Democrats are seeing gigantic flashing warning signs in Georgia, a state where Joe Biden surprisingly won in 2020, turning the Peach State blue for the first time in decades. The president secured his victory over Trump by a margin of fewer than 12,000 votes in the Peach State and this time around, that number appears to be shrinking. Fast.
The dynamics in Georgia present a challenging landscape for President Biden. With dwindling primary enthusiasm and a lack of impactful down-ballot contests to rally his supporters, Biden faces the daunting task of rekindling the momentum that propelled him to victory in 2020, especially as polling data points to a resurgence in support for his opponent from the previous election cycle.
The Hill writes about the problems facing the president in the Peach State.
Democrats acknowledge that Biden has work to do to mobilize voters, with the state poised to once again play a pivotal role in November.
“The bad news [for Democrats in Georgia is] an enthusiasm gap between Democratic voters and Republican voters,” said Atlanta-based Democratic strategist Fred Hicks. “The question for Democrats is not for whom you’re going to vote in November; it’s whether or not you’re going to vote.”
Biden trounced his long-shot challengers in Georgia’s Democratic primary last week, scoring more than 95 percent of the vote — but total turnout for the contest was just below 290,000 voters, according to the latest counts from Decision Desk HQ.
On the Republican side, Trump scored roughly 85 percent of the vote, and the race saw nearly double the opposing party’s turnout, with nearly 590,000 Georgians casting ballots in the GOP contest.
Polling has dramatically shifted towards the GOP nominee over the past year. “Trump owns a 5.7-point lead over Biden in Georgia, according to the RealClearPolitics polling average. The two most recent polls, both released this month, have Trump leading by 4 and 3 points, respectively,” according to Newsmax.
“One of those polls, Emerson College, has Trump leading Biden by 8 points on the issue of immigration on the heels of the death of Laken Riley at the hands of a Venezuelan illegal.”
Biden recently apologized to the alleged murderer of Riley after he called him “an illegal” during his State of the Union address earlier in the month.
