May05

electoral-vote.com

Dem 51

   

GOP 49

Raffensperger to Democrats: We're Sticking with the Schedule

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) is probably the most famous state SoS in the country thanks to his willingness to say "no" to Donald Trump. And, as it turns out, he's perfectly willing to say "no" to Joe Biden, as well. The President and the DNC both wanted to move Georgia up on the primary calendar, in part because it's a swingy state, in part because it's pretty representative of the Democratic electorate, and perhaps in part because it's very Biden friendly. Raffensperger previously said he was not open to making a change this cycle, and yesterday he made it official, setting the Georgia primary for March 12, which is several weeks later than the Democrats wanted.

Raffensperger claims, probably truthfully, that nobody from the DNC ever reached out to him about a change, and said that he's not inclined to make a change unless that is supported by both parties, especially when he only learns about the wishes of the "let's make a change" faction by reading about it in the newspaper. That strikes us as a very reasonable position for the Secretary to take.

We don't know exactly why the Democrats made what seems to be a half-a**ed attempt here, but we can certainly offer up some theories. Here are three of them:

1. The Democrats didn't actually expect things to change; they just wanted to send a message to Georgia Democrats that "we value you."
   
   
2. The Democrats knew there was little chance of a change prior to 2028, and they just wanted to get the ball rolling in anticipation of that election.
   
   
3. The Democrats knew Raffensperger was never going to play ball, and they plan to hold their own primary without the state's help.

That third option is still possible, though if that was the plan, it would be strange for the Democrats to keep it to themselves. Further, it's none too cheap to stage an election in a state as populous as Georgia, and would be something of a waste of money when you're only moving things up by a few weeks and Joe Biden is going to win either way. So, we assume that March 12 it will be. (Z)