Voices Spotlight: Which Georgia interest groups will sway the election?

Welcome back to the AJC Voices Spotlight, featuring compelling opinion columns through the Nov. 3 election. I’m David Plazas, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s opinion editor.

On Halloween, I took my mom to the matinee of “Buena Vista Social Club” at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta. What a beautiful showcase of mid-20th century Cuban music. The performance brought my mother, who was born and raised in Cuba in the 1940s and 1950s, sweet nostalgia. She remembered her grandmother singing those songs in the kitchen.

That evening, my husband and I dressed up as panda bears in honor of Ping Ping and Fu Shuang, who make their public debut at Zoo Atlanta on Friday. Can’t wait to see them soon.

DEBATE OF THE WEEK

Which advocacy group will sway the election most?

Early voting set midterm records. Meanwhile, the AJC poll showed that most of the statewide races, including governor, are in a statistical dead heat. That could mean that a relatively small cohort of voters could sway the election. But who will that be?

Background: People of similar ethnic groups are not monolithic, but they share some common experiences — among them is that they feel either taken for granted or ignored by political campaigns.

Who has the most sway?

• In September, I wrote about how the 500,000 Hispanic voters in Georgia could sway the midterms, with one source calling them the “ultimate persuadable bloc” (Read my column here).
• However, guest opinion columnists over the weekend argued that the groups to watch are either Asian American and Pacific Islander voters or Black voters. (Read Ashna Khanna’s guest essay on AAPI voters here and Terrel Champion’s guest essay on Black voters here).

Could abortion politics tip the scale?

• Georgia Life Alliance Inc. Board President Joshua Edmonds argues that the anti-abortion movement could go backward if voters from rural Georgia stay home on Election Day (Read his guest opinion column here).
• Meanwhile, Jessica Mackler, president of EMILYs List argues that the Peach State’s anti-abortion laws could worsen if abortion rights voters don’t turn out in force (Read her guest opinion column here).

🔉 Listen: “Politically Georgia: The Final Tally” premiered Thursday and the second installment came out Friday — and it is absolutely riveting. It’s a three-part podcast series from the AJC and the Pulitzer Center examining how Georgia became the epicenter of the fight over election administration, public trust and democracy. (You can listen here).

☕ Free coffee: Let the AJC buy you a cup of joe in partnership with three local coffee shops just by signing up for the Politically Georgia PM newsletter. The partners are:

• Mend Coffee in Atlanta.
• Opo Coffee in Decatur.
• Portrait Coffee in Atlanta.

I don’t drink coffee anymore, but if I am able to make it, I plan to get myself a chai latte. And don’t forget to vote Tuesday.

What do you think? Share your letters of 250 words or fewer to letters@ajc.com. Include your name and town or city.

Spotlight on the U.S. Senate race

These were among the best read political opinions of the past week:

• AJC contributor and conservative talk show host Erick Erickson explains why he plans to vote for all statewide Republicans except for one: U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, who is challenging Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff. Erickson says he isn’t voting for Ossoff, either. (Read Erickson’s column here).
• Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Committee, writes that by his support of “Big Labor,” Ossoff threatens to undo a policy that has benefited Georgia’s successful business climate. (Read his guest opinion column here).
• Meanwhile, psychologist and Emory University faculty member John R. Paddock says that “trust” and “showing up” explain why Ossoff has won over the Republican mayors of counties that also support President Donald Trump. (Read his guest opinion column here).

Bonus No. 1: Check out the AJC editorial board’s latest, which published Sunday: “Georgia voters want and deserve a free, fair and accurate election.” (Read the editorial here).

Bonus No. 2: Former Democratic Gov. Roy Barnes, who lost his bid for reelection in 2002, argues that he accepted his loss because he trusted Georgia’s election system and encourages candidates and all citizens to accept the Nov. 3 results. (Read his guest column here).

Are a legislator’s politics simply ‘hand-wringing’?

After Adam Cleveland, Democratic nominee for state House District 48, read a guest opinion column in the AJC by his opponent, Republican state Rep. Scott Hilton, he wanted to respond to what he called “hand-wringing.”

• What the lawmaker said: Hilton wrote to lament cuts in Medicaid reimbursement rates that could put therapy for children with autism and other development disabilities at risk. “For families raising children with disabilities, access to therapy is not a luxury,” wrote the incumbent who is father to a child with a disability. (Read his guest opinion column here).
• But wait: Cleveland argued that lawmakers knew that the cuts were coming and still did nothing. “… these politicians waited more than a year to speak out and proposed no bills to address the issue during the 2026 regular session or special session,” the challenger wrote. (Read his guest opinion column here).

What readers are saying

✉️ Some excerpts from letters to the editor, a segment the AJC calls “Readers Write.” (Read an assortment of letters here)

• “Whatever your political leanings, this is your chance to be heard. You are part of ‘We the People’.” — Anthony L. Cochran, Atlanta.
• “Veterans are not a political bloc. We are united by service, not party.” — Jim Powell, Hiawassee.
• “I believe this election will be decided by what I call the ‘in-betweens.’ These are voters from all parties — Republican, Democrat and independents — who vote on a single issue in every election.” — Becky Smith, Roswell.

Quotables

🔍 Read pastor Lee Jenkins’ full guest opinion column about the Black church encouraging parishioners to vote.