Sizing Up The 2018 Governor’s Race

Believe it or not the primary election in our state is just a little more than three months away.

All statewide offices are on the ballot this year with most of the races being decided in the Republican primary. Democrats have been locked out of statewide office for some time and it would take a major political upset for a member of that party to win in 2018. With no Roy Moore-types on the ballot here, it’s not likely to happen.

In coming weeks we’ll preview the races starting with governor. The candidates listed below are only ones which have officially declared they are running. There will likely be more as we get closer to the March 9 filing deadline.

•Casey Cagle, Republican: The current Lt. Governor, Cagle is one of the leading candidates running for the state’s top office in 2018.

•Hunter Hill, Republican: A former state senator, civil engineer and combat veteran, Hill’s campaign has been gaining steam in recent weeks. He could be a surprise in the primary. His campaign signs dot the highways around the state.

•Brian Kemp, Republican: The current Secretary of State, Kemp ran a few times for statewide office before being elected. His office has endured some negative press which will likely be brought out once the candidates begin having forums and debates. Still a leading candidate since he has won a statewide race.

•Clay Tippins, Republican: A business consultant and Iraq War veteran, Tippins is pushing himself as the non-career politician. His biggest obstacle in this primary will be name recognition on a statewide basis.

•Marc Alan Urbach: Republican: A teacher and self-described Republican activist, Urbach is the ultimate underdog candidate in the race.

•Michael Williams, Republican: A state senator and businessman, Williams was a big supporter of Donald Trump during the recent president election. With Trump still being very popular in Georgia, Williams will use that to try and persuade voters to his corner.

•Stacey Abrams, Democrat: The former state house minority leader, Abrams is an attorney who, like any Democratic nominee, would face an uphill battle in the general election.

•Stacey Evans, Democrat: A former state representative, Evans is also an attorney.

•Ted Metz, Libertarian: The Libertarian 2014 Insurance Commissioner nominee, Metz is a Navy veteran and scientist. Metz will be on the general election ballot in November.

The Republican primary race for governor will likely have a runoff with several candidates already declared and others likely to enter either in coming days or during the qualifying period in March. There is also a good chance at least one more Democrat will enter that primary making it possible for a runoff in that primary.

For a year when the statewide offices are on the ballot the campaign (for all candidates really) just hasn’t seemed to draw much attention. One political observer credited that to burnout that is still lingering from the 2016 presidential election which included a very long Republican primary and a bruising general election.

Local races typically draw more people to the polls as well and without them then the numbers for the upcoming primary could be low.

The deadline to register to vote for the May 22 primary is April 24.

Monticello native Chris Bridges is a long-time newspaper columnist. He welcomes feedback from readers of The Monticello News at pchrisbridges@gmail.com.