It’s quite possible that Steve Oppenheimer, who raised $238k and took 43% of the vote against incumbent Republican Public Service Commissioner Chuck Eaton, would be one of the strongest candidates for a Democratic nomination in 2014.
From Roll Call:
There’s no doubt national Democrats will have Georgia on their mind by the time the 2016 presidential race rolls around.
The state is more African-American, more Hispanic and more Democratic than it was at the beginning of the last decade. Eventually, insiders of both parties agree, it will be a swing state.
But looking ahead to 2014 — when Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss and Gov. Nathan Deal are up for re-election — Democrats don’t appear to have much of a bench lining up to run statewide.
Chambliss could face a tough primary challenge and potential Democratic candidates are keenly watching how that race develops over the next year. Beating Chambliss would be very hard; beating another Republican might be a less daunting endeavor.
In a conversation with Roll Call via Skype from a post-Election Day vacation, top Georgia Democratic strategist Tharon Johnson said that the path to a Senate victory for a Georgia Democratic senator in 2014 would be steep, though not impossible.
“Saxby is in a good position,” he said.
Johnson, who served as the national southern regional director for President Barack Obama’s 2012 campaign, said victory would require that Democrats get behind one candidate to avoid a bloody primary. He added that the candidate needs to appeal to a broad swath of Georgians.
“In order for us to even be competitive with Sen. Chambliss — who has gained a lot of national recognition, who will be well-financed and who knows how to campaign — we will have to recruit a candidate with a message that targets moderate conservatives,” Johnson said.
Among the names he floated: Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and Rep. John Barrow.
Reed, a business-friendly African-American Democrat, would probably be the strongest contender, but he appears very unlikely to run.
“Mayor Reed is running for re-election as Mayor of Atlanta in 2013 and if the people give him another four years, he plans to serve his term,” Reed spokeswoman Sonji Jacobs Dade said in a statement.
