GA-SEN 2022 Megathread: Werewolves and Vampires

[forsythvoter]

I think Perdue is a decent choice for the Rs. I'm open to voting for Perdue in 2022 depending on how the Ds do with their trifecta, and frankly, of all the R contenders for the seat (MTG, Collins, Perdue, Loeffler), I really am not open to voting for the other three for varying reasons.  However, Perdue will need to run a far better campaign than he did this cycle. If we are still hearing in 2022 about how Trump wasn't responsible for the riots, we shouldn't be shocked if the ATL suburbs trend even further D.

[forsythvoter]

I think Perdue is a decent choice for the Rs. I'm open to voting for Perdue in 2022 depending on how the Ds do with their trifecta, and frankly, of all the R contenders for the seat (MTG, Collins, Perdue, Loeffler), I really am not open to voting for the other three for varying reasons.  However, Perdue will need to run a far better campaign than he did this cycle. If we are still hearing in 2022 about how Trump wasn't responsible for the riots, we shouldn't be shocked if the ATL suburbs trend even further D.

I think we know this story ends, don’t we? Between this and Del Tachi's comment about Perdue not being anathema to Buckhead whites/being formidable in those areas because it’s a Biden midterm, this thread honestly couldn’t have been off to a better (or, well, more ominous) start.

Just catching up on the last few weeks here - looks like we'll never know. But to the rest of your commentary - I think the closest race to a generic R / D one during the 1/5 runoff was the PSC race, which went the R won by about 30k votes. Sure, the electorate was probably a D-leaning one based on who turned out, but even so, the votes were there for a truly generic R to win. I would argue Perdue / Loeffler ultimately didn't win because of the Trump factor turned off enough voters such that Perdue / Loeffler didn't get the level of Biden crossover voters that they needed.

[forsythvoter]

Not sure if others feel the same way, but I do think one thing that makes it difficult to for me to support Walker despite not loving the Dems' agenda is that I literally find it hard to understand and follow his thinking and speech. He seems to have half-formed "opinions" on substantive topics without really being able to articulate why those are the right policies and how those opinions (translated into policies) would lead to a better quality of life for Georgians. It just creates an overall impression for me that he's not really a serious candidate for Senator, which in turn makes it seem like Warnock is the safer choice.

[forsythvoter]

Not sure if others feel the same way, but I do think one thing that makes it difficult to for me to support Walker despite not loving the Dems' agenda is that I literally find it hard to understand and follow his thinking and speech. He seems to have half-formed "opinions" on substantive topics without really being able to articulate why those are the right policies and how those opinions (translated into policies) would lead to a better quality of life for Georgians. It just creates an overall impression for me that he's not really a serious candidate for Senator, which in turn makes it seem like Warnock is the safer choice.

Are you leaning Kemp for Gov, and what could Walker do to ultimately get your vote (or on the converse Warnock do to lose it).

I guess you could say I'm leaning Kemp for Gov, but I've only recently started tuning in.  He's overall done a good job with the state's budget and hasn't focused on hot button social issues, and I tend to favor the incumbent all else being equal. It doesn't hurt that he's largely stood up to Trump, which I respect. I am concerned a R trifecta will pursue a draconian abortion ban so depending on what I hear about Kemp's plan there, I could be persuaded to back Abrams.

For the senate race, I think Walker needs to present much better in the debates (assuming he even agrees to them, which i think he should because I don't think he's made a great first impression) than he has over the last few months for me to seriously consider voting for him. Childcare, inflation, deficit reduction, and reluctantly abortion are my top voting issues and I want to understand how each candidate will address these 4 areas.

[forsythvoter]

Not sure if others feel the same way, but I do think one thing that makes it difficult to for me to support Walker despite not loving the Dems' agenda is that I literally find it hard to understand and follow his thinking and speech. He seems to have half-formed "opinions" on substantive topics without really being able to articulate why those are the right policies and how those opinions (translated into policies) would lead to a better quality of life for Georgians. It just creates an overall impression for me that he's not really a serious candidate for Senator, which in turn makes it seem like Warnock is the safer choice.

Are you leaning Kemp for Gov, and what could Walker do to ultimately get your vote (or on the converse Warnock do to lose it).

I guess you could say I'm leaning Kemp for Gov, but I've only recently started tuning in.  He's overall done a good job with the state's budget and hasn't focused on hot button social issues, and I tend to favor the incumbent all else being equal. It doesn't hurt that he's largely stood up to Trump, which I respect. I am concerned a R trifecta will pursue a draconian abortion ban so depending on what I hear about Kemp's plan there, I could be persuaded to back Abrams.

