Georgia
Related: About this forumIn one affluent Atlanta suburb, Biden and Trump work to win over wary Georgia voters
From Atlanta public radio station WABE via the Associated Press, June 24, 2024 -
https://www.wabe.org/in-one-affluent-atlanta-suburb-biden-and-trump-work-to-win-over-wary-georgia-voters/
Suzanne Brown waves flags for Donald Trump before a ceremony to open his first Georgia campaign office, Thursday, June 13, 2024, in Fayetteville, Ga. Democratic President Joe Biden and former Republican President Donald Trump are working to win over Georgia voters ahead of the pair's first 2024 debate scheduled for Thursday, June 27, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jeff Amy)
Now, in their rematch, Georgia will test which man can best assemble a winning coalition despite their respective weaknesses. Each must persuade grumpy voters in places like Fayette County, a suburb south of Atlanta, that theyre less frightening than the alternative.
Like other Atlanta suburbs, the 120,000-resident county has been angling left. Democrats havent yet deposed Fayettes Republican majority, but they got close in December 2022, when Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock won 49.5% of Fayettes votes in defeating Republican Herschel Walker.
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This is an interesting story for many reasons. In a close election where votes from the entire state matter, Biden has a chance to erode Trump's vote total in Fayette County. It's a county Trump will still probably win, but let's hope the college-educated citizens there, as well as disaffected Trump 2020 voters, help Biden statewide.
hlthe2b
(106,542 posts)Pinback
(12,902 posts)to help build a state-wide majority for Biden. This formula worked in numerous areas around the state to build the famous 11,780-vote margin for Biden in 2020.
Fayette Co. is somewhat schizoid, with a mix of very conservative white evangelical Christians, wealthy, college-educated residents, Delta Airlines employees, and an influx of movie & TV industry personnel (although not all of them reside in Georgia full time, of course). Part of the county is represented in Congress by Republican Drew Ferguson (District 3) and part by Democrat David Scott (District 13).
Biden/Harris won Georgia in 2020 with 2,473,633 votes to 2,461,854 for Individual 1/Fly-head, whereas the Republican ticket won the state by more than 211,000 votes in 2016.
According to usafacts.org, Fayette's non-Hispanic Black population has grown from 21,435 to 32,483 from 2010-2022, while the White population there has declined from 72,364 to 70,094 -- still a large White majority (and most of them conservative), but one that's shrinking. And in state-wide races, Dems' prospects have been picking up in Fayette County, as in other metro Atlanta counties.
Racial demographics aren't everything, as we know, but again -- in a state where picking up a few votes here and there in a lot of different counties matters, Fayette is becoming one of the counties that can make the difference for Biden in November 2024.
hlthe2b
(106,542 posts)Silent Type
(6,982 posts)big Blue counties -- Atlanta, Savannah, Albany -- offset much of that, thank goodness.