Georgia governor’s race

East Cobb Election Day 411: Last-minute updates, voting info and more

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On Tuesday voters will be going to the polls in midterms that have spiked interest across the country, and close to home. This East Cobb Election Day post rounds up everything we’ve put together before you head to your precinct and contains some late news from Monday as campaigning drew to a close.

The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at all precincts.

EAST COBB ELECTION GUIDE

In East Cobb, there’s a full slate of competitive races that is rare for a community that’s been strong Republican territory for years.

Every elected official who represents East Cobb—federal, state and local—is in the GOP, but there are Democrats in all of the 10 state and local races on Tuesday’s ballot.

All of the Democrats are women, many of them minorities. Nine of them are first-time candidates, some reacting to Donald Trump’s presidential election and energized by Jon Ossoff’s Congressional campaign.

With plenty of midterm prognostications focused on suburban voting, the results from East Cobb figure to be closely watched.

On Monday, some national polls declared the 6th Congressional District race that includes East Cobba toss-up, including the Cook Political Report and The New York Times.

Georgia 6th Congressional District, Karen Handel, Lucy McBath

Republican incumbent Karen Handel (left), who defeated Democrat Ossoff in a special election last year, is facing Democrat Lucy McBath (right), a high-profile gun-gun control advocate, in a race that could help determine party control of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Handel had been holding a slight lead within the margin of error. When she defeated Ossoff last year, Handel got some of her strongest margins in East Cobb. The district also includes north Fulton, Sandy Springs, and north and central DeKalb.

Republicans are trying to hold on to their majority in the House, and are expected to lose seats. The 6th Congressional District of Georgia has been in GOP control since 1979, when Newt Gingrich was first elected.

The Georgia governor’s race also is expected to be close and is seen as sparking early voter turnout.

Democrat Stacey Abrams has drawn virtually even with Republican Brian Kemp, and Cobb County is seen as battleground turf. The possibility of a runoff looms with Libertarian candidate Ted Metz on the ballot.

The politicking also has gotten ugly, with Kemp, the current Secretary of State, accusing the Georgia Democratic Party of trying to hack the state elections system.

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At the local level, there’s a Cobb Board of Commissioners race and two Cobb Board of Education races for East Cobb voters to decide.

District 3 Republican incumbent commissioner JoAnn Birrell is being challenged by Caroline Holko for a seat that includes Northeast Cobb.

For the Cobb school board Post 6 race, which includes the Walton and Wheeler attendance zones, two-term incumbent Scott Sweeney will face Charisse Davis. In Post 4 (Kell and Sprayberry), David Chastain is vying for a second term against Cynthia Parr.

East Cobb’s legislative delegation, which typically doesn’t generate much general election competition, has it this year.

One State Senate race and five State House races will be determined on Tuesday as well.

Early voting has been at a record pace in Cobb and Georgia. Cobb government said Monday that the nearly 135,000 people who have voted early make up around 27 percent of al the registered voters in the county.

There is the threat of stormy weather Tuesday, and rain could last for most of the day.

Cobb government said late this afternoon that:

“If voting is delayed due to weather, the Elections Office will ask a judge to extend voting past 7 pm for the length of time they had to shut down.”

We will post more about this as weather updates become available during the day.

East Cobb News will provide continuing coverage all day and evening on Tuesday.

We’ll also be sending out a special election newsletter first thing Wednesday morning, since it figures to be a long night.

If you’d like to sign up, click the link below.

 

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Georgia governor’s race makes closing flourish in Cobb battleground

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Georgia governor's race, Stacey Abrams, Brian Kemp

Once the bastion of Southern Sunbelt Republicanism, Cobb County has become hotly contested turf in major elections. The Georgia governor’s race is the latest example.

In 2016, a majority of Cobb voters preferred a Democratic presidential candidate over a Republican for the first time since Jimmy Carter.