For the senate race, I think Walker needs to present much better in the debates (assuming he even agrees to them, which i think he should because I don't think he's made a great first impression) than he has over the last few months for me to seriously consider voting for him. Childcare, inflation, deficit reduction, and reluctantly abortion are my top voting issues and I want to understand how each candidate will address these 4 areas.

Seems like we will be voting pretty much the same way this year for Senate and Gov. I can’t stand Abrams and I think it’s very clear she has no actual interest in being Governor of Georgia. She just wants to be President. I’m skeptical there will be that many ticket splitters though.

Y'all will probably be only a few percent of the total vote, but in this closely divided state I expect that will be enough for a split Kemp/Warnock result.  (I strongly doubt there will be many Abrams/Walker ticket splitters.)

I agree ticket splitters are increasingly rare in the polarized world we live in but I do think more than a few voters still tend to give the incumbent the benefit of the doubt - "i.e., if they haven't done anything memorably controversial or offensive, no reason to kick them out." I think this works to both Kemp and Warnock's favor.

[forsythvoter]

Not sure if others feel the same way, but I do think one thing that makes it difficult to for me to support Walker despite not loving the Dems' agenda is that I literally find it hard to understand and follow his thinking and speech. He seems to have half-formed "opinions" on substantive topics without really being able to articulate why those are the right policies and how those opinions (translated into policies) would lead to a better quality of life for Georgians. It just creates an overall impression for me that he's not really a serious candidate for Senator, which in turn makes it seem like Warnock is the safer choice.

Good to see you back!  It's been a while.

I'd like to be redouble those sentiments.
It's nice to hear from a local and a swing voter, to boot.

Appreciate it and good to see so many familiar faces still on here! i usually tune into politics for 3 months every 2 years and try to focus on other things when it's not election season to preserve my sanity .

[forsythvoter]

Politics aside, it really saddens me as a father to see the Walker family and Christian being torn apart from Herschel's actions. I also really hope Herschel and the Republicans puts a stop to all of the personal attacks being launched against Christian - it seems to me like he's had a lot of mental trauma from his dad's infidelity and subsequent attempts to cover-up the consequences. No senate race is ever worth losing your family over!

And as for the election itself, I'll have to see what the reactions of others in my community and family are, but I've been leaning Warnock for a while. I don't see a scenario in which I can vote for Herschel at this point.

[forsythvoter]

I suppose I'm one of these "swing voters" but for me, it's less about wanting to be undecided / putting off a decision and more about conflicting emotions I'm feeling this cycle. On the one hand, I don't want the Democrats in charge of the budget and on the other hand I don't want Republicans in charge of my wife's body. Scandals that make me question if a candidate is fundamentally fit for office absolutely can sway my vote.

A bunch of Biden/Warnock/Ossoff voters are about to vote for Kemp next month. These revelations absolutely have an effect on these same swing voters.

Honestly there are some swing voters who want to look "undecided".

They truly Can by voting both for Kemp and Warnock and I think this is what they will do

[forsythvoter]

I understand your logic but having done quite a bit of research myself, it's a lot more nuanced than this The reality is that Georgia has a pre-Roe abortion ban on the books and Abrams is not going to be able to overturn that ban without the support of the legislature.

It is because of this dynamic that 1) I think that should be a national law codifying Roe, 2) I think we need more balance on the Supreme Court when and if new appointments come up. Both of these impact the Senate elections.

I suppose I'm one of these "swing voters" but for me, it's less about wanting to be undecided / putting off a decision and more about conflicting emotions I'm feeling this cycle. On the one hand, I don't want the Democrats in charge of the budget and on the other hand I don't want Republicans in charge of my wife's body. Scandals that make me question if a candidate is fundamentally fit for office absolutely can sway my vote.

A bunch of Biden/Warnock/Ossoff voters are about to vote for Kemp next month. These revelations absolutely have an effect on these same swing voters.

Honestly there are some swing voters who want to look "undecided".

They truly Can by voting both for Kemp and Warnock and I think this is what they will do

If that is the case I would think you'd vote against Kemp and for Walker. Abortion will be controlled by the states. No national abortion ban is taking place in the senate. The votes aren't there for it and Biden would never sign it even if there were 60+ votes.

