By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
April 26, 2022 | “Scorecard! Scorecard! Come get your scorecard to enjoy the game,” the hawkers once told us.
You may need a scorecard of sorts for the Georgia primary election, which will be held in four weeks from today, on May 24. After all, there are many, many candidates on tap to face the voters, especially in statewide and congressional elections.
For the last several weeks, GwinnettForum has been meeting with primary candidates to get to know them and to figure out which of them it thinks will be best to represent the people in that particular office. Once meeting with us, GwinnettForum offers six questions for the candidates to answer in no more than 100 words, which we will post on our website beginning May 3 for our readers to use as their “score cards” to determine the best candidate. So far, we have met with 72 candidates, asking for 30 minutes of their time. By meeting with us, each candidate can post their answers on our website (at no cost to them) as our public service.
We’ll keep the candidate answers and our endorsements up on the website through the three weeks of the primary, for it’s a lot to digest. You may want to read the candidate answers in more than one sitting. As Gwinnett has a larger legislative delegation because of our population increase, voters will have to digest the view of only one each state senator or state house representative.]
However, there are a lot of candidates for the state races running for major offices. The list is enormous. Take a look at state races:
- For U.S. Senator: two Democrats and six Republicans.
- For Governor: one Democrat and five Republicans.
- For Lieutenant Governor: nine Democrats and four Republicans.
- For Secretary of State: five Democrats and four Republicans.
- For Attorney General: two Democrats and two Republicans.
- For Agricultural Commissioner: three Democrats and one Republican.
- For Insurance Commissioner: three Democrats and three Republicans.
- For State School Superintendent: four Democrats and two Republicans.
- For Labor Commissioner: five Democrats and three Republicans.
- For Public Service Commission, District 2: two Democrats and one Republican.
- For Public Service Commission, District 3: three Democrats and one Republican.
- For Congress, 6th District: two Democrats and nine Republicans.
- For Congress, 7th District: three Democrats and five Republicans.
- For Congress, 9th District: one Democrat and five Republicans.
Whew! That’s 96 people seeking 14 slots. Say this about a primary: it at least sorts out people, and makes the General Election easier to handle with fewer candidates!
Name missing: Gwinnettians living here for at least the last 20 years will find one regular candidate’s name not on the Gwinnett ballot this year. Since the Fourth Congressional District no longer has any portion of Gwinnett, long-time U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson’s name is not on the 2022 ballot for Gwinnett.
Here’s about the best map we have seen of Gwinnett’s new Congressional District lines, now consisting of three districts. The shaded areas in the map indicate boundaries of the cities of the county.
More sway: Gwinnett now has a little more power in the Legislature. The total Gwinnett legislative delegation now represents nine Senate and 21 House districts, up from 25 districts before. For the average voter, that means little, since only one senator or House member represents them. But it shows the growing input our legislators have on matters of state.
So enjoy your scorecard here!
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
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