Democrats, Republicans Seeking To Expand Base in Oconee County In High Turnout Election

***More Ballots Cast Already Than In 2016***

Former Columbus Mayor Teresa Tomlinson told Oconee County Democrats in August of last year that they didn’t have to flip Oconee County for the party to be successful statewide on Tuesday.

Tomlinson, then a candidate for the Democratic Party nomination to face U.S. Sen. David Perdue, said Oconee County Democrats only needed to shave three or four percentage points off the 69.8 percent of the vote Gov. Brian Kemp received in Oconee County in 2016.

Former Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond told local Democrats two months later that Oconee County is an excellent opportunity for Democrats because its looks a lot like the Atlanta suburbs turning Democratic because of the influence of college-educated women.

Republicans Bill Cowsert, Houston Gaines, and Marcus Wiedower, representing Oconee County in the Georgia General Assembly, have made it clear at recent gatherings of the Oconee County Republican Party that they, too, are very much focused on how Republican Oconee County votes this election.

Northeast Health District Adds 65 COVID-19 Cases On Sunday, But No Deaths From Disease

***Rolling Averages of Added Cases Dropped Slightly In Oconee, Clarke Counties***

The Northeast Health District added 65 confirmed COVID-19 cases on Sunday and no deaths from the disease with the release of the Department of Public Health Daily Status Report.

Sundays are normally light reporting days, but the 65 new cases compared with 77 added last Sunday, and the seven-day rolling average of added cases dropped from 82.3 on Saturday to 80.6 on Sunday.

Every county in the 10-county Northeast Health District added at least one case. Oconee County added six cases and Clarke County added 17. The seven-day rolling average of added cases in both counties dropped slightly on Sunday from Saturday.

Northeast Health District Adds 131 New Cases Of COVID-19, Pushing Up Seven-Day Rolling Average Of Added Cases

***Sales Tax Revenues Down Again From Last Year***

The Northeast Health District of the Department of Public Health added one COVID-19 death with the release of the Daily Status Report on Saturday and 131 new confirmed cases of the disease.

The seven-day rolling average of added deaths dropped slightly, but the seven-day rolling average of added cases increased.

The death was of a 79-year-old male in Walton County without a known chronic condition. Walton County also reported a COVID-19 death on Friday and now has 70 deaths listed in the Department of Public Health's Daily Status Report, the most of any of the 10 counties in the Northeast Health District.

Oconee County Adds COVID-19 Deaths In Public Health and Community Health Reports; Clarke Adds Death In Public Health Report

***Oconee Schools Reports Increases In Active Cases, Quarantines***

Oconee and Clarke counties each added a death attributed to COVID-19 with the release of the Daily Status Report on Friday, two of four deaths from the disease in the Northeast Health District included in the Department of Public Health report.

The Department of Community Health also listed four deaths on Friday in the Northeast Health District in its Long-Term Care Facility Report, including one in Oconee County.

The Oconee County death listed in the Department of Public Health Daily Status report was of a 76-year-old female without a known chronic condition. She is the 31st death in the county attributed to the disease.

Clarke And Jackson Counties Adds COVID-19 Deaths In Thursday Daily Status Report

***Unemployment Data Suggest Recovery Has Stalled***

Clarke and Jackson counties added deaths from COVID-19 with the release of the Department of Public Health Daily Status Report on Thursday. The 10-county Northeast Health District added 110 new confirmed cases of the disease.

The Clarke County death was of a 67-year-old female without a known chronic condition. Clarke County now has 49 deaths attributed to the disease.

The Jackson County death was of 90-plus-year-old female without a known chronic condition. Jackson County now has 42 deaths listed in the Daily Status Report.

Northeast Health District Adds COVID-19 Deaths In Elbert and Jackson Counties; 82 New Confirmed Cases Of Disease

***University of Georgia Reports Continued Drop In Positive Tests***

The Northeast Health District added two deaths from COVID-19 and 82 new confirmed cases of the disease with the release of the Daily Status Report of the Department of Public Health on Wednesday.

One of the deaths was in Elbert County and was of a male with no chronic condition who was listed as 90 plus in age. He is the ninth death in Elbert County listed in the Daily Status Report.

The other death was in Jackson County and was of a 34-year-old female without a known chronic condition. She is the 41st death from COVID-19 in that county.

U.S. Senate Candidate Collins Attacks Democrats And A Republican Opponent, Asks Oconee County Republicans For Support

***Burgess And Chafin Also Speak***

In a rapid-fire presentation to Oconee County Republicans on Monday evening, U.S. Senate candidate Doug Collins attacked former Democratic presidential candidates Beto O’Rourke and Bernie Sanders, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, and Democrats in general.

He also attacked Kelly Loeffler, his most prominent Republican rival in the special election to fill the unexpired seat of Johnny Isakson, saying “she has tried to smear me to make you think that I’m not a conservative.”