Georgia is two weeks and five months from our future

Georgia Democrats have settled on the nominations for the top two slots on November ballot. Incumbent Senator Jon Ossoff and former Mayor turned gubernatorial nominee Keisha Lance Bottoms have had their coming out party to headline a unity ticket for the fall elections.

Republicans, meanwhile, remain mired in the present. It is at times unseemly, as politics too often is. Attacks against candidates from the opposition party are not only tolerated but expected in contemporary elections. 

After all, our side is for all that is pure and good. The other side represents the darkest forces of evil, and must be stopped at all costs. 

If we win, all problems will be solved, economic prosperity will rain down, and we will all live happily ever after. If the other side wins, our state, country, and even life as we know it are doomed.

The above two paragraphs have been internalized by way too many voters. Most have no idea the other party believes it to be as true for their side as they do for their own.

Intra-party contests upset this premise a bit. Over $100 million has been spent thus far just on the Republican race for Governor.  Georgians have been inundated for almost a year hearing how corrupt and self-dealing the two remaining candidates are…from the two remaining candidates. It’s awkward.

And yet, this is how we conduct our elections now. We look at this as just part of the game, whether we choose to play this way or not. 

The decisions are made by professionals. Their job is to win. 

The calculus is simple. A candidate can’t win if they first don’t get the nomination. Often this requires a Hail Mary ad or action to get adoration from the base in order to secure a head to head runoff fight. See Governor Brian Kemp’s 2018 “Jake” ad where he held a gun next to a potential suitor of his daughter for a reference if needed.

Those same consultants will then explain to you – correctly – that the runoff is an entirely separate election. New coalitions have to be formed within hours, and no more than days. New advertising and mailers must be constructed targeting those most likely to return to the polls a second time. It’s an entirely different get out the vote strategy and a much narrower focus.  And donors must be tapped again to pay for it all, if the candidate doesn’t have the luxury of self-funding.

Winners move on to November. Losers go home, often for good. The stakes are high. 

When the goal is power – especially power at the highest levels – the game is played with fierce intensity to win at all costs. There is little that is off limits anymore. Scorched earth is not only acceptable, but often the default position.

This may seem quizzical to those who understand that the eventual nominee will need the voters supporting the other candidate in a primary to return and vote for their candidate in November. It shouldn’t be. 

The professionals are paid to win. Sure, they may have a victory bonus in their contracts, but the reality is they’ll make their retainers and commissions for five more months of campaigning. That alone is incentive to ensure their candidate gets the nomination. 

They’re not doing this to stop there. Winning a high profile race is both a chit on their resume which sets them up for the next campaign cycle here and in other states, but also gives them the closest proximity to power here – and access to the benefits that come with it. 

Winning matters for those running the campaigns. A lot. Losers just go home.

They’re well aware this is unseemly. They know they’re creating negatives that will have to be dealt with as their own words can and will be used against their party’s nominee in the event the other side wins. 

That’s a July problem. The June problem is best summed up by the late Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis: Just win, baby.

The consults also know this: Five months is ten eternities in politics. Voters have short attention spans and even shorter memories. Time heals all wounds.

There is a real battle ahead. Georgia is a battleground state. Money will flow from outside sources to determine if the 2027 leadership flags fly red or blue.

Republican candidates and the consultants know many of their voters are miserable now. There’s two more weeks of that, like it or (for most of us) not.

The embedded bet here, however, is that voters come home despite the current unpleasantness. Because one flag represents all that is good, and the other the forces of evil.

One side is already rallying around their flag. The other is reasonable sure voters in October & November won’t remember nor care much about what was said in June.