All In On Georgia

It is now a sure thing that control of the U.S. Senate will fall to a pair of runoff elections: Jon Ossoff (D) facing David Perdue (R) and Reverend Raphael Warnock (D) facing Kelly Loeffler (R). It is hard to understate the importance of these two races in deciding whether or not Democrats are able to enact meaningful, progressive legislation and ultimately improve millions of peoples lives through bold change. As the presidential race winds down and Joe Biden becomes our next president, the next battle is only two months away on January 5th for control of the U.S. Senate.

It is critical that Democrats use every tool within their means to help these two excellent Democratic candidates succeed in their respective races. I know you’re exhausted. I am too, but the fight is not over, and the next battle is even closer than we thought.

And after a brutal election, it may seem to some that we’re grasping at straws here, but one of the brightest spots on the map is in fact Georgia, which has flipped blue in favor of Joe Biden.

Much of the reason for that is owed to Stacey Abrams, a former candidate for the Georgia governorship who lost her bid for the governorship in 2018 by 63,000 votes. It was an election cycle marred by voter suppression and disenfranchisement. According to The Guardian, “ In the three months leading up to election day, more than 85,000 voters were purged from rolls under Kemp. During 2017 668,000 voters were purged, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.” Coincidentally, Abram’s race was also the closest any Democrat has come to claiming the governorship in Georgia in over fifteen years. The same goes for their Senators.

The story doesn’t end there though. Ever since 2018, Stacey Abrams and many others have been working tirelessly through endless organizing to increase turnout, register new voters, and make the investment needed to turn the state blue. According to azcentral, “In the run-up to the Nov. 3 election, Democrats heavily invested in Georgia. Biden, Sen. Kamala Harris and former President Barack Obama all made high-profile stops in the state. Joining Biden and Obama was Stacey Abrams.”

The fact that Georgia is now a swing state compared to its solidly red status just four years ago is a testament to the value of investing in a state’s party apparatus. It’s a testament to years of groundwork by activists put into empowering a state’s population to exercise their right to vote. I would argue that Texas is on the same path as well as is Arizona. These states are gettable for Democrats.

So every Democrat across the nation must think about what they can do to help push Georgia over the finish line and deliver two new Democratic Senators to Congress. Whatever that looks like, whether it’s donating, making phone calls, writing post cards or moving to Georgia and knocking on doors, all of it will be needed. Republicans are going to put up a fierce fight.

Here is a link to donate, and here is a link to a list of actions you can take to get involved. (I’ve already donated, and plan on taking several actions in the run-up to voting day, which is January 5th.)

Every little bit helps here. The eyes of the nation are going to be focused here and it’ll all come down to turnout. We’ve seen the chicanery republicans are willing to pull even in the face of a landslide victory by Biden. We can be certain they will leave nothing on the table to maintain their vice grip on the Senate. Let’s make sure that doesn’t happen.

Originally published at https://robertpotter.co on November 10, 2020.