Some Georgia Democrats are licking their chops over the possibility of turning the Peach State blue for the first time since former Gov. Sonny Perdue painted it red in 2002.
They're optimistic because the two Democratic candidates in the May 22 gubernatorial primary polled 554,131 votes, just 52,593 fewer than the six Republican hopefuls received.
With those numbers in place, Democrats believe they have reasons to bring their donkeys and straw hats out of storage and begin preparing for a victory celebration in November. Voting returns from previous elections also give Democrats hope.
In 2014, three GOP gubernatorial candidates received 594,755 votes in the primary election. Jason Carter, grandson of former President Jimmy Carter, didn't have opposition on the Democratic ticket. But the Democrats fielded four candidates for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by former Sen. Saxby Chambliss.
The four Democrats polled 328,047 votes. Six Republican candidates polled 600,800 votes, giving Republicans a 218,833 vote advantage in the 2014 primary.
From the 328,047 votes cast for Democrats in the 2014 Senate race, the number increased to 554,131 Republican ballots in the 2018 gubernatorial race, a 6,244 vote jump in this year's primary.
Two major factors may be driving the Democratic increase. First, they had candidates in the gubernatorial primary, Stacey Abrams and Stacey Evans.
Abrams won the Democratic nomination, polling 423,549 votes to 130,582 for Evans. With that victory, Abrams became the first African American woman to gain a major party's gubernatorial nomination in the Deep South. Her presence on the ballot is expected to increase interest in the African American community and bring more black voters to the polls in November.
Secondly, there's the Trump factor. Many political pundits believe the negative reactions to President Donald Trump will flow into Georgia's gubernatorial race and cause some usual stay-at-home voters to go to the polls and cast their ballots for the Democrat.
University of Georgia political scientist Charles Bullock says that's a possibility.
"The Trump presidency has the potential to fire up the Democrats," Bullock told an Atlanta publication. "Whether it'll fire them up enough to win is something else entirely. But I think it is a mobilizing factor."
On the other hand, Republicans aren't expected to sit home twiddling their thumbs on Election Day. After the Civil War, it took the Grand Old Party 132 years to take control of the Georgia state government.. Sixteen years later, Republicans aren't about to give it up without a political bloodbath.
Besides that, despite his sometimes controversial comments and tweets, many Georgia Republicans like Trump and think he's doing an outstanding job. Their ranks area also bolstered by a sprinkling of Democrats who like the president as well.
It's too early to predict whether the upswing of Democratic voters in the primary will continue in the November general election.
But it's not too early to predict that Republicans are geared up for the fight, and when the last political punch is thrown, don't be surprised if a Republican is standing with raised arms.
