How Trump is shaping the Republican and Democratic runoff elections in Georgia
President Trump's presence will be felt as voters head to the polls in Georgia Tuesday.
Republican gubernatorial candidates Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and Secretary of State Brian Kemp are facing off in a runoff election Tuesday following a crowded seven-person Republican primary in May. In a tweet on Saturday, President Trump endorsed Kemp, which could affect the outcome of the race.
Brian Kemp, who is running for Governor of Georgia and has my full endorsement, is campaigning tonight with VP @mike_pence. Brian is very strong on Crime and Borders, LOVES our Military, Vets and the 2nd Amendment. He will be a GREAT Governor!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 21, 2018
"Before this, Casey Cagle was looked at if not the front-runner, at least it was looked at like a coin flip," said Greg Bluestein, a political reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "After this development, Casey Cagle is the clear underdog now, and he's campaigning like it, and Brian Kemp is suddenly the front-runner."
Whoever wins will face Democrat Stacey Abrams, who is expected to take advantage of the bitter battle between the two Republicans. Abrams won the Democratic nomination in the state's primary on May 22.
"She's raised a ton of cash, she's raised millions of dollars. She's been on the national speaking circuit, she's been all over the media, and of course her campaign is stockpiling as much of this Republican vitriol as it can to use against whoever the nominee is in the general election," Bluestein said.
As CBS affiliate WGCL reports, other big races in the state on Tuesday include Democratic runoffs in the 6th and 7th Congressional Districts. Voters in the 6th District will decide between Lucy McBath or Kevin Abel, with the winner facing Republican incumbent Rep. Karen Handel. In the 7th District, Carolyn Bourdeaux will face David Kim to face Republican Rob Woodall in November.
The Democratic candidates in both districts failed to reach the 50-percent threshold in May's primary, prompting the runoff elections. The president is influencing those races as well. Democrats are seeing Georgia as a possible pickup opportunity for some congressional seats, with Democratic challengers saying they were inspired to run after Mr. Trump was elected.
"The 6th District in particular was all over the national spotlight last year in the famous race from Jon Ossoff against Karen Handel, the most expensive U.S. House election in history, and these two contests, you're seeing both these candidates, rather than running on a centrist appeal, they're mirroring sort of the national Democratic mood by running far to the left and they're vowing to be an opponent to Donald Trump in Congress," Bluestein said.