Posted on 06/15/2003 11:32:05 PM PDT by LdSentinal
In times past, an open U.S. Senate seat would have touched off a stampede among ambitious Georgia Democrats eager to offer for the job.
Even against an incumbent, there sometimes was a crowd. The 1972 race, for example, featured 15 Democratic candidates, counting an appointed incumbent who hadnt held office long.
But in the new Georgia, with a Republican in the executive mansion and the GOP controlling eight of 13 congressional seats, Democrats seem to be having a hard time finding candidates for the Senate seat that will come open next year.
Sen. Zell Millers post is the only one Georgia Democrats still hold following the defeat last year of Max Cleland. And Miller is not seeking re-election.
Some believe the Democrats struggle reveals a stunning lack of bench strength in a party that dominated Georgia politics for more than 130 years.
Two things are happening, said Charles Bullock, a University of Georgia political science professor. There is less bench strength. There are fewer people who would have the connections and name recognition for a statewide race. The other is an assessment that the risks associated with the run are higher. Are you willing to give up the post you currently have for what may be a long shot?
Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor, the states highest-ranking Democrat and himself once suggested as a possible candidate for the seat, insisted the partys bench strength is just fine. The problem, Taylor said, is with the nations Capitol, not the Georgia Democratic Party.
Washington is just not an attractive place to work anymore. Democrats like to get things done in government. We like to see the results of our work. Were just at a period of time where the work environment in Washington is not attractive to some very qualified people, he argued.
Taylors not interested in the job and neither is Secretary of State Cathy Cox, another high-profile Democrat. The two could be on a collision course for the Democratic nomination in the next governors race. Former Secretary of State Lewis Massey flirted briefly with the idea of running, then bailed out.
Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, Attorney General Thurbert Baker and Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond, three of the states better-known black political leaders, have considered the race but have made no commitment.
The only definite candidate Democrats have is state Sen. Mary Squires of Norcross, who attracted heavy media attention during the last session by calling Gov. Sonny Perdue a racist and marching into his office during a heated debate over the state flag. DeKalb County District Attorney J. Tom Morgan said he may run if Baker does not.
Alec Poitevint, chairman of the state Republican Party, said Democrats are struggling with the race because they are demoralized after last years losses and they are afraid to run the same year that a popular president is on the ballot.
They just lost the governors mansion. They just lost a U.S. Senate seat. I think it continues to be a great difficulty when you have a Daschle or a Kennedy seen every day as the leader of that party. If you are a Georgian, are you more likely to identify with Daschle or Kennedy or George W. Bush? I think the answer is very easy, Poitevint said.
Unlike Democrats, Republicans have plenty of candidates, several of them well known. Two are incumbent members of Congress: Reps. Johnny Isakson of Marietta and Mac Collins of Jackson. Two black businessmen Al Bartell and Herman Cain, former Godfather Pizza CEO, also are in the race.
Taylor said Republicans may find the number of candidates a burden.
We feel that the Republicans have hurt themselves with the contested primary that has shaped up on their side. We would like to avoid that... We hope to avoid a contested primary, he said.
Whoever Democrats nominate, the task will be formidable, Bullock said, citing, among other things, the states tilt toward national Republicans.
Added to that, George Bush is heading the ticket. I suspect his popularity in Georgia is higher than the nation as a whole. He would be an asset.
Being a Georgia democrat must involve some really strong nose holding.
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