[forsythvoter]

I would support waiving the filibuster to reinstate Roe.

I suppose I'm one of these "swing voters" but for me, it's less about wanting to be undecided / putting off a decision and more about conflicting emotions I'm feeling this cycle. On the one hand, I don't want the Democrats in charge of the budget and on the other hand I don't want Republicans in charge of my wife's body. Scandals that make me question if a candidate is fundamentally fit for office absolutely can sway my vote.

A bunch of Biden/Warnock/Ossoff voters are about to vote for Kemp next month. These revelations absolutely have an effect on these same swing voters.

Honestly there are some swing voters who want to look "undecided".

They truly Can by voting both for Kemp and Warnock and I think this is what they will do

If that is the case I would think you'd vote against Kemp and for Walker. Abortion will be controlled by the states. No national abortion ban is taking place in the senate. The votes aren't there for it and Biden would never sign it even if there were 60+ votes.

This is an incredibly short-sighted view that ignores the fact that Senators serve six-year terms. A second Trump presidency paired with a Republican majority in the House and Senate would very likely result in some sort of national abortion ban and the only real question is whether it would be six weeks, ten weeks, or fifteen weeks.

You see the GOP having 60+ senate seats along with a house majority and president? I sure as hell do not. They would need at least 62 seats. Collins and Murkowski would not vote for it and even in their wildest dreams if that were to ever happen I do not see any form of national ban taking place. State bans are much more likely which is why I would think someone from GA who is more concerned about abortion would vote against R's in the governors race and not the senate race.

[forsythvoter]

That line of thinking is actually how I'm approaching about elections this year.
Senate: Warnock (D)
House: McCormick (R)
Governor: Kemp (R)
Lt. Gov: Undecided
AG: Jordan (D)
SOS: Raffensberger (R)
Superintendent: Undecided
AG Commisioner: Harper (R)
Insurance Commissioner: King (R)

Further Downballot Races: TBD

You see the GOP having 60+ senate seats along with a house majority and president? I sure as hell do not. They would need at least 62 seats. Collins and Murkowski would not vote for it and even in their wildest dreams if that were to ever happen I do not see any form of national ban taking place. State bans are much more likely which is why I would think someone from GA who is more concerned about abortion would vote against R's in the governors race and not the senate race.

You don't think the Republicans would nuke the filibuster for this? I agree it's unlikely that the Republicans get to be in a position for a national ban in the foreseeable future but it's way greater than the likelihood that Abrams can do anything about our restriction on her own, sadly. If anything I think this is a point in favor of voting D for AG, Jen Jordan could probably do more on the abortion front than Abrams.

[forsythvoter]

Oh, I didn't realize that - I haven't really tuned into the LG race yet, but yes, that would be a major factor if he were a 2020 election denier since I'm not sure how much power / influence the LG has except to break ties in the legislature, so there's not a lot of policy considerations for me for that role.

That line of thinking is actually how I'm approaching about elections this year.
Senate: Warnock (D)
House: McCormick (R)
Governor: Kemp (R)
Lt. Gov: Undecided
AG: Jordan (D)
SOS: Raffensberger (R)
Superintendent: Undecided
AG Commisioner: Harper (R)
Insurance Commissioner: King (R)

Further Downballot Races: TBD

For LG, would you consider the fact that Burt Jones was one of the fake electors (and quite likely to be indicted as a result) to be disqualifying?

[forsythvoter]

My sense is Republicans are not going to stop supporting Walker (my very R dad even told me it's a non-issue since it has nothing to do with policy-making), but I don't think that's particularly surprising. Where there is actually quite a bit of movement on the ground in my neighborhood and family / friend circles is among a good number of undecided, mostly unaffiliated, voters for which Walker's scandals have either resurfaced the issue of abortion as top of mind or feel like Walker can't be trusted. I can name at least 3 such people I talked to this week that fall into this camp. I suspect the impact of this week might be that late deciding voters break disproportionately towards Warnock rather than many voters actually switching their votes.

Following the 2016 Post-Access Hollywood Trump playbook, the Christian Right is taking a strictly transactional stance, making clear it doesn't care about the allegations so long as Walker delivers the goods if he is elected:

Walker’s Christian fans unfazed by abortion revelations
The anti-abortion GOP Senate nominee's supporters say they care more about his policies than about his behavior.

