Expert Told Oconee Republicans Biden Win Followed State Trend

University of Georgia political science professor Charles Bullock, in a retrospective on the Nov. 3 election for Oconee County Republicans, said the Democratic victory in the presidential race in Georgia was the result of trends a long time in the making.

“The state has been changing,” Bullock said. “This is not something that has happened over night.” The highwater point for Republicans came in 2004, and since that time Republican strength in the state has been on the decline, he said.

Bullock, an expert on Georgia politics, was the featured speaker at the November meeting of the Oconee County Republicans.

About 25 people assembled in the basement meeting room of the Oconee County Chamber of Commerce on Nancy Drive in Watkinsville, but Party Chair Steven Stickland as well as Bullock and two other speakers were connected via Zoom.

The first speaker was Lauren “Bubba” McDonald, who is in a runoff with Democrat Daniel Blackman in District 4 of the Georgia Public Service Commission. The candidates run statewide despite being designated as from a District.

McDonald, who is the incumbent, said he wants to stay on the Commission to see Plant Vogtle nuclear plants three and four near Waynesboro through to completion

James Chafin, running without a party label in the District Attorney runoff on the ballot in Oconee and Clarke counties Tuesday, followed McDonald and said voters should pick him over Democrat Deborah Gonzalez because of his experience as a prosecutor.

In early voting last week, 3,467 of Oconee County’s 30,071 active voters cast a ballot, and another 175 voters had returned an absentee ballot. That’s a turnout rate so far of 12.1 percent.

In Clarke County, 5,743 of the county’s 76,779 active voters participated in early voting, and another 242 turned in an absentee ballot. That’s a participation rate of 7.8 percent.

For more on the story, with a video of the Republican Party meeting, please go to Oconee County Observations.