Hillary Clinton’s 48-46 margin over Donald Trump revealed some gradual demographic changes in the Cobb electorate which could factor in many state and local elections that will conclude on Tuesday.

The major-party nominees for Georgia governor both visited Cobb this week, and one with very notable company. Democrat Stacey Abrams, a former minority leader of the Georgia House, had a town hall meeting Thursday at the Cobb Civic Center with Oprah Winfrey.

That Oprah Winfrey. On Friday, former President Barack Obama stumped on behalf of Abrams in Atlanta.

Vice President Mike Pence was in the state this week at the same time, campaigning for Republican nominee Brian Kemp, the Georgia Secretary of State. On Monday, President Trump will be coming to Macon to campaign for Kemp, whom he endorsed in a runoff.

Abrams would be the first black and female governor in Georgia, and the first black female governor in any state.

Kemp also was in Cobb County this week, and had an event at Williamson Bros. BBQ in East Marietta.

Georgia voters also will be choosing a whole slate of statewide offices, including lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, two public service commissioners as well as labor, agriculture and insurance commissioners.

Some polls have the governor’s race too close to call. A runoff is possible but is not considered likely, with Libertarian candidate Ted Metz polling under 2 percent.

Early voting ended in Cobb on Friday, and Cobb Elections is reporting that more than 92,000 people voted in person through Thursday. Another 21,000 Cobb voters cast absentee ballots.

According to Ryan Anderson, creator of the independent site Georgia Votes, more than 2 million early votes have been cast across the state, an increase of 120 percent from early voting during the 2014 midterm elections.

East Cobb voters will have a full slate of races on their ballots, which is a rare thing. There is a Democrat in every race in an area that has all Republican incumbent office holders.

We’ll have more later this weekend and on Monday as the campaigning comes to a close, and final balloting takes place on Tuesday.

 

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Georgia runoff election Tuesday to decide GOP governor, 6th Congress Democratic nominees

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Georgia runoff election
Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle (L) and Secretary of State Brian Kemp have received endorsements from Gov. Nathan Deal and President Donald Trump, respectively.

Voters will pick nominees in several key statewide and Congressional races in the Georgia runoff election on Tuesday.

At the top of the ticket, Republican voters will select a gubernatorial nominee in what’s become a tumultuous runoff battle, as well as GOP nominees for lieutenant governor and secretary of state.

Democratic voters in the 6th Congressional District, which includes East Cobb, also will choose a nominee for the November general election.

Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The Cobb Elections website has sample ballots, precinct addresses and information on how you can find your polling station.

In the GOP governor’s race, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle was enjoying a lead in most polls and received an endorsement last week from outgoing Gov. Nathan Deal. But then President Donald Trump endorsed Cagle’s opponent, Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp.

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Polls now have Kemp in the lead, although one of them indicates that nearly a quarter of likely voters remains undecided.

Trump’s endorsement of Kemp has generated national media attention.

Cobb is considered a battleground county, and Cagle and Kemp have campaigned here frequently. Two East Cobb lawmakers have come down on either side of the runoff. Cagle has the support of State Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick, while State. Rep. Sharon Cooper is backing Kemp.

The winner faces Democratic nominee Stacey Abrams, the former Georgia House Minority Leader, in November.

In the lieutenant governor Republican runoff, state senator David Shafer is facing Geoff Duncan, a former member of the state house.

In the 6th Congressional District Democratic runoff, gun-control advocate Lucy McBath, an East Cobb resident, is facing technology entrepreneur Kevin Abel of Sandy Springs.

The winner will face Republican U.S. Rep. Karen Handel in November.

One of the two seats on the Cobb Board of Commissioners that’s contested this year will be decided Tuesday. Incumbent Bob Weatherford is facing Keli Gambrill in the GOP runoff for District 1 in North Cobb.

Incumbent commissioner JoAnn Birrell of District 3 in Northeast Cobb won the Republican primary and is being challenged in November by Democrat Caroline Holko.

 

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Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!