Georgia Democrats Don’t Want to Be Counted Out, Even If North Carolina Looks Brighter

“We are a true battleground state. I don’t expect to see a poll with one candidate leading with big numbers,” one Georgia lawmaker told NOTUS.

Lil Jon shakes hand with Sen. Raphael Warnock.
One Georgia lawmaker said Lil Jon’s appearance with the state’s delegation during the convention was emblematic of the enthusiasm around Democrats’ chances there in November. Paul Sancya/AP

CHICAGO — Georgia Democrats are tired of hearing about alternate paths to the White House that don’t include them.

“Georgia has always been counted out,” Rep. Nikema Williams, chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia, told NOTUS. “I don’t know if it’s because it is the deep, deep South, but what I do know is the same people who are saying that counted us out in 2020, and then they counted us out in the runoffs in 2021 and they counted us out again in 2022.”

What many Democratic officials and operatives speculated late last year under President Joe Biden’s candidacy is bearing out with the Kamala Harris and Tim Walz campaign, too: North Carolina is looking more competitive for Democrats than Georgia is.