As has been covered on this blog previously, on January 8th there are some special elections. There are actually 4.
SD 30 is over in West Georgia. You’ll see a Republican vs. a Libertarian there. This one is interesting in that Democrats actually could not qualify for the special election because no Democrat qualified for the general election on November 6th… so there was actually a special Republican primary, a very special Republican primary run-off and now what I can only imagine is called the specialist election between the last standing Republican and the Libertarian.
SD 11 is the South Georgia Senate district… which as previously covered had a qualified Democrat who chose to drop out… there are 5 Republicans and a Libertarian running… it would have been wonderful to have a Democrat running, but alas… we do not.
SD 21 is the North Fulton / Cherokee seat previously held by Chip Rogers… no Democrat qualified so it’s two Republicans to battle it out.
So three State Senate seats… that, with all due respect to the Libertarian candidates, have to be considered likely Republican holds… so we’re not reducing the 2/3rds super majority the GOP holds in the State Senate on January 8th.
But what about the state house?
As has also been covered here before, Republicans “technically” did not achieve a 2/3rds super majority in the state house on November 6th. They’re one seat shy. That one seat is “Independent” Representative Rusty Kidd of Milledgeville… who votes like a Republican, walks like a Republican… you get the idea. So while the Republican Caucus does not technically hold a 2/3rds super majority, on legislation votes, they might as well… of course, that’s assuming the 60 Democrats all hold the line and vote together, which they have done before, just sometimes not often enough.
HD 21 is the Cherokee County seat previous held by Sean Jerguson, who decided to run for SD 21, thus causing a chain effect of a special election being needed in HD 21… because, you know, the taxpayers of Cherokee County are paying the tab, why does Sean Jerguson care?
On the ballot on January 8th are 3 Republicans and 1 Democrat, Natalie Bergeron.
Natalie has lived in Cherokee County for 12 years, is an attorney and a child rights advocate. You can read tons more about her on her web site… but the summary is, she’s a good candidate.
So you have three options…
1) You can make phone calls. Send an e-mail to Al@SoutheasternCampaigns.org to find out how.
2) You can canvass. Send an e-mail to Al@SoutheasternCampaigns.org to find out how.
3) You can do the easy option and make a contribution. Because honestly, it’s hard enough for Democratic candidates in Georgia to fund raise, it’s even harder when they have less than a month to do it and that month involves two of the biggest holidays of the year.
The Cherokee County Democrats have already been making phone calls to voters… volunteers have also been utilizing the offices of the Democratic Party of Georgia to make phone calls… and canvassing teams are going out daily… many thanks to Georgette, Lisa, Mark, Stephanie and so many other Cherokee County volunteers for stepping up… and many thanks to Rashad, Zane and the volunteers at the DPG who have stepped up.
But seriously people… do something. We can not afford to sit on the side lines, do nothing, and just watch this race fade into the sun set like we do so many others… we need action, we need urgency… so lets get to work.
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