Saturday, July 02, 2016

Georgia Is In Play In Presidential Election, Democratic Field Organizer Told Oconee County Democrats

Goal Is Governorship In 2018

Georgia already is “purple," or in-play in the presidential election in November, Paul Glaze, a field organizer for the Democratic Party of Georgia, told a gathering of Oconee County Democrats on Thursday night.

The goal now is to win the governorship in 2018 and then start to run Democrats in local elections, even in heavily Republican Oconee County, Glaze said.

Glaze, with responsibility for the Greater Athens and North Georgia area, was joined by Max Doty, regional field director, at a gathering in Northwest Woods subdivision.

About 40 people turned out to hear the two talk about Democratic Party present and short-term plans.

”Never Tried"

Glaze said the Party has “never once in the modern history of the state of Georgia run this state like it was a battleground state.”

That, he said, is going to change.

If the Party “can flip the state” in November, he said, it will be in a much better position to take the governorship in 2018.

Glaze said that demographics are in the Party’s favor, as is the candidacy of Republican Donald Trump and of Libertarian Gary Johnson.

Issues As Well

Glaze said the Georgia Democratic Party has three issues that should have appeal to people in the state.

The Party has the “benefit” and “luxury of running in a state where Republicans don’t support local control,” he said.

He cited the amendment to the constitution on the ballot in November as an example. That amendment would give the state the ability to take over schools it designates as failing.

He said the unwillingness of Gov. Nathan Deal and the Republican-controlled legislature to accept Medicaid money under the Affordable Care Act has had negative impact on healthcare in Georgia.

He said the party also is committed to protecting and expanding the Hope Scholarship.

Grass Roots

Glaze told the group that his goal is to build a data-base of people who have been contacted by local volunteers and expressed support for the Party.

He asked those present to step up and lend a hand in that effort.

He acknowledged that he expected to find more people willing to help in Athens-Clarke County than in Oconee County.

All of the Oconee County offices are held by Republicans.

The Democratic Party did not have any candidates on the ballot in the May primary.

State’s Color

In 2012, President Barack Obama got 45.5 percent of the vote in Georgia.

Of those states where the incumbent president did not get half of the vote, Georgia followed only North Carolina in vote percent for Obama.

In Oconee County, Obama got only 24.8 percent of the vote in 2012.

Obama got 47.0 percent of the vote in Georgia in 2008 and 28.2 percent of the vote in Oconee county.

Presidential Primary

Georgia voters do not register by party, so the primaries are one indication of party orientation of the voters.

In the March 1 presidential primary, 62.9 percent of the voters statewide chose the Republican ballot, and 38.8 percent voted for Trump, who got the plurality of Republican votes in the state.

In Oconee County, 79.7 percent of the voters chose the Republican ballot on March 1, and 31.4 percent of those chose Trump, who got the plurality of vote in the county.

Hillary Clinton won the statewide Democratic primary with 71.3 percent of the vote. In Oconee County, she received 52.4 percent of the Democratic vote.

Video

The video of Glaze’s comments at the meeting on Thursday night is below.

I missed his very first comments, in which he said that the state already is “purple.”

The gathering took place in the home of Gail Karwoski, 1040 Sweet Gum Way.

OCO: Oconee Democratic Meeting 6 30 16 from Lee Becker on Vimeo

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great Lee!
We'll also be looking for your fair and balanced commentary on the Republican Party meeting on July 18, 6:30 PM at the Watkinsville Community Center.

Anonymous said...

Anon 11:16,

Hopefully the July 18th meeting will cover the $4 million dollar road Melvin and the commissioners are building for Frank Bishop, why the county has been planning the Calls Creek sewer line for over a year but hid that from residents, why the county Economic Development Director allowed unconfirmed info. in his report to advocate for up to fie car dealerships with no mention of the negatives effects of five car dealerships, why tens of millions of taxpayer dollars were spent to lure Caterpillar but the promised increase in property and sales tax from suppliers has never com to fruition, etc. etc.

Lee Becker said...

Thanks for the feedback.

I cover as many political meetings and events as possible, and I have established a Channel on my Vimeo site for video recordings of those events. It is at https://vimeo.com/channels/1027242.

I cannot find details of the July 18 meeting on the Oconee County Republican Party web site. I certainly will consider attending. I give preference to meetings where an outside speaker is featured or candidates meet with citizens.

Lee

Anonymous said...

Anon 6:23,
You're kidding yourself if you believe it would be any different with Democrats. I would wager that anyone would flip when large sums of money come into play. I don't want to call them "kickbacks" because the current BOC is too stupid to know what those are. Plus, Democrats & Republicans are the exact same party these days because they both want the Gubment to control everything because the common citizenry cannot be left to form their own thoughts and conclusions on any part of their lives.