Several sources note that currently all statewide offices in Georgia are held by Republicans (and in the past couple of elections, for local offices, I haven’t even seen a Democrat on the ballot, let alone get elected).
Michelle Nunn, daughter of former US Senator Sam Nunn, is seeking election in 2014 as a US Senator from Georgia. I have read through her campaign materials, and she seems pretty middle-of-the-road (i.e. “sane”), so I did something I very rarely do: I donated.
But hope aside, does she have a realistic chance of winning the general election?
(personal politics aside, I would think most people agree that it is a Generally Bad Idea to have one party hold all the offices, regardless of which party that is)
I didn’t realize Broun had any competition. Shows you how much attention I pay. She definitely gets my vote. Now that I know, I may even put a sign in my yard.
To answer your question, no, I don’t think she has a chance.
Georgia’s getting closer to being within reach for Democrats, believe it or not. Romney won Georgia last year, of course, but with only 53% of the vote, despite the Obama campaign’s having basically skipped Georgia in 2012.
That said, Dems tend to do worse in midterms since the electorate tends to be older and whiter then. So despite her family name, Nunn has a very uphill fight. I’d say she’s got a chance, but only if the GOP nominates someone who’s wingnutty even by Georgia standards, and even then the odds would be at least 4-1 in favor of the wingnut.
I think that by 2020, Georgia will be genuinely competitive. But in 2014? Probably not.
Part of her problem is that her campaign has very little substance right now - it’s all “Hey, I’m the daughter of that Senator you liked 40 years ago”. Which is not enough to win the election when you’re the underdog.
Our last Senate election went to a runoff, surprising most of us, but that was because there was a spoiler on the ballot. I doubt there will be such a spoiler this year, so I doubt Michelle has much of a chance.
Problem is, in a red state that’s what Democrats have to do. That’s what Colbert-Busch did in SC. And sometimes it even works.
I think Nunn can win, personally. It won’t matter much, because Georgia is still Georgia and a southern Democrat isn’t going to vote the “wrong” way very often.
If I had to bet, her politics will be whatever is needed to get elected and then keep her job once elected. What are Mark Pryor’s politics? Whatever helps him keep his job.
That’s about right, I’m afraid. The main reason Georgia looked purple-ish in the past two presidential elections was a HUGE turnout by black voters, and that isn’t likely to happen in a mid-term year. Georgia is still very red.
Nunn has my vote, but barring some real Tea Party nuttery from the Republican, her chances are poor. (Of course, you can never rule out Tea Party nuttery…)
Anywhere from 0 to a fighting chance depending on how “legitimate rape” the GOP goes. The local GOP is trying to change when the primary takes place in order to get a more mainstream candidate. If they fail, and one of the nutsos wins the primary, then Nunn has a chance. If one of the more mainstream candidates wins, then Nunn has no shot.