The dust is settling from Tuesday’s General Primary runoff. At stake were the Democratic nominee for Zell Miller’s U.S. Senate seat; Republican nominees in two congressional districts; and a number of State House and Senate seats. In addition, there was a runoff in the nonpartisan Court of Appeals race.

The most important factor in the runoff election was the low voter turnout. Although there were numerous contests, turnout hovered at ten percent of the state’s registered voters.

The press blamed “voter apathy”, “bad weather”, and “a few races” for low turnout. Nowhere did you see the real reasons voters didn’t go to the polls. They are not “apathetic”. Voters are actually frustrated at not having anyone with substantive issues to vote for. They didn’t vote because most candidates mumbled about “education”, “family values”, “tax cuts”, and other subjects the media, political consultants, and leaders in both parties told them were the issues.

Candidates mostly failed to discuss and take positions on large “divisive” questions-- like water, transportation, the flag, state takeover of Atlanta’s infrastructure, and other components of Georgia vs. Downtown Atlanta. Had legislative candidates raised these issues comprehensively, voter turnout would have been a lot higher.

U.S. Senate Race: the Georgia Heritage Coalition did not endorse a candidate. Denise Majette won the Democratic Party’s nomination, but is expected to lose big in November to Republican Johnny Isakson. Her nomination may be perceived by many Georgians as proof the Georgia Democratic Party is now liberal, dominated by the state’s African American minority, and intimidated by the black caucus agenda. If that occurs, enough voters may choose non-Democratic candidates in state House and Senate races this November to give Republicans control of both houses of the legislature.

6th Congressional District: We endorsed Robert LaMutt. His loss to Tom Price was more than a regrettable upset, Lamutt is a candidate of the people, and Price is an establishment Republican.

Why did it happen? The district is made up mostly of Cobb County, with some of Fulton and a piece of Cherokee, as well. On Primary night, LaMutt said he expected to win the runoff because most of the voters live in Cobb County. That statement may have alienated some support in the other counties. Price, in addition to being in the Senate, has been active in North Fulton County’s effort to secede from Fulton and reinstate Milton County, with Roswell as the county seat. The White House and Ralph Reed and Sonny Perdue likely preferred Price. Evidently some corporate CEOs got behind him: Price helped remove the 1956 Georgia flag (with Confederate Emblem) from contention in 2003 legislation that gave us the insulting and choiceless flag referendum of March 2004. Finally, voter turnout was higher than expected in Fulton County--—where Price was strongest--and lower in Cobb----LaMutt’s home.

8th Congressional District: We endorsed Lynn Westmoreland. He won with grassroots support in his district. The White House, Georgia Republican Party, Governor Perdue, and Newt Gingrich backed African-American Dylan Glenn, who had been nurtured by Jack Kemp, George Bush, and Sonny Perdue in hopes of putting “J.C. Watts II” in Congress. It was the third time Washington Republicans tried to get Georgia voters to elect Glenn; more than 70% of Glenn's campaign contributions came from outside Georgia. They ran him against Sanford Bishop, a black Democratic Congressman in South Georgia, twice. This year they tried to elect him in a district almost 87% white, and they got him 44% of the votes. After three failures as a candidate, Glenn still has a future. They found jobs for him before, and will find them again. As one campaign ad said, he’ll “be ready day one.”

Georgia Senate Dist. 3: We endorsed Jeff Chapman. He won against former legislator Shaw McVeigh. His opponent in November is Democrat Vincent Williams, Brunswick pastor and businessman.

Georgia Senate Dist. 31: We endorsed Mason Rountree, who was defeated narrowly by Bill Heath, the State Representative from Bremen who unseated Speaker Tom Murphy in 2002. Heath had Republican establishment backing. Heath’s Democratic opposition in November is Lester Tate, a Cartersville attorney.

Georgia Senate Dist. 32: We endorsed former State Representative Mitchell Kaye. He opposed the Roy Barnes flag in 2001, and ran as a conservative candidate for State School Superintendent in 2002 against heritage opponent Kathy Cox. Kaye was defeated by Judson Hill. Akhtar Sadiq is the November Democrat.

Georgia Senate Dist. 40: We endorsed Dan Weber, who won over former legislator Bart Ladd. Ladd voted for the Barnes Flag in 2001, but was reapportioned out of office anyway. The recent court-ordered reapportionment gave him a new district, but the voters rejected him. Rick Garnitz is the November Democrat.

Georgia Senate Dist. 50: We enthusiastically endorsed Nancy Schaefer, a long-time conservative Republican activist and candidate. Her younger opponent, Chan Caudell, had considerably more money to spend. Mrs. Schaefer was subjected to some last minute dirty tricks, too, but she came through with flying colors. Bob Stowe, an educator from Toccoa, is her Democratic opponent in November.

Georgia House Dist. 68: We endorsed Tim Bearden, who supports a real referendum on the state flag and opposes illegal immigration. He defeated George Pope, definitely the establishment Republican candidate, by the huge margin of 29 votes. A recount is likely. The winner of the runoff has no November opposition.

Georgia House Dist. 95: We endorsed Bob Mumford over Terry Milton, and Mumford won. He has no opponent in November.

Georgia House Dist. 98: We endorsed Bobby Reese over Michael Muntean. Reese won. He has no opponent in November.

We are proud of the campaigns Robert LaMutt, Mason Rountree, and Mitchell Kaye ran this year, and we regret their losses. Hopefully, they will each seek office in the near future.

But we are happy at the success of our other endorsees, and look forward to working with them in their upcoming races and after their elections in November.

With the Primary and runoffs over, every candidate with opposition has turned their attention to the General Election. It remains to be seen whether the parties or their candidates have learned anything. Perceived voter frustration and low voter turnout should be wake-up calls to them all.

And the best election program available is The Georgia Heritage Coalition political program, Georgia vs. Downtown Atlanta and the Ten Big Issues. They’re available to every candidate, every political party, and every voter—--free of charge!

In fact, local races in the metro area illustrate how the people are fed up with the centerpiece of the Downtown Atlanta Establishment’s agenda—--continued fast growth. Status-quo fast-growth officials were ousted in Gwinnett County, where Commission Chairman Wayne Hill lost handily to slow-growth Robert Bannister; in Douglas County, where Commission Chairman Rita Rainwater fell to Tom Wortham; and Paulding County, where the incumbent won over a real estate developer and, as the Atlanta Constitution put it, “bragging about a recent drop in homebuilding” in the county.

The Atlanta paper reported a study by the Atlanta Regional Commission that claims that the $50 billion planned expenditures on transportation in metro Atlanta won’t end gridlock. Why? Well, because people cause gridlock, and the leaders of Atlanta want to add a couple million people to the area during the next two decades. The way to end gridlock, clearly, is not to add all those people. It’s also the way to solve the water problem, the pollution problem, and the imbalance between Atlanta the rest of Georgia.

But local governments can do only so much. These issues will resonate in legislative races, too, because most of these decisions are made at the state level. The Metro Atlanta Chamber is adamantly fast growth, and the Governor and Legislature have given no indication they are willing to buck the Chamber.

Candidates—-and the political parties they live in---—need to stand up and say “ No!” to downtown’s corporate fatcats. Georgia’s voters clearly want them to do it. This 2004 election is a good time to start.

Georgia vs. Downtown Atlanta

Flush the Fish Tank, Fix the Sewers

Metro Atlanta Transit Sales [parody]

Jeff Davis' View of the Runoffs