As polls continue to show that Hillary Clinton is maintaining and steadily increasing her lead over Donald Trump in Georgia, her top surrogate in the state said it is now time for her to go for the kill.
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed wants the Democratic presidential nominee to pump more green into the red state and turn it blue.
Reed, who had a key prime time speaking spot at last month’s Democratic National Convention, said Monday Clinton needs to invest up to $15 million in Georgia in the coming months leading up to the tight election.
“I have said all along that Georgia is winnable,” Reed said. “If I were in Secretary Clinton’s shoes and I had an opportunity to win a state and I had a billion dollars, then $8-$15 million is a logical investment.”
Over the past week, two influential statewide polls showed that Clinton is steadily outpacing her GOP rival.
The last time a Democratic Presidential nominee won Georgia was in 1992 when Bill Clinton beat George H.W. Bush here. President Barack Obama lost Georgia twice.
On Monday, a JMC Analytics showed that Clinton was 7 percentage points ahead of Trump in Georgia, 44 percent to 37 percent, outside of the 4-point margin of error.
That followed an Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll that was released Friday that showed Clinton with a slim 4 point lead at 44 percent to Trump's 40 percent in a head-to-head matchup.
Reed said the time is right for Clinton to capitalize on the numbers, following perhaps the worst week of Trump's campaign that saw him fighting with a Gold Star Family and his initial refusal endorse key Republican candidates.
He tried to change the narrative on Monday during a major economic address in Detroit where he said that he would bring new jobs and prosperity to America as president.
Clinton’s Georgia numbers are perhaps a reflection of her national dominance over Trump.
As of Monday afternoon, a tabulation of six of the major polls, conducted after both party conventions, show Clinton with an average of 49 percent support to Trump’s 39 percent.
Seth Weathers, a GOP operative, agrees with Reed: Clinton should spend money in Georgia.
“I would love to see her waste $15 million in Georgia,” said Weathers, Trump’s former state director. “Rarely are polls in August indicative of where things end up in November. It would be a pipe dream to think the Democrats can win Georgia.”
Weathers said that while the state is changing and could be a generation away from turning blue, a win by Trump will “change the makeup of races in the future and sets Georgia back on track to being redder longer.”
Reed said he had no preference in how Clinton or the Democrats spent the money – whether it be in television ads or on the ground get out the vote efforts.
“I know the people who are working with her and I am confident that they will do the right thing,” Reed said.
A long time and increasingly visible Democrat on the national scene, Reed was an early supporter of Clinton, even speaking out on her behalf during her tense primary battles with Bernie Sanders.
During a get out the vote rally in February at Atlanta’s City Hall, Reed said of Clinton that there was “never a doubt in my mind about who I was going to stand shoulder and shoulder with.”
On that February afternoon, Reed, standing shoulder and shoulder with Clinton leaned over to her and made a promise that the recent polls might ultimately bear out: "Don't worry about Georgia."
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