The Impact of Georgia’s 2020 Presidential Primary Vote

As Georgia voters we now know when we will cast our votes in the 2020 presidential primary.

Voters within the Peach State should also know that our ballots may not be as important in the bigger presidential race picture this time around.

State election officials announced last week that Georgia will opt out of the traditional “Super Tuesday” primary, set for March 3, 2020, and instead move to Tuesday, March 24. Officials said the extra three weeks will give counties the chance to be better prepared for the new voting machines which will be used for the first time.

While moving away from the out-of-date voting machines is a positive, the delay in our state’s primary is not a good thing. It means our state’s impact will be far less in 2020 when it comes to deciding the crowded Democratic primary.

Iowa will continue to start things off with its February 3 caucus. That will be following by the first primary in New Hampshire on February 11. The South Carolina Republican primary will be February 15 (remember President Trump does have a primary challenger in former Massachusetts governor Bill Weld.)

Democrats will hold their caucus in Nevada on February 22 followed by the Republicans a few days later on February 25. The South Carolina Democratic primary is then February 29, the final voting event for that month.

That’s when typically Georgia voters would have gone to the polls on March 3. However, we will have to wait three additional weeks now. Voters in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont and Virginia will all cast their ballots before Georgia.

Alaska will also hold its Republican National Convention on March 3, and voters in American Samoa will also cast ballots in the Democratic primary this day.

By the time March 24 arrives, an additional six primary and caucus dates will have taken place.

What all of this means is that in a Democratic primary field which now has 25 candidates it is almost a certainty that many (maybe all but a handful) will have dropped out of the race by the time the presidential race arrives in Georgia.

It also meana that Georgia will likely not see many candidates during the primary since efforts are always concentrated on early states such as Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. If our primary remained on Super Tuesday in 2020 we would have had much more of an impact in the races to select party nominees.

Presidential primaries are only held every four years and while certainly millions of Georgians will still vote, it just seems with this late date our vote will not be as meaningful.

All in Alabama: It appears controversial candidate Roy Moore is set to try again for a U.S. Senate seat from Alabama.

Many are cringing at the announcement including some national Republican Party leaders. However, whether you agree with Moore’s stances on various issues or think he is pure evil, he has every right to run for office.

It is always up to the voters of a state to not elect someone who represents the fringe left or fringe right. It is certainly never up to the government or courts to keep someone off the ballot simply because they have controversial views or ideals different from the ones you might have.

My guess is that Moore’s ship has already sailed. He was probably the only Republican who would have lost a statewide contest in Alabama in 2017. With several candidates (seven currently) vying for the Republican nomination to challenge Democrat Doug Jones, it is very likely Moore will not be the GOP nominee. One interesting candidate is former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville.

Polling numbers: A USA Today poll shows Joe Biden still leading the overall race for the Democrats. Biden garnered 30 percent followed by Bernie Sanders with 15 and Elizabeth Warren at 10. Pete Buttigieg earned 9 percent followed by Kamala Harris at eight percent and Cory Booker at two percent. All other candidates were at one percent or less.