Less than a week in 2021, the US political landscape has undergone a seismic shift. On the same day that protesters who supported President Trump invaded and vandalized the United States Capitol, the story was also made in Georgia, where Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock, the two Democrats in the second round of the Georgia Senate, defeated Republican presidents, putting control of the Senate in the hands of Democrats and probably allowing President-elect Joe Biden to confirm his cabinet and approve the liberal legislative agenda that has been paralyzed for years by Senate Republicans.
Georgia has been represented by Republicans in the Senate since 2005 and has been a trusted Republican state for at least that long, until Biden narrowly defeated President Trump in the November 3 election.
A week after the Democrats accomplished their unlikely feat, Georgians reflected on the impact of the historic victory.
“Winning the second round in the U.S. Senate means that Georgians – specifically black Georgians in southwest Georgia – will finally have two American senators to fight for them,” Hillary Holley, organizing director of Fair Fight, told Yahoo News on Tuesday. market. “During a time of economic decline and a global pandemic, winning these elections means that we help save lives, not just in Georgia, but across America.”
Fair Fight, a national voting rights organization founded by former Georgia House Democratic leader Stacey Abrams in 2018, is one of the organizations that many experts believe is largely responsible for turning Georgia into blue not only in the Senate, but also at the White House for the first time since 1992. Fair Fight, along with a number of other groups that were led by black organizers and focused on motivating black voters – including the New Georgia Project and Black Voters Matter – have adopted a variety of strategies, from the tried and tested. proven (radio ads, door-knocking) for romance (food offers), which helped put Ossoff and Warnock at the top.
These efforts were noted by Republicans.
“I definitely, without a doubt, believe that the Democratic Party’s ground game here in Georgia, absolutely outworked, out-strategized and obviously overcame the state of the Republican Party here,” Lt. Governor Geoff Duncan told Yahoo News.
Although disappointed by the results of the Senate race, Duncan says he believes that “Georgia is still a republican state”.
“Our policy has been taken up by national policy, and that is not Georgia’s policy,” he said. “We need to move on and work for the future of our Georgia.”
With 99 percent of the vote, Ossoff beat first-term incumbent David Perdue by more than 55,000 votes and Warnock defeated Kelly Loeffler, who had been nominated for his seat by Governor Brian Kemp for a term that ends in two years, for nearly 100,000. wishes. Those numbers far exceeded the total general election in which Biden beat Trump by about 12,000 votes.
The implications of Ossoff and Warnock’s victories go well beyond the next two years, especially for blacks and poor Georgians. Many Democrats are eager to reinstate the Voting Rights Act and mitigate Republican efforts to suppress the vote, which will be priorities for both senators. Georgians can expect approval of a new stimulus bill that would provide much needed relief in the form of individual $ 2,000 stimulus checks for those who need it most.
Other Republicans in the state believe that his loss reflected a failed strategy as much as Democrats’ organizational efforts.
“When Warnock and Ossoff won, it was not surprising, given the decision of national political advisers to demonize Democrats instead of discussing how Republican principles help lives,” said Alex Johnson, president of the Georgia Republican Assembly, a grassroots conservative organization. , to Yahoo News. “If the current Republican majority in the House and Senate upholds the real Republican principles of tax cuts, less regulation and individual rights, including the right to self-defense, it will show voters how Republican principles improve society.”
In addition to the expansive mobilization efforts that helped put Democrats at the top of Georgia, many critics attribute the loss to Trump’s divisive insistence on bringing unfounded charges of electoral fraud in the face of denials by Kemp and Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. Reluctant to alienate Trump’s strong support base in the state, Perdue and Loeffler refused to deny the president’s claims that the election was rigged, which appears to have contained Republican participation in the runoff.
“President Trump has had a massive negative effect on this race,” said Duncan. “Misinformation, electoral fraud and conspiracy theories had no legs, neither merit nor reality. It was a complete side show and it was a distraction from the conservative victories that we put on the board here in Georgia a long time ago. “
But Johnson disagrees.
“Those who say Trump is to blame are ignoring their own failure to uphold Republican principles of limited rights and personal responsibility in the past decade, if not more,” he said.
Because of the success of Democrats in the state, Fair Fight’s Holley says Republicans are already working harder to suppress black voter turnout in the next election.
“Because of our success in helping black and brown voters to face electoral repression and learn to vote by mail, Republicans are even more eager to restrict access to ballots,” said Holley.
On Monday, Kemp and Raffensberger announced plans to push to add photo identification requirements for absentee votes for future state elections. Although there is no evidence of fraud, Republican leaders want to establish additional criteria for voting, which would disproportionately deprive communities of color.
“This is a clear indication that your strategy is simply to make it more difficult for people to vote,” added Holley. “It is critical that we continue to fight electoral suppression so that Georgia voters can continue to use their power at the polls.”
For some Georgians, on a personal level, Wednesday’s victories were as symbolic as they were monumental. Warnock became the first black senator in the state’s history and Ossoff became its first Jewish senator.
After helping lead Georgia’s Young Democrats’ field strategy and operations, Jaylan Scott, the organization’s executive vice president, believes that Warnock and Ossoff showed him what is possible.
“[Warnock’s] victory alone meant a lot to me, ”said Scott. “Not just because I’m black. … I realized that this is possible.
“When I first entered politics, I remember thinking: I want to be the first black senator,” he added. “And now I realize, although I may not be the first, now I know that it is at least possible for that to happen.”
Georgians now turn to what comes next. Warnock has only two years to run for re-election, taking the seat of former Republican Senator Johnny Isakson, who left office in 2019 for health reasons. In addition, in 2022, Kemp will be re-elected as many believe Abrams – who narrowly lost to him in 2018 – will run again.
Duncan suggests that Republicans need to see themselves as GOP 2.0, a more representative party in the country.
“The president caught the world’s attention with ‘Make America Great Again’,” said Duncan. “I think GOP 2.0 needs to focus on making Americans great again, because it’s inclusive. Go deeper. “
Scott, from the Young Democrats, says he is focused on reaching more Georgians.
“I think now is the time to be able to use that hope that has been created and the opportunities that have been created to enter communities that we don’t usually go to and really talk to people, really find out how, ‘What can we do for you? ‘”Said Scott.
“Stacey Abrams had a vision some time ago,” he added. “We know it works and she did it by mobilizing people who were never involved in the political process. … It is really our time to adopt this philosophy and continue because we know it works. “
Miniature cover photo: Elijah Nouvelage / Getty Images
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