Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed heaps praise on Democratic Senate hopeful Michelle Nunn, but hedges when it comes to gubernatorial candidate Jason Carter.
Reed, one of the party’s most prolific fundraisers and leading Dems, has called Carter a “special candidate” and said he’s “fighting hard” along with Nunn. The mayor announced late Friday that he’s hosting a fundraiser for Carter sometime in September. But he’s thus far stopped short of directly endorsing Jimmy Carter’s grandson for the job currently occupied by Republican Gov. Nathan Deal.
It was a conversation killer at the recent Democratic National Committee meeting in Atlanta, where politicos wouldn’t publicly broach the topic. But those without their own political futures at stake point out the obvious: “The fact that he hasn’t endorsed Jason Carter, who is the nominee of the party, is frankly a little bizarre,” said Kennesaw State political science professor Kerwin Swint, a former GOP activist.
The focus on Reed’s endorsement is greater than other mayors across Georgia for myriad reasons. He’s the leader of a key city, and arguably the region that Democrats need to win this November. Democratic Atlanta mayors as far back as Maynard Jackson have strongly supported their party’s gubernatorial candidates. And Reed sits on the DNC’s executive committee, a role that carries with it marching orders to zealously tow the party’s line.
Beyond tapping into fundraising networks, Reed’s endorsement could help Democrats present a unified front to voters and give Carter a political tool to reach out to the group that could make or break his candidacy: Minority voters.
But so far, Reed's support for Carter has been more reticent than robust. In announcing plans to host a Carter fundraiser, Reed told WXIA television this week: "I'm getting ready to do more for Jason Carter more than he ever did for me."
Asked if the fundraiser is effectively an endorsement, Reed spokeswoman Anne Torres was clear: “Fundraiser doesn’t equal an endorsement.”
The news comes nine months after Reed said that he’ll back the party’s candidate “on my own time,” noting he twice ran for mayor without Carter’s support. Reed also said he was “taken aback” at the expectation politicians should quickly line up behind others, and that Carter needed more time on the trail.
“You get out there and earn it and fight for it and then you come up and line up behind the nominee,” Reed said to reporters following his inauguration in January.
When asked in August why Reed was not on Carter’s campaign committee, which notably featured Atlanta City Council President Ceasar Mitchell among others, Reed spokeswoman Melissa Mullinax dismissed the matter as “political intrigue” for reporters eager to “create drama where none exists.”
In that same statement, Mullinax sidestepped the Carter issue and said Reed remains focused on helping Nunn win her Senate race. “And I think you’ll see that anything Mayor Reed does for Michelle will accrue to the benefit of the statewide ticket.”
Carter’s camp thanked the mayor’s “hard work for the ticket” in a statement to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, adding they “look forward to continuing a productive relationship with Mayor Reed when Sen. Carter is elected governor.”
Reed’s administration did not respond to questions about why the mayor hasn’t directly endorsed Carter or if he plans to do so. That leaves political insiders abuzz with speculation.
Among the prevailing theories is that Reed eyes his own gubernatorial run in 2018, and Carter’s bid throws a potential wrench in those plans.
“I think the mayor has higher political ambitions and those could be derailed if Jason Carter were actually to win, or do well enough where he would be a strong candidate four years from now,” said Emory University political scientist Alan Abramowitz.
But Swint isn’t so sure that’s it.
“I don’t know if there’s something personal between them. I don’t know if Reed is hoping that he can run in 2018 free of a rival like that, as has been speculated,” he said. “It could be either of those things or neither.”
Michael Leo Owens, also a political scientist with Emory, is even less certain that the mayor’s political future plays into his stance.
“I’d like to hope the mayor isn’t being silent on this … as some sort of strategy to make it better for him if he wants to run for governor,” he said.
Then there’s Reed’s highly publicized relationship with Deal. The men — who the mayor has dubbed “Batman and Robin” — are collaborators on such statewide projects as the Savannah Port. Their relationship even extends to their wives, who recently posed for a photo with the Reeds’ infant daughter, Maria Kristan.
Abramowitz says endorsing Carter could make for awkward relations.
“Jason Carter has to attack Deal’s record, while Reed has been a defender of the governor,” he noted.
But maybe it’s something else entirely, Owens said. Carter’s run bucks Reed’s call last May for Democrats to focus their energy on the Senate race, he said.
“It signals that if Carter were to be elected, it could mean he’d be a little too independent from Reed in policy matters,” he said.
What’s more, Reed may doubt that Carter has the legislative legacy worthy of the office, Owens proffered. Carter served four years in the state senate, whereas Reed served as both a state representative and senator over the course of 11.
And here Owens puts himself in the mayor’s shoes. Being pressured to endorse someone who hasn’t paid the same political dues could be “hurtful,” he said. “It probably hurts a bit more when you’re a black politician, because it’s an odd form of affirmative action, or maybe worse, white privilege.”
Robert Highsmith, Reed’s longtime attorney and a Republican, said that’s absurd.
“It’s absolute nonsense that he resents Jason,” he said. “He has a deep respect for Nathan Deal as a leader, despite their obvious political differences. And he’s a practical politician who understands that his efforts are better targeted to the Senate race.”
But all this raises another, far more important question: Would an endorsement from Reed make a difference?
Not so much, these academics believe. Carter has demonstrated an ability to raise millions from a local and national network, out-raising Deal’s camp in the last two funding cycles, they noted.
Abramowitz said while Reed is known as a powerhouse fundraiser, he has less of a record for turning out the vote. And that’s what is needed to win.
“The only question for (Carter) and Michelle Nunn is getting an African-American turnout in a mid-term election year, where minority turnout generally is not as strong,” he said. “I don’t know that the mayor’s endorsement will make much difference.”
Owens said a fundraiser is a form of endorsement, but not the same thing.
“It’s not going to signal an awful lot to voters who need to be mobilized, versus the mayor taking time out of his day, stepping up to a microphone, saying who he is endorsing and why. Very different,” he said.
Swint cut Reed a little more slack.
“Hosting a fundraiser would actually be substantial help in a substantial way,” he said.
Sally Rosser, who also sits on the DNC’s executive committee, thinks the attention on the Reed-Carter issue distracts from what she says really matters: electing Carter. She believes Reed has shown support for the party’s election goals, which includes registering more voters and getting them to the polls in November.
“I’m hopeful that the mayor has been paddling the boat from the back and will continue to do so,” she said.
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