[forsythvoter]

I don't think Trump really ever outperformed in GA; that was more in certain states in the Midwest and Industrial belt. If anything, Rs have underperformed polls in recent election cycles in GA. In general, I think politics are very polarized in GA so the undecided vote is truly more of a swing vote than a shy Trump / Walker vote.

My sense is Republicans are not going to stop supporting Walker (my very R dad even told me it's a non-issue since it has nothing to do with policy-making), but I don't think that's particularly surprising. Where there is actually quite a bit of movement on the ground in my neighborhood and family / friend circles is among a good number of undecided, mostly unaffiliated, voters for which Walker's scandals have either resurfaced the issue of abortion as top of mind or feel like Walker can't be trusted. I can name at least 3 such people I talked to this week that fall into this camp. I suspect the impact of this week might be that late deciding voters break disproportionately towards Warnock rather than many voters actually switching their votes.

Following the 2016 Post-Access Hollywood Trump playbook, the Christian Right is taking a strictly transactional stance, making clear it doesn't care about the allegations so long as Walker delivers the goods if he is elected:

Walker’s Christian fans unfazed by abortion revelations
The anti-abortion GOP Senate nominee's supporters say they care more about his policies than about his behavior.

Wasn’t that how Trump over-performed twice?

[forsythvoter]

I'd be curious to know as well. I for the record was not part of this focus group, but my wife and I would fit the profile really well, as would many of our friends. We live in the northern suburbs of Atlanta.

[tweet]

Question about focus groups, and maybe an experienced user like Pollster can answer here: isn't it almost impossible to get a geographically representative sample in a state even as large as Georgia? I understand that they're not meant to be statistically representative, obviously, but it feels irresponsible to just report the state and not say where exactly this is: Athens? Atlanta?

[forsythvoter]

I can report on the ground that the Runoff campaign activities seem to have started Had a youngish 30-something door knocker this morning (he said he was with the FoCo Dems and lived in the community) asking if I was aware the GA Senate race was going to a runoff and how I felt about Warnock and Walker. I told him my wife and I voted Warnock in Round 1 and most likely will again for the runoff, to which he replied that he was thrilled to hear that, gave me a reminder card for Dec 6, and thanked me for my time. He also offered me a Warnock sign or bumper sticker, though I politely declined.

I have to imagine the script would have been different if I had said I was supporting Walker, but I live in a relatively competitive portion of the county that was heavily Republican up until Trump became president and has since been trending D pretty rapidly, so I'm guessing the Dems think it's fertile ground for door-to-door persuasion type conversations early in the Runoff process.

[forsythvoter]

My wife and I just voted on our lunch break at our early voting location in south Forsyth County. We had heard from friends in North Fulton that there were massive lines in nearby Alpharetta, but fortunately there was only a small line at our site and we were in an out in under 15 minutes.

We voted for Warnock. My sense is there hasn't been much (really any) change in voter preference among our friend circle (which to give you a sense, is mostly 30-somethings with college degrees that live in the north metro suburbs and includes a good number of Biden-Kemp-Warnock voters) and among our immediate family (mostly 60-somethings that are R or R-leaning and are sticking with Walker). The only shift I know of is a friend couple that went L in the general election but are backing Warnock in the runoff because they are socially liberal and think the Rs taking control of the house will be a sufficient check on a 51-49D senate.

Our precinct went 81-18 Romney in 2012, 67-32 Trump in 2016, 58-41 Trump in 2020 and 55-43 Walker in the runoff so will be interesting to see where it lands in the runoff given trends.

[forsythvoter]

Keep an eye out in the coming days for Duncan's data in the MVP file (usually takes a day or so to show up there - though when the SoS updates this morning with its absentee file, it should be visible there first if he did in fact vote):

https://mvp.sos.ga.gov/s/

G
Duncan
Forsyth
04/01/1975

*then click on "absentee ballot portal" at top of page*

H

Honestly, I'm really skeptical Duncan went to vote at all if he still resides in Forsyth County. The early vote lines here have not been long, so unless he hung around the polling place for an hour deciding whether to vote (which just doesn't pass the sniff test, not to meniton there was heavy rain yesterday), I think it's a fabrication.

The more interesting thing for me is that Duncan politically reflects a lot of GA folks under 45 I know who grew up R or in R households and increasingly feel alienated by the R party's branding - especially on topics such as abortion, free elections, same sex marriage, climate change etc. This hasn't fully translated into voting D and I think many of us are still wary of Ds potentially being "tax and spenders" with full control of government, but it does feel like an increasing number are willing to vote for a few Ds and see how it goes. I think these folks represent the critical "swing vote" in GA right now, and are why you can get results like Kemp / Warnock both winning.

