What does the GAGOP need to do to retool?

[Suburbia]

Despite having most of the political power in the swing state of Georgia, what does the GAGOP need to do to retool?

Win back the Atlanta and Savannah suburbs? Appeal to rural Black voters?

They are maxed out with white rural voters.

[MargieCat]

Run Ron DeSantis and he will sweep the state!

JK I'm making fun of literally ever other user on this board.

They probably need to moderate and run more diverse candidates. I don't know if they can get back to Romney numbers, but they can try to stunt the blue-ification.

Doug Collins is too far to the right.

[Hope For A New Era]

They can’t do it, even though they want to. They need to go hard to the center, but the base will never allow it.

[Suburbia]

They can’t do it, even though they want to. They need to go hard to the center, but the base will never allow it.

Kemp will probably lose in the May 2022 primary, and Abrams will beat whoever the GAGOP puts up, but by 2-3 points.

It is ironic that Georgia may turn into Virginia, but North Carolina has not gotten this trend yet.

[MargieCat]

They can’t do it, even though they want to. They need to go hard to the center, but the base will never allow it.

Kemp will probably lose in the May 2022 primary, and Abrams will beat whoever the GAGOP puts up, but by 2-3 points.

It is ironic that Georgia may turn into Virginia, but North Carolina has not gotten this trend yet.

Georgia voted to the right of North Carolina in 2016 and most  years.

This year that changed.

The change was no accident. I attribute it all to Stacey Abrams and Fair Fight. Her massive grass roots organizing is finally paying off for the democrats.

Without her influence, I think Georgia would have voted to the right of NC.

[GALeftist]

(half) Joke answer: grant Atlanta statehood.

Real answer: I would say that the best panacea in the short term for the GAGOP would be for Trump to drop all the Kemp hating (he insinuated on Twitter that he wanted to throw him in jail), but that looks very unlikely.

Barring that, I think they would probably do well to ditch Kemp in 2022. He is just as toxic in the metro as Trump, and he now also is suffering in his approval ratings among the Trumpists. I think the best candidates in 2022 would be either Collins, who definitely has more goodwill among the Trump wing, or maybe even Raffensperger for an unorthodox pick, as he probably garnered some goodwill among centrists during the election. He (Raffensperger) has no chance of clearing a primary, though.

Long term, though, I think the demographic bomb finally went off. The GOP will probably need to pivot to the center to stay relevant a la Illinois or New England, but in previous states that have suddenly transitioned like this (California, Virginia, Arizona) the GOP sort of went off the deep end. They're really going to have to thread the needle, and I don't have much confidence that they can do it.

[Florida Man for Crime]

Long term, the only viable option for the GA Republican Party is to eject the Atlanta Metropolitan area from the state and force it to become a new state, leaving the surrounding area. Potentially they could split this into North Georgia, South Georgia, and Atlanta.

The borders for the new states could look something like this:



This would ensure that Republicans still had 2 more Senators than the Dems, and would ensure that Republicans still get at least some electoral votes and are free to gerrymander at least some of the former state of GA.

GA Republicans should still be able to do this. They have a trifecta, though not for long... However, this is their only chance, if they don't act soon then they are doomed.

[Florida Man for Crime]

(half) Joke answer: grant Atlanta statehood.

LOL, I wrote my post before I read yours. Yep, Atlanta Statehood is the only way.

[Suburbia]

(half) Joke answer: grant Atlanta statehood.

LOL, I wrote my post before I read yours. Yep, Atlanta Statehood is the only way.

Buckhead is one of the bases of the GAGOP....rich city Republicans......

[Hoftntop]

Primary out Kemp

[At-Large Senator LouisvilleThunder]

They need to focus more on taking advantage of Democrats' mistakes and flaws rather than infighting with each other over national figures. The way to go would be the Youngkin strategy of focusing on local issues and running racially diverse candidates which will help make dents with the minority and youth vote. Make Democrats look out o touch with the culture of Georgia. That's how you keep rural support at Trump levels as well.

[President Johnson]

Well, let's not pretend Georgia is Coloarado or even Virginia. It's still a tossup state and Republicans can win in a slightly red leaning environment and with a non-toxic candidate.

[OSR stands with Israel]

Well, let's not pretend Georgia is Coloarado or even Virginia. It's still a tossup state and Republicans can win in a slightly red leaning environment and with a non-toxic candidate.

Sure but the problem for Georgia Republicans is Georgia is super inelastic and that could make the state unwinnable after 2024 . So in the short run yah Georgia is still a tossup but more as a last hurrah because as soon as Georgia become a lean D state it will be the definition of Titanium Lean D where the margins may look close but in reality it’s unwinnable.

https://mobile.twitter.com/jonallendc/status/1467474799119241216


From the article in that tweet:

The campaign's analysis found that 52 percent of registered voters in Georgia suburbs are people of color; the comparable demographics in Virginia and New Jersey are 25 percent and 17 percent, respectively.

