Democrats, Republicans Focus On Importance Of Oconee Vote

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.

For each of these three, Oconee County is part of a firewall created by the Republican legislature in 2011 against Athens-Clarke County to make it likely that Cowsert’s 46th Senate District, Gaines’ 117th House District, and Wiedower’s 119 House District elect Republicans.

To guarantee that outcome, Gaines and Wiedower in particular need a big turnout of Republicans in Oconee County.

Turnout already is at record numbers, as the Republicans have been hoping will be the case, but there are some hints as well from recent Democrats performance in high turnout elections that Democrats could have some success cutting into the Republican margins in the county on Tuesday.

For analysis of recent elections and suggestions about what could take place on Tuesday, please go to Oconee County Observations.