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Can Stacey Abrams and Raphael Warnock do it again?

In 2020, the pair played key roles in turning Georgia blue: Abrams turnout campaign helped deliver the state to Joe Biden, the first Democrat to win there in nearly 30 years, while Warnocks runoff victoryalong with that of Jon Ossoffgave the party its narrow Senate majority.

But theyre facing new challenges in 2022: Biden is languishing in the polls amid multiple international and domestic crises; the Senate majority has failed to enact some of his biggest agenda items, thanks to uniform Republican opposition and Democratic defections in Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema; and the GOP has weaponized Donald Trumps 2020 election lies to make voting harder in this cycle and beyond.

Democrats say they can overcome all that in Novemberespecially in Georgia, where the GOP candidates carry significant baggage. But there is also concern: Democratic victories in the state came by the slimmest of margins, and a loss in the upcoming midterms could have broad implications for everything from abortion access to voting rights.

From our vantage point, says Kendra Cotton, chief operating officer of the New Georgia Project Action Fund, democracy is essentially at stake.

Abrams, who ran uncontested in Tuesdays Democratic gubernatorial primary, will face Republican Governor Brian Kemp this fall in a rematch of their close, controversial 2018 matchup. Warnock, who has become one of his partys most formidable fundraisers, will defend his Senate seat against Herschel Walker, the former football star who won the 1982 Heisman Trophy playing for University of Georgia.

Each of the Democrats would seem to have some points in their favor, beyond their strengths as candidates: Kemp handily defeated Trump-backed David Perdue on Tuesday, but the former presidents ire at the incumbent for refusing to undermine Bidens 2020 win could chip away at Republican unity in the general election for governor. Walker enjoyed Trumps complete and total support in his winning bid for the Republican Senate nomination Tuesday, but lacks experience and qualifications and has faced disturbing allegations of domestic violencefactors that may matter more to voters in a general election than in a GOP primary. (Walker has denied breaking the law, but said in response to questions from Axios about his ex-wife's accusations that he is accountable to whatever [he's] done" and is better now than 99% of the people in America.)

Combine that baggage with shifting political dynamics in the state, thanks in no small part to Abramss leadership and the dedication of Black voters, and you have cause for optimism about the chances for Georgia Democrats, even in a political climate that has put them at a disadvantage nationally. We have to start from the premise that we won the state in 2020, says Tharon Johnson, a prominent Democratic strategist in Georgia. The people who just recently won in Georgia are the Democrats.

I think we stand to maintain what we have just built, Johnson added.

But the party also faces major challenges in the midterms. Historically, the party in power is at a disadvantage in off-year elections. But that dynamic could be even worse for Democrats this time around: Dogged by an array of crises, including inflation, Biden has suffered abysmal approval ratings that could taint down-ballot Democrats this fall. Republicans have made those issues the center of withering attacks, even as they routinely undercut efforts by Biden and the Democrats to address them. They have also rallied their voters around culture war issues while enacting legislation seeking to tamp down participation by Democratic-leaning voters. Democrats may have turned Georgia blue last cycle, but its not clear those gains are sturdy enough to stand up against the harsh political headwinds blowing this election season.

See the article here:
Democracy is Essentially At Stake: Georgia Democrats Are Trying to Prove that 2020 Was No Fluke - Vanity Fair