Ga. Democrats Pitch State As A Battleground At DNC

Despite their family names, both Democrats lost, getting 45 percent of the vote to the Republicans’ 53 percent.

Chris Grant, a professor of political science at Mercer University, says Democrats, however, have been losing with a smaller margin over the last 15 years.

“There’s been growth for the Democrats in the electorate,” he said. “Because the factors that are increasing the Democratic ranks in Georgia are growing much faster than the factors that increase the Republican ranks in Georgia.”

Those factors include a shift in Georgia’s population, like getting younger and more minority voters, he said.

Grant said it’s hard to tell if Clinton will win the state this year, but the state will likely be more competitive in 2020 and 2014.

Andra Gillespie, a professor of political science at Emory University, said there’s a unique dynamic at play this year – personality.

“Democrats are hoping that Donald Trump is so divisive, so controversial, so polarizing that it actually depresses Republican turnout – that there are people who would identify as Republicans who just can’t push the button for Trump,” Gillespie said.

But she said Republicans are also hoping the same for Democrats who see Hillary as a controversial figure, and that both parties will have to work hard for votes this November.

The last Democrat to win Georgia in a presidential race was Bill Clinton in 1992.