[forsythvoter]

L2 estimates that the early vote is about D+10 right now

https://twitter.com/L2political/status/1598686174742286338

Probably much more D in reality since a lot of Democrats voted for Kemp and Raffensperger in the primary.

And a substantial number of Rs will be voting for Warnock.

I don't think using primary participation is an accurate representation of how voters are likely to vote in the runoff. I typically vote in the R primaries and know a number of Warnock voters that do as well. I do this because for most local elections, the primary election is more competitive than the general election, and I want to have a say in who will end up representing me.

Also, GA doesn't have partisan registration, but if it did, I don't think Raffensberger would have won his primary (without a runoff at least) if it were closed to Is and Ds.

[forsythvoter]

L2 estimates that the early vote is about D+10 right now

https://twitter.com/L2political/status/1598686174742286338

Probably much more D in reality since a lot of Democrats voted for Kemp and Raffensperger in the primary.

And a substantial number of Rs will be voting for Warnock.

I don't think using primary participation is an accurate representation of how voters are likely to vote in the runoff. I typically vote in the R primaries and know a number of Warnock voters that do as well. I do this because for most local elections, the primary election is more competitive than the general election, and I want to have a say in who will end up representing me.

Also, GA doesn't have partisan registration, but if it did, I don't think Raffensberger would have won his primary (without a runoff at least) if it were closed to Is and Ds.

I was talking about literal Kemp/Warnock voters, not primary preference. I expect those types to be high propensity and willing to turn out for Warnock again (to stop Walker) vs low propensity hardliners who voted Kemp/Walker out of party loyalty but don’t like Walker enough to show up a second time when no check on Biden is needed/at stake.

I'm not disagreeing with you. My point was just that Kemp / Warnock voters who voted in the R primary are most likely disproportionately Is and not Rs.

[forsythvoter]

https://twitter.com/NilesGApol/status/1600599089196195841

It's interesting that my precinct in Forsyth County very closely approximates the overall new GA-6 vote. Walker won it 55.6% - 44.4% vs. 55.8% - 44.2% district wide.

If my precinct represents the tipping point for the district, the trendlines do not look great for Rs holding onto the district until 2030. It's swung 51 points D in the last decade, 23 points D since 2016, and 5 points in just the last two years.

The two-party vote has split approximately, Romney 81-18 in 2012, Trump 67-32 in 2016, Trump 58-41 in 2020, Walker 55-44 in the 22' Runoff.

That said, I do happen to think the new R congressman elect is fairly popular and likeable, so if he's savvy, it's conceivable he could outrun the base partisanship of the district and hold on for at least a few cycles.

[forsythvoter]

I was looking at some election twitter maps and found a pretty neat interactive map of the GA Senate runoff results by vote type by precinct here:

https://live-election-map.web.app/

Looking at the map, I'm pretty shocked to see so many precincts in the northern Atlanta suburbs that went for Trump in 2020, but flip to Warnock in this race. Trump even while winning those precincts in 2020 did extremely poorly for a R, so I had thought there would be a bit of a snapback in those precincts given Trump wasn't on the ballot. Warnock may even have been the first candidate in modern history to win my parents' precinct in East Cobb (which went R even during the Carter years).

[forsythvoter]

I was looking at some election twitter maps and found a pretty neat interactive map of the GA Senate runoff results by vote type by precinct here:

https://live-election-map.web.app/

Looking at the map, I'm pretty shocked to see so many precincts in the northern Atlanta suburbs that went for Trump in 2020, but flip to Warnock in this race. Trump even while winning those precincts in 2020 did extremely poorly for a R, so I had thought there would be a bit of a snapback in those precincts given Trump wasn't on the ballot. Warnock may even have been the first candidate in modern history to win my parents' precinct in East Cobb (which went R even during the Carter years).

I think a lot of these Northern Atlanta Suburbs are powered more by fundamental demographic changes than people tend to assume. For the past 2 decades, the entire ATL has prolly had one of the most consistent and hardest swings left. On the south side, it's a bit more "obvious" because of black spillover into places like Henry and Douglas Counties.

On the northern side, it seems like more conservative whites are being replaced by more liberal college ed whites for which we have less concrete data to prove. You also have notable and growing Hispanic and Asian pooulations.

