|GEORGIA||15 Electoral Votes|
Republicans' strong showing in Georgia in 2002, in which Gov. Roy Barnes and Sen. Max Cleland were defeated, set the stage for 2004. Adding insult to injury for the Democrats, Sen. Zell Miller emerged as perhaps the most prominent Democrat for Bush, delivering an excoriating speech at the Republican National Convention and stumping around the country with President Bush. On the Democratic side former Sen. Max Cleland did yeoman work for the Kerry campaign. Georgia received a smattering of visits from the principals, many of which were tied to fundraisers.
The Kerry campaign did have a couple of official but not compensated representatives leading the Georgia effort, and grassroots Democratic activists mobilized to go door to door, man phone banks, and organize events. "People were not willing to give up," stated Kerry-Edwards communications director Caroline Adelman in a post-election interview. "There were people who really thought Kerry could win Georgia,"1 she said. The most active group was Kerry Win Georgia, "a totally grassroots Volunteer organization" based in Atlanta that grew out of the Meetups. In more conservative Marietta, activists Sander Bellman and Frieda Smith formed a group called East Cobb Citizens for Kerry/Edwards.
1. Activist Debra Vidali in Atlanta produced a flyer posted on the Kerry Win Georgia website titled "Georgia is a Swing State" which noted that, "In 2000, Bush beat Gore in Georgia by 303,490 votes...But most of Georgia did not vote!!!" She noted that in 2000 Georgia had the third lowest turnout in the nation; more than 1.3 million registered voters did not vote. Pointing to that fact and to newly registered voters, Vidali argued "When democrats vote, democrats win."
|Bush-Cheney '04||Kerry-Edwards 2004|
Chair: Gov. Sonny Perdue and Sen. Saxby Chambliss
Victory 2004 Director:
Georgia Republican Party
State Director: Jan Bryson
Coordinated Campaign Director: Jeff DiSantis
Georgia Democratic Party
-DC attends the Rangers Ball, a black-tie event for U.S. Army Rangers members of the (3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment), at the Columbus Convention & Trade Center in Columbus, GA.
July 14, 2004
July 1, 2004
June 7-10, 2004
May 17, 2004
May 17, 2004
April 2, 2004
-THK stops to thank volunteers at campaign hdqtrs in downtown Atlanta, GA.
-THK attends a fundraiser for the DNC at the Hyatt Regency in Atlanta, GA. ($)
August 16, 2004
April 19, 2004
March 2, 2004
...primaries and caucuses in ten states.
Augusta Chronicle (10/25/04)
Savannah Morning News
Atlanta Journal-Constitution (10/09/04)
Macon Telegraph (10/24/04)
Third Party and Independent
More Candidate Visits
September 19, 2004
-Libertarian Action Network, Inc. event "An Evening with Michael Badnarik" at the Marriott Atlanta Northwest in Atlanta.
-Libertarians held their
national convention at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis Hotel in downtown Atlanta
on May 27-31, 2004.
Oct. 1, 2004 - David Cobb
-Brunch with local Greens at Little 5 Points Community Center in Atlanta.
-Speaks to students at Morehouse College in Atlanta.
-Dinner and fundraiser at the Thinking Man's Tavern in Decatur.
March 27-28, 2004
-Nader spoke in the Student Learning Center at the University of Georgia in Athens.
-Spoke at an environmental summit at Georgia State University in Atlanta.
CNN reported that in Atlanta he also met privately with Shawn O'Hara, chair of the Reform Party USA.
Copyright © 2004, 2005 Eric M. Appleman/Democracy in Action.