two of its top leaders to retirement, with Majority Leader Ronnie Chance and Majority Whip Cecil Staton deciding to move on. Republican senators Buddy Carter and Tim Golden are also hanging 'em up, and Jack Murphy, who chairs the Senate's utilities committee, is considering his options. Across the hall, former Majority Whip Ed Lindsey and Democratic Rep. Alisha Thomas Morgan are running for higher office. Other House honchos could be eying a departure as well.
3.) It's now or never time for major party candidates, and those considering runs for higher office or facing challengers for their current job may be having second thoughts. So far, the candidates for the top jobs profess they aren't looking back. Superintendent John Barge and Dalton Mayor David Pennington, who are both challenging Gov. Nathan Deal in the GOP primary, say they still plan to qualify despite long odds. (Pennington, for one, says he is resigning his mayoral seat today to double down on the run.) And the five top GOP Senate candidates battling each other have sent out word they aren't wavering. But last month we saw another Republican Senate candidate, Eugene Yu, switch to a different contest. Keep an eye out for more surprises this week.
4.) Democrats cleared the way for Carter when he announced his challenge to Deal in November. But that could change this week if another Democrat hops in the race, forcing Carter to shift time and resources to a primary contest rather than focus his attacks on Deal. Pressure is mounting on Nunn's long-shot Democratic rivals to run for down-ticket gigs, though both Branko Radulovacki and Steen Miles both told us they rejected calls from party elites to switch. And Democratic leaders have been searching for a primary challenger to Morgan, who is running for superintendent. Republican incumbents, meanwhile, are wary of a new strain of tea party challengers who could test them in new ways. Watch for internal fissures from both parties.
5.) As crucial as this week is, it's not the final say on the candidates on your ballots. Libertarians, for one, pick their nominees at a convention Saturday and the party's leaders plan to tap nominees for the governor's race, the Senate contest and other big jobs. With high-profile races at the top of the ballot, even a few percentage points of support could force a general election runoff.
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