James_Sept-Oct_2025_web - Flipbook - Page 80
as the only candidate for whom Trump’s blessing may
have been decisive.
Whether a Trump endorsement promotes as in
2018 or fails as in 2022 will depend on how popular
the president is next spring. Job approval for the president may hinge on the economy. If Trump’s policies
have the impact he expects, the primaries could be
decided when he announces his choices. But, if tariffs
and other conditions— some of which cannot be anticipated— tank the economy, an endorsement could be
less consequential.
As of this writing, Carr and Jones have announced for governor. Raffensperger is another possibility. Democratic state legislators Jason Estevez and
Derrick Jackson and former Atlanta mayor Keisha
Lance Bottoms have stepped forward for governor.
Former state labor commissioner and ex-DeKalb
County CEO Mike Thurmond has also joined them.
(If we chose officials based on experience, Thurmond
would be a shoo-in since he first ran for the Legislature before Estevez was born.)
Expectations that Raffensperger will run for governor are so widespread that state Rep. Tim Fleming
is seeking to replace him. Kelvin King, an unsuccessful 2022 U.S. Senate candidate, also seeks to topple
Raffensperger. Secretary of State COO Gabe Sterling,
as this is written, may try to succeed his boss. On
the Democratic side, 2022 nominee Bee Nguyen is a
possibility as are state Rep. Saira Draper and state
Sen. Nabilah Islam Parkes.
Republican state senators Steve Gooch, John
Kennedy and Blake Tillery would like to preside over
the chamber as lieutenant governor. State Rep. David
Clark is also in the race. And state Sen. Greg Dolezal
is considering joining the crowd. On the Democratic side, state Sen. Josh McLaurin is eager to joust
against one of his GOP colleagues.
Further reducing the ranks of Republican senators, Bill Cowsert and Brian Strickland have stepped
forward to succeed Carr as attorney general. Former
House Minority Leader Bob Trammell is seeking the
Democratic nomination.
Efforts to find a U.S. Senate candidate who President Trump and Governor Kemp could agree on collapsed. Congressmen Buddy Carter and Mike Collins
vyed for Trump’s endorsement and Collins ultimately
received it. Derek Dooley, son of legendary UGA football coach Vince Dooley, is taking the outsider path
with Kemp’s blessing.
Incumbents often avoid opposition so it may be
significant that School Superintendent Richard Woods
has at least one GOP primary challenger, Randell
Trammell, intent on denying him a fourth term.
The identity of nominees, to say nothing of new
officials, remains shrouded. What is clear is that hundreds of millions of dollars will be spent to blanket
television and fill our mailboxes, both real and virtual,
with political ads. Georgia is again at the center of the
political universe.
Charles S. Bullock, III, is Distinguished University Professor of Public and
International Affairs at the University of Georgia. He is the co-author of
The Three Governors Controversy, a book that examines an earlier consequential election cycle.
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