Unless republicans find a way to make inroads with African American voters , this state will be unwinnable by 2026/2028

[David Hume]

(half) Joke answer: grant Atlanta statehood.

Real answer: I would say that the best panacea in the short term for the GAGOP would be for Trump to drop all the Kemp hating (he insinuated on Twitter that he wanted to throw him in jail), but that looks very unlikely.

Barring that, I think they would probably do well to ditch Kemp in 2022. He is just as toxic in the metro as Trump, and he now also is suffering in his approval ratings among the Trumpists. I think the best candidates in 2022 would be either Collins, who definitely has more goodwill among the Trump wing, or maybe even Raffensperger for an unorthodox pick, as he probably garnered some goodwill among centrists during the election. He (Raffensperger) has no chance of clearing a primary, though.

Long term, though, I think the demographic bomb finally went off. The GOP will probably need to pivot to the center to stay relevant a la Illinois or New England, but in previous states that have suddenly transitioned like this (California, Virginia, Arizona) the GOP sort of went off the deep end. They're really going to have to thread the needle, and I don't have much confidence that they can do it.

I agree that they should, but the problem is they can't. How can they vote to kick some counties out of the state? This is completely unprecedented. What would be the legal status of these new counties?

The best they can do is to let rural counties form a new state. This takes enormous efforts. Some southern black counties won't cooperate. Congress won't accept, except R trifecta with 60 seats in Senate.

Besides, GA GOP are ridiculously stupid. They passed auto-voter-registration under R trifecta, and actively tried to attract film industries into ATL. This is basically competing with FL Dems for the most incompetent state party.

[SnowLabrador]

Well, let's not pretend Georgia is Coloarado or even Virginia. It's still a tossup state and Republicans can win in a slightly red leaning environment and with a non-toxic candidate.

And remember, a Republican won statewide in Virginia a month and a half ago. I don't think it's certain that Georgia continues its leftward trend.

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

It's a Runoff state anyways

[GALeftist]

Real answer: I would say that the best panacea in the short term for the GAGOP would be for Trump to drop all the Kemp hating (he insinuated on Twitter that he wanted to throw him in jail), but that looks very unlikely.

The GOP will probably need to pivot to the center to stay relevant a la Illinois or New England [...] They're really going to have to thread the needle, and I don't have much confidence that they can do it.

I will now accept my accolades

[Frodo]

Somehow try to get back to the 'all politics is local' dictum, and try to distinguish themselves from the national party the way southern moderate Democrats of yore did to great success (for a time) after desegregation and the end of Jim Crow.  

[SnowLabrador]

Follow the Youngkin playbook. Go all-in on the culture wars while wearing a fleece.

[Roll Roons]

Hope for Democrats to be lazy and incompetent.

[thebeloitmoderate]

Follow the Youngkin playbook. Go all-in on the culture wars while wearing a fleece.

A trump endorsement is one. Appealing to minority voters especially rural blacks, and Hispanics is next. Follow the "get vaccinated but no restrictions/mandates/etc."

[Mr.Phips]

Hope for Democrats to be lazy and incompetent.

That’s a pretty good bet.

[thebeloitmoderate]

Well, let's not pretend Georgia is Coloarado or even Virginia. It's still a tossup state and Republicans can win in a slightly red leaning environment and with a non-toxic candidate.

Makes logical sense bro. For Georgia, Cherokee County is like Fauquier county, R leaning and voting being near major cities. And both counties voted for Trump in 2020, while Fauquier voted for GY in 2021, CC will vote for R in governor in 2022 unless if Stacey Abrahams does much better in the suburbs. 

[Del Tachi]

lol at all the "GA is the new VA" takes.  Virginia just elected a conservative Republican as governor, you dweebs

The GA-GOP does not need to make itself over into the Republican Party of MA or MD to have a shot a winning future statewide elections.  In fact, moderating in such a way would be incredibly ahistorical and not resonate in a state that is still largely populated by well-off, White Evangelicals living in newer suburbs. 

Any future that sees the national GOP gaining among non-college-educated Black, Latino or Asian voters puts Georgia squarely back into the Republican column.  We will probably see a more diverse slate of GOP candidates in Georgia going forward, but that will represent a natural evolution of the state's evolution rather than some conscious decision on behalf of Republican leaders.   

[coloradocowboi]

Follow the Youngkin playbook. Go all-in on the culture wars while wearing a fleece.

A trump endorsement is one. Appealing to minority voters especially rural blacks, and Hispanics is next. Follow the "get vaccinated but no restrictions/mandates/etc."

Tell me how they are gonna do this when their national message is one giant dog whistle. Black and LGBT voters are way less elastic than Latinos, and until I see more than a minor shift in a real election not some poll, I’ll hold my judgment on that. The GOP is synonymous with racism for a majority of Americans under 40. The person who said they need to tack to the center but won’t is correct. Georgia is gone for the GOP in any fair election already. All they have to fall back on next year is voter suppression