Democrats expect to win Georgia by putting their billion-dollar war chest to use on an enormous get-out-the-vote effort there. In the first of three weeks of early voting, a record-breaking total of more than 1.5 million ballots were cast in the Peach State.
This Thursday, Democrats pull out all their stops in Georgia with a joint rally featuring former president Barack Obama, aging rock star Bruce Springsteen, and Kamala Harris. Perhaps Taylor Swift’s “cat lady” approach is no longer considered helpful to Harris’s campaign.
Pennsylvania Democrat Senator Bob Casey has remarkably begun running ads in Pennsylvania begging voters to reelect him because “he sided with Trump to end NAFTA and put tariffs on China to stop them from cheating.” That signals a shift by Democrats away from trying to defeat Trump in Pennsylvania to focus more on Georgia.
There is no registration by political party in Georgia, but reportedly a higher-than-normal 55% of the early voters have been women. The record surge in early voting there is partly the result of the Democrat political machine driving women to the polls to vote for Kamala Harris.
Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has delayed releasing the results of a state audit to remove illegal aliens from its voter rolls. Virginia and other Republican-led states have been transparent in removing noncitizens from their voter rolls, which Biden’s Justice Department has opposed.
The voter turnout in Georgia is on track to surpass its nearly 5 million ballots tallied in 2020, when Biden reportedly won by only 11,779 votes. In 2022, the Democrat political machine reelected one of the most liberal senators in the country, the black Rev. Raphael Warnock, and Republicans cannot afford to lose this state again.
Republicans wasted tens of millions of dollars on political ads in Georgia to try to defeat Rev. Warnock, and he won by 100,000 votes based on Democrats’ superior ground game. Republicans should not allow Kamala Harris to win Georgia’s 16 Electoral College votes, which Trump needs to prevail nationwide.
“Souls to the polls” is the name for the Democrat operation that drives many thousands of under-informed voters from predominantly black churches to polling booths on Sundays. This caught Republicans off guard in 2020, and the GOP campaign consultants should be doing far more in this must-win state.
Kamala Harris spent Sunday in Georgia churches urging black congregations to cast ballots for her during early voting, and they are. A large number of older voters have cast early ballots, and many of them are churchgoers.
A toll-free number is publicized by Democrats to provide a free ride to the polls, and this operation is credited with the record-breaking early turnout. The Republicans do not have anything nearly as effective in Georgia.
Brilliance on Sunday by Trump working at McDonald’s in Pennsylvania, plus Elon Musk’s rallies there, have apparently secured victory in this Commonwealth. The 810,000 voter registration advantage by Democrats in 2020, when Biden reportedly won by 80,000, has been reduced to less than 300,000 as of Monday thanks to a phenomenal grassroots voter drive.
The Cook Political Report just moved the Pennsylvania Senate battle to a toss-up, despite how the Democrat incumbent Bob Casey was way ahead just a month ago. Republicans seem certain to win a Senate majority, and could add to that with additional wins based on the manufacturing jobs issue in Ohio and Pennsylvania.
While some polls show Trump slightly ahead in Georgia, the latest Washington Post-Schar School poll shows Harris leading by 51-47% there. The side that turns out the most votes will be the one that wins this state, and probably the national election.
Fortunately, Trump has a few appearances planned for Georgia in these final two weeks before this election. It would be wonderful if Elon Musk and other Trump supporters, such as Tulsi Gabbard, could change their schedules to rush there soon too.
Musk and others were right to focus entirely on Pennsylvania during the past month, but that mission appears to have been accomplished. In response Democrats have apparently shifted their campaigning away from Pennsylvania in a new strategy to win the election with Georgia instead.
Musk should help by reacting accordingly, and start doing his rallies in this pivotal southeastern state. Long lines gather outside of Musk’s rallies and he is boosting Trump’s campaign, which is needed in Georgia now.
There is still time, and successful campaigns adapt to changes in strategy by the other side. Football teams change their plays depending on how the other team lines up on the field.
Republicans and all Trump supporters need to react to this seismic shift in strategy by Democrats. Rallies, postcards, and phone calls by Trump supporters should shift to Georgia now.
John and Andy Schlafly are sons of Phyllis Schlafly (1924-2016) and lead the continuing Phyllis Schlafly Eagles organizations with writing and policy work.