After having little to no opposition in many of her previous re-election bids, one of the Georgia legislature’s most influential members got a real run for her money in 2018.
State Rep. Sharon Cooper, an East Cobb Republican who is the chairwoman of the House Health and Human Services Committee, got only 51 percent of the vote against a first-time candidate, Democrat Luisa Wakeman.
Prior to that, Cooper had not had a general election opponent since 2010, when she won with 67 percent of the vote.
Wakeman, part of a wave of newcomers challenging Cobb’s Republican establishment, is running against Cooper again in House District 43, after both women were unopposed in their respective primaries in June.
With Republicans holding a 16-seat majority in the House, the stakes have risen on a number of races, particularly in the Atlanta suburbs, where Democrats see opportunities to flip seats.
The District 43 race has become unusually expensive for a state house campaign. According to campaign disclosure reports filed in early October, both candidates have raised well over six figures.
Cooper reported $364,219 in total 2020 contributions through July, and picked up $77,000 in donations in the third quarter that ended Sept. 30. She is reporting $189,896 in cash on hand.
Wakeman has raised $218,594 overall and $104,460 in the third quarter, with $115,571 on hand.
Here are the latest campaign disclosure reports filed by Cooper and Wakeman respectively.
Candidate websites
Cooper, who was first elected in 1996, touts her longtime service and advocacy of health-care legislation as well as assisted living homes, maternal mortality and landlord evictions in the 2020 session.
Wakeman said she’s running again as she did two years ago, as alternative to what she called “failed leadership” in the state.
At an East Cobb Business Association forum this week, the specific reference was the state’s response to COVID-19.
Cooper, a supporter of Gov. Brian Kemp, said that while she hasn’t agreed with him on everything, he has “protected our most valuable citizens” as the state tries to move forward.
She tried to rebuff Democratic efforts to tie her to state responses to the virus, saying “I’m not in charge of health care in this state.”
While Kemp has followed the advice of Georgia Department of Public Health Director Dr. Kathleen Toome, Cooper noted that changing guidelines that have come down to the state level on such things as mask-wearing and lockdowns have caused confusion.
“No wonder people are upset about it,” said Cooper, a retired nurse.
Wakeman, also a nurse, was critical of Kemp’s steps toward reopening the economy that she said prioritized “tattoo parlors over the safe reopening of schools. We need people who will listen to health care experts.”
Both candidates discussed other health care issues. Cooper said she was proud to work for $20 million in funding in a budget-challenged year to improve maternal mortality rates in Georgia.
That’s to expand a Medicaid waiver to provide coverage for low-income mothers from two to six months after giving birth.
“It’s a start,” she said. “Kemp is the first governor to make that kind of commitment.”
But Wakeman said Georgia’s ranking near the bottom of the nation—46th in all—is evidence that the state needs to do more to provide insurance and expand Medicaid coverage for mothers at the bottom rungs of the economic ladder.
“Stop-gaps in an election year are not real solutions,” Wakeman said.
Cooper and Wakeman are both against East Cobb cityhood (see previous post here).
Cooper also supported tax reform measures that reduced both individual and corporate rates and efforts to curb regulations on small businesses.
At the forum, she mentioned her efforts to secure state dollars for local projects, including East Cobb Park and the Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center.
“I have a proven track record at the capitol and in the community,” she said.
Wakeman’s other priorities include working to overturn $1 billion in K-12 education funding cuts this year (including nearly $60 million in reductions for the Cobb County School District). She also favors same-day and online voter registration.
At the forum, Wakeman said Cooper gets only two percent of her campaign funds from contributors inside the district, with most of the rest coming from lobbyists.
Cooper’s filings show many contributions from political action committees—especially in the the health-care and medical fields—while Wakeman has a good number of small-amount contributors from within the East Cobb district.
“We have an opportunity to stand up for the community with a grassroots campaign,” Wakeman said.
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