A closer look at Georgia's rapidly changing electorate

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by bryantm3

some very good comments in this thread, but unfortunately i can't upvote them because i upvote you guys too much.

it is very important to remember that the republican takeover in the 1990s and early 2000s was not really a takeover, it was just a massive migration of conservative whites from the democratic party to the republican party. the same people have been in power the whole time.

sonny perdue was a democrat, nathan deal was a democrat, everybody that is in leadership positions in the state republican party was either a democrat before the 1990s or was too young to be involved. you can't pin the republicans gaining a majority in the 1990s on demographic shifts; there was a lot of growth in georgia, but the proportion of white to nonwhite voters remained nearly the same as it had been since the 1800s.

the change coming now is one that georgia has not seen before— one where minorities outnumber whites. you will see a dramatic change in georgia politics over the next ten years and beyond.

Those are some great points particularly about the Georgia Republican Party's ascension to power being powered largely by a massive migration of conservative white voters from the Democratic Party.

But demographic shifts also played a major role (if not the leading role) in the Republican Party's ascension to power and dominance in Georgia politics with explosive population growth in the outer suburbs of Metro Atlanta....Explosive population growth that was powered by moderately conservative white Midwestern and Northeastern transplants moving into outer-suburban counties like Cobb, Gwinnett, North Fulton and Henry and voting for Republicans like they did up north in large numbers.

It was the massive numbers of conservative white transplants moving into Atlanta outer suburbs like Cobb, Gwinnett and North Fulton during the five decades after World War II (1950-2000) that laid the electoral foundation for the Georgia Republican Party to grow into the dominant political force that it is today.

That massive migration of conservative white Midwestern and Northeastern transplants into the Atlanta suburbs basically shifted the balance of power in Georgia politics from rural Democrats in South Georgia to suburban and exurban Republicans in Metro Atlanta and North Georgia.

It should also be noted that though Republicans brought an end to Georgia Democrats' legislative supermajorities in the 1990's (the last time that Democrats possessed a supermajority in the Georgia Legislature was 1993-94), the Republicans did not officially gain a majority in Georgia politics until the decade of the 2000's when they won the Governor's office in 2002 and won a legislative majority in 2004 for the first time since Reconstruction.

[JMatl]

Originally Posted by Born 2 Roll

That massive migration of conservative white Midwestern and Northeastern transplants into the Atlanta suburbs basically shifted the balance of power in Georgia politics from rural Democrats in South Georgia to suburban and exurban Republicans in Metro Atlanta and North Georgia.

And although the numbers don't necessarily reflect it much (lately), there are a lot of born-and-bred white Dems from Florida like me that aren't going anywhere.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by JMatl

And although the numbers don't necessarily reflect it much (lately), there are a lot of born-and-bred white Dems from Florida like me that aren't going anywhere.

That's a good comment that raises an important point...

A major part of the reason why Georgia Republicans have been so strong over the past decade or so is because Georgia Democrats have been so incredibly weak and dysfunctional at the statewide level since Roy Barnes was upset by Sonny Perdue in the 2002 Governor's race.

Georgia Democrats have been so hapless and weak in terms of fundraising and organization that even many moderate and even liberal voters who might have otherwise voted Democrat voted for Republican candidates instead in statewide races.

Until putting forth candidates like Michelle Nunn and Jason Carter in statewide contests during the 2014 electoral cycle, Democrats had really not run many strong candidates for statewide offices during recent statewide election cycles.

Frankly, despite the well-documented dysfunction that has occurred at times during Republican rule, Georgia Democrats had not really given people much to vote for at the statewide level during much of the last decade.

Georgia Republicans have largely been dysfunctional and Georgia Democrats have largely been missing during much of the last decade....Though, fortunately there are some encouraging signs that situation might be starting to change for the better.

[Clayton white guy]

"Absolute power corrupts absolutely" This quote is true no matter what party you identify with. Call me a socially conservative Independent.

[jsvh]

Yeah, everyone should be an independent. Think for yourself and vote for more than a "D" or "R".