Can Georgia turn blue? – The Week

Recently on Political Wire’s podcast, we reached out to Jim Galloway of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution for a deep dive into Georgia politics and a look at the U.S. Senate race that may determine which party controls the Senate.

Here are five takeaways for our conversation:

1. Demographic changes are putting Republicans in a difficult spot. Although Georgia has voted Republican in every presidential election since 1996, the state’s redness may be changing. Reflecting a trend that’s occurring nationally, the Peach State’s electorate is becoming less and less white — and less and less conservative — with each election cycle as immigrants settle in the state. Back in the late 1990s, Georgia’s electorate was 70 percent white, Galloway said; in 2012, that percentage dipped below 60 percent for the first time. President Obama’s performance in 2012 reflected this demographic shift, as the president didn’t get blown out like he did in other southern states. He lost Georgia by just under eight points, 53.3 percent to 45.5 percent. Republicans are now grappling with how they position themselves for the future, Galloway said. “You have a debate between those who say, ‘Let’s stay on the same path, let’s keep going ever rightward, rightward rightward,'” he said. “But you have got more and more people who are saying, ‘Boys, we’ve gotta change direction ever so slightly, we’ve gotta make a course correction, we need to stop scaring women and independents.'”

2. There almost certainly will be a runoff on the crowded Republican side. The Republican primary race couldn’t be any more crowded than it is right now, and the views of the contenders reflect the debate that Georgia Republicans are undertaking on their future path. Strong conservatives like Reps. Paul Broun and Phil Gingrey juxtapose themselves with more-pragmatic conservatives like businessman David Perdue and Rep. Jack Kingston. Also in the GOP primary is former Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel, who has struggled to gain traction but recently scored the endorsement of Sarah Palin. A recent poll shows Perdue leading the primary race with 21 percent support, followed by Kingston and Broun at 15 percent each. In the primary, a candidate must lock up a majority to avoid a runoff, so it’s all but clear that there will be one. Given how crowded the field is, Galloway said, super PACs, are hesitant to pick candidates until they see which two remain standing after the May 20 primary. The runoff would be in July.

3. Michelle Nunn isn’t giving Republicans much to attack her on just yet.

via Can Georgia turn blue? – The Week.