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Georgia’s Democratic state legislators may be the only members of their party who failed to hitch a even a short little ride on Obama’s coattails.
The Republican edge in the state House of Representatives looks to drop from 34 seats to a 33 or 32 seat margin. Whoopie.
No incumbent state senators lost and Republicans look set to hold onto their 34-22 margin. (more…)
One of the other less-publicized fights amidst all the November election brouhaha has been between Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel and Michelle Conlon, an independent candidate for state House District 80. In late July, the secretary threw out a petition Conlon circulated to be considered eligible to face Rep. Mike Jacobs, R-DeKalb, the incumbent. Conlon then appealed Handel’s decision in Fulton County Superior Court.
And now, according to her press release, she’s won. You’ll see her name on the ballot come November against Jacobs.
From a campaign release:
Michelle Conlon, Candidate for House District 80, has prevailed in her lawsuit to compel the Secretary of State to place Ms. Conlon on the ballot in November.
“This is exciting news not only for me but for the voters in the district who deserve a choice on the ballot. I am looking forward to moving past this distraction,” said Conlon.
…“It is unfortunate that it took a lawsuit to get the Secretary of State to abide by her statutory responsibility to review the petition, but we are pleased with the result,” said Ms. Conlon. “I look forward to campaigning on the issues that matter to residents of House District 80.”
Conlon will be listed on the ballot as an Independent Candidate; however, she plans to officially announce her victory at an Obama Acceptance Speech event Thursday evening at Galla’s Pizza. Conlon hopes her message will appeal to Democrats, Republicans and Independents alike.
“Mike Jacobs needs to be fired. This is not the guy we elected. And he has not given us the representation that we were promised. He switched parties’ mid-term, voted for predatory lending, to cut public education funds and for guns on MARTA. When your representative cannot decide who he is or want he wants, he is ineffective in representing you,” said Conlon.
Now that she is on the ballot, Conlon is optimistic regarding her chances in November. She notes: “More people signed my petition than voted for my opponent in his July Primary.”
Click here to visit her campaign website. The full release from the Conlon campaign is pasted after the jump.
Just yesterday, we noted what a sorry effort DeKalb Democrats seem to have made to reclaim the House seat lost when former Democratic up-and-comer Mike Jacobs switched parties last year. They began the election season with two potential challengers, but looked to be throwing in the towel with both their candidates disqualified.
Not so fast, says Michelle Conlon, one of the two would-be candidates. (more…)
DeKalb state Rep. Mike Jacobs has finally ended the will-he-or-won’t-he guessing game regarding his political affiliation this morning by posting a statement on his website that makes clear his intention to switch from Democrat to Republican.
We think CL was the first media outlet to report that Jacobs was thinking about joining the GOP. At the time, Jacobs told CL he wanted to let the dust settle on the session before making a decision, but said he was deeply disillusioned with the Georgia arm of his party.
On his site, he goes into some detail:
What has changed is that my strong belief in fiscal responsibility and restraint … is not a good fit within the Democratic Caucus in the House of Representatives.
Mike’s switch comes as no surprise to Democratic colleagues who, during the recent legislative session, angrily and not-so-privately accused him of political opportunism (and worse) because he voted for GOP-backed bills to restrict access to PeachCare and revive payday lending. The ill will grew to such a level that Jacobs quit going to caucus meetings altogether.
As evidence that the animosity hasn’t faded, state Rep. Rob Teilhet, D-Smyrna, takes his former partymate to task in an open letter released today:
One of the things about public service that can be most disheartening is watching the effect that politics can have on individuals who are not anchored in principle. Such individuals become, over time, un-moored and willing to sell anything for the right price.
Ouch. You can read the entire letter at the Georgia Politics Unfiltered blog. If anything, we expect this matter to heat up.
