Posted originally on the conservative tree house on May 21, 2022 | Sundance

May 21, 2022 | Sundance | 209 Comments

The early voting in Georgia is breaking all state records.  According to the GA secretary of state office statement yesterday, “through Wednesday, May 19th, over 565,000 people have early voted in Georgia—a 189% increase from the same point in the early voting period in the 2018 primary election and a 153% increase in the same point in the early voting period in the 2020 primary election.  This represents a voting scale 3x the rate of the 2018 mid-term election.

Obviously, Georgia voters are enthusiastic to vote in this primary.  The GA SoS reports party votes as, “Republican: 353,161, Democrat: 258,200, Nonpartisan: 4,017” through May 18th.  Yes, republican voters are far outpacing democrat early voters, but that shouldn’t be too surprising given the top of the ticket on the Democrat ballot is an uncontested primary race to install Stacey Abrams as the 2022 Democrat governor candidate.

Despite being in an uncontested race, the team behind Stacey Abrams is working hard to drive out their voter base.  As the Washington Post noted, Abram’s group ‘The New Georgia Project’, is working diligently to help Georgia Democrats make the right ballot selections.  Additionally, another allied group called ‘Black Voters Matter’, is using the ‘Souls to the Polls‘ strategy to make sure black voters get the primary outcome that matters most to them.

Against all of this extra emphasis on early voting success in Georgia there is a weird dynamic on the Republican side of the equation.  According to most general reporting from the media, there is a lot of enthusiasm on the GOP ballot to keep Brian Kemp as governor; however, oddly enough, it seems like Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is being positioned for defeat.  At least that’s the perspective of Politico and other similarly minded media.

Traditionally, if the historic pattern of republican ballots was used as an example, if the incumbent governor (Kemp) wins, then generally the incumbent secretary of state (Raffensperger) would win.  However, in this 2022 Georgia mid-term that’s not the narrative being established ahead of next Tuesday’s outcome.

The MSM political perspective is that republican Brian Kemp will easily win the primary for governor, but Brad Raffensperger will lose a primary challenge to republican Jody Hice, a Trump endorsement.   It would certainly be unusual for a Trump endorsed top of ticket candidate David Perdue to lose, and the Trump endorsed office on the next line to win – but that’s the general narrative and they are sticking to it.

The Trump-endorsed David Perdue camp is hoping to keep establishment Governor Brian Kemp under 50% and force a run-off special election.   However, the Trump-endorsed Jody Hice camp is looking for an outright victory in their secretary of state race.  Funny that.

DATA POINTS:

♦ Early voting in Georgia is setting records.

♦ Democrats have uncontested top of ticket candidate Stacy Abrams.

♦ Despite being uncontested, Stacey Abrams is pushing a massive voting effort.

♦ Black Votes Matter and The New Georgia Project are working earnestly.

♦ Republican Governor Brian Kemp is very confident of victory.

♦ Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is not so confident.

If one were to be a deep weeds political walker, you might suspect the data points could all be reconciled if the New Georgia Project was actually coordinating an effort for Democrats to vote for Brian Kemp, because the primary race is open to cross party voting.  However, that’s crazy conspiracy theory.  I’m certain it’s something else.

We will find out the outcome next Tuesday.

AUGUSTA, Georgia — Republicans in Georgia still seething about the 2020 presidential race say they would rather sit out the election in November if Trump’s candidate, former Sen. David Perdue, loses an upcoming GOP gubernatorial primary than ever support incumbent Gov. Brian Kemp.  

The animosity towards Kemp, whom several MAGA Republicans described as a “Judas” and “betrayer” for certifying Joe Biden’s win in 2020, is unlikely to affect the outcome of the May 24 primary. But it may hurt Kemp’s chances this fall in an anticipated rematch with presumed Democratic nominee Stacey Abrams, the woman he narrowly beat in 2018 — with Trump’s support. (read more)

Posted originally on the conservative tree house on May 9, 2022 | sundance

With eight days to go before the republican primary in Pennsylvania, ultra-MAGA candidate Kathy Barnette is surging.  In a recent republican-leaning Trafalgar Poll {SEE DATA HERE} Barnette has shot to second place with 23.2%, only 1% behind Dr. Mehmet Oz who is at 24.5%.

President Trump has endorsed Dr. Oz, however, a considerable number of people in the grassroots MAGA base do not trust Oz, view David McCormick as an establishment candidate, and they are going strong with support for Kathy Barnette {WEBSITE HERE}.

A victory is within reach for the candidate who says “Now more than ever, America requires strong, authentic Republican voices to stand up and defend the U.S. Constitution and the rights we hold dear. I will be that voice — for Pennsylvania and our great nation.”

After winning the Pennsylvania straw poll in April, Barnette has continued to gain momentum and increased attention.

Ballotpedia: “Barnette worked as a political commentator and in corporate finance after serving in the United States Army Reserves. Barnette identifies herself as an America First candidate, a term often associated with the platform of Trump and candidates who say they support Trump’s agenda. In response to Trump’s endorsement of Oz, Barnette said, “MAGA does not belong to President Trump . . . although he coined the word, it belongs to the people. Our values never shifted to President Trump’s values. It was President Trump who shifted and aligned with our values.” (link)