By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
MAY 7, 2019 — Is the Gwinnett political year shaping up similar to what happened in 1984? Could history repeat itself….in a slightly different way?
Those of you not living here then may not realize how pivotal 1984 was for political parties in Gwinnett. Up until that time, there were a few Republican office holders in Gwinnett. Louise Radloff was the first, having been elected as a Republican in 1973. (She’s still serving, but got elected as a Democrat in the recent election.) The only other Republicans serving in 1982-83 were Tom Phillips and Bill Goodwin.
In the 1984 election, there were 17 contested races between the two parties. Only one candidate did not have an opponent. That was probate Judge Alton Tucker, a Democrat.
When the votes were counted, there was an extraordinary outcome: all 17 Republicans won election, to the surprise certainly of the Democrats, and more so for the Republicans.
Since that time, Gwinnett has been thoroughly dominated by the Grand Old Party. Though a few Democrats over the years have been elected, it’s been unusual to spot an elected Democrat in Gwinnett in recent years.
The tide began to turn in 2016 toward the Democrats for local offices, as 23 Democrats were elected out of 33 races. However, in the presidential election in 2016, Gwinnett went for Hillary Clinton. Just last year, in the 2018 Gwinnett voting, more Democrats were elected, and local voters picked challenger Stacey Abrams, the Democrat, as their choice over the winner, Gov. Brian Kemp.
That’s causing many to feel that Gwinnett is well on the way toward electing far more Democrats in the 2020 election. Some maintain that with the increased diversity in Gwinnett, and with more and more voters registered to vote, the election could see a virtual Democratic sweep.
So, what’s happening these days? More Gwinnettians, especially Democrats, are thinking that if they ever want to run, this might be the year to toss their hats into the races. Surprisingly, that even includes some Republicans who might face a tougher task than a GOP candidate in recent years. Even some Republicans with no prior government experience, thinking that the Democratic trend is not all that serious, are themselves considering making a bid for office.
And would you also be surprised to find this: a few people who have previously been elected as Republicans are considering again seeking office, but this time in the Democratic race, not the Republican side. These people may be considered as survivors if they indeed run as Democrats, yet still win.
There’s another considerable impact that the 2020 race should make for local Democratic candidates. With Gwinnett not voting for President Trump in 2016, it’s unlikely that the county will find itself in Trump Country when the votes are counted in 2020. And since presidential elections always have greater turnouts than in the governor’s race, the higher number of Democratic voters might be another consideration for politically-bit Democrats to think 2020 might be the right time to test the waters.
We would hope that both local political parties would concentrate on fielding worthy candidates. That might mean at some point actually discouraging what would appear to be lousy candidates. And yes, we’ll say that some of the people who have voiced interest in running for office, from their previous experience or lack of experience, do not appear to be worthy of approval.
Stay tuned: 2020 might be a near throwback to 1984. Only this time, could 2020 be a Democratic sweep?
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
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