There's definitely an element of generational replacement driving the shifts in the northern ATL suburbs, but I think the extent really depends on the specific area. In my neighborhood in south Forsyth County, you can definitely see this shift happening with a noticeable contingent of newcomers who are liberal / moderate millennials replacing retirees who are moving to Florida or Gainsville or some other more rural area.

Much of East Cobb (the area I have in mind is around Hightower, Garrison Mill, Pope and Chestnut Ridge) / Western North Fulton (i.e., Roswell, Mountain Park) though are largely built out areas with much lower levels of housing turnover. Part of this is because there aren't that many multi-family housing units where transiency is naturally high but it might also be because Cobb (not Fulton) has a property tax exemption where once you're 62, you essentially pay no property taxes on your house, which keeps a lot of the retiree set from moving away. Certainly there is still housing turnover, but not on the scale that you see in areas like Johns Creek or Forsyth.

With this context in mind, some of these precincts like my parents' in East Cobb have shifted 8-10 points left since 2020 - so I feel like generational replacement or demographic change would explain only half the shift at most. Similar shifts can also be observed in parts of Sandy Springs and Buckhead with similar dynamics btw.

[forsythvoter]

I was looking at some election twitter maps and found a pretty neat interactive map of the GA Senate runoff results by vote type by precinct here:

https://live-election-map.web.app/

Looking at the map, I'm pretty shocked to see so many precincts in the northern Atlanta suburbs that went for Trump in 2020, but flip to Warnock in this race. Trump even while winning those precincts in 2020 did extremely poorly for a R, so I had thought there would be a bit of a snapback in those precincts given Trump wasn't on the ballot. Warnock may even have been the first candidate in modern history to win my parents' precinct in East Cobb (which went R even during the Carter years).

Nice map, thanks for posting it.  Unsurprisingly, my precinct in northwestern Forsyth went for Walker by a 3:1 margin.  Sigh.

From what I understand, 25% for a D is actually pretty historically high for a D in Northern Forsyth County! Here in southern Forsyth County, even with all the growth, it's still pretty crazy to see how quickly Ds have become competitive. Warnock cleared 40% in virtually every precinct in the area, and he was around or above 45% in half the precincts. A decade ago, Ds were in the teens in precincts in this area.

[forsythvoter]

I was looking at some election twitter maps and found a pretty neat interactive map of the GA Senate runoff results by vote type by precinct here:

https://live-election-map.web.app/

Looking at the map, I'm pretty shocked to see so many precincts in the northern Atlanta suburbs that went for Trump in 2020, but flip to Warnock in this race. Trump even while winning those precincts in 2020 did extremely poorly for a R, so I had thought there would be a bit of a snapback in those precincts given Trump wasn't on the ballot. Warnock may even have been the first candidate in modern history to win my parents' precinct in East Cobb (which went R even during the Carter years).

Nice map, thanks for posting it.  Unsurprisingly, my precinct in northwestern Forsyth went for Walker by a 3:1 margin.  Sigh.

From what I understand, 25% for a D is actually pretty historically high for a D in Northern Forsyth County! Here in southern Forsyth County, even with all the growth, it's still pretty crazy to see how quickly Ds have become competitive. Warnock cleared 40% in virtually every precinct in the area, and he was around or above 45% in half the precincts. A decade ago, Ds were in the teens in precincts in this area.

To me, it seems like Atlanta's influence only started hitting Forsyth County at the start of the century; prior to that it was effectively a rural county politically.

Forsyth has also gotten a notable Asian population growing very very fast. I imagine that also has some impact on the politics. I hope Michelle Au runs for SD-48 at some point, she seemed like a really great State Senator though trying to run for re-election as a Senator under the new maps would've been political suicide this cycle. If Ds want any chance of flipping the State Senate this decade, SD-48 is probably the easiest way to start.

Yes, there definitely is a booming Asian population in this area. I'm not as familiar with the political trends within the Asian community, but I think on balance, the group is probably something like 60/40 D (maybe 65/35 D). To break it down further, the sense I get from talking to some of our Asian neighbors and friends is that the South Asian community tends to trend pretty heavily D while the East Asian community (Korean, Chinese predominately) are more politically divided. The East Asian small business owner contingent actually is pretty visible in the local R groups.

I've heard good things about State Senator (now state rep) Au btw. She's not my representative, but it's pretty cool that she's the only elected doctor in the GA legislature. Feels like we need more of those folks if we're trying to set policies on topics like abortion but I digress.