Why Biden could LOSE key battleground state he flipped in 2020 due to rapidly changing landscape
President Joe Biden could lose the key state of Georgia despite his victory there in 2020, a new analysis suggests.
In 2020, Biden became the first Democrat in thirty years to win the presidential election in Georgia. Democrats also won both Senate seats in the southern state.
However, the state’s landscape has changed significantly over the past four years, with recent polls suggesting former President Donald Trump has the lead in Georgia.
Biden, according to a new analysis by the New York Timeshas lost some support among black, people of color and younger voters in Georgia.
These groups played a major role in his 2020 victory, which he narrowly eked out by about 12,000 votes, signaling a much tougher battle in the state as the November election approaches.
In 2020, Biden became the first Democrat in thirty years to win Georgia
Recent polls show former President Donald Trump leading in Georgia
The Georgian population has grown and become more diverse in recent years.
In 2020, this, along with years of voter registration and mobilization efforts with historically disenfranchised groups, helped Democrats make gains in expanding suburbs in cities like Atlanta.
The momentum was also driven by racial justice protests following the killing of George Floyd, which received widespread attention in Atlanta.
The administration’s response to the coronavirus pandemic and glaring inequality in access to health care also gave Democrats plenty of opportunities to win over voters.
However, Trump and his team tried to overturn the loss in Georgia, which led to criminal charges against them.
Trump is now receiving support as a result of the response to the case filed against him, the New York Times reports.
The cases “seek to criminalize political disagreement,” Joshua McKoon, the chairman of the Georgia Republican Party, said Friday.
Democrats are also concerned that voter turnout won’t be the same as 2020 without the motivating factors of the protests and the pandemic.
Trump and his team tried to overturn 2020 loss in Georgia, leading to criminal charges against them
Biden has lost some support among Black people of color and younger voters in Georgia, according to a new New York Times analysis
“I think people understand the importance of the election, but there’s a certain — just fatigue,” Sam Park, a Georgia Democrat, told the Times.
Local Democratic activists are also concerned that some voter groups that supported Biden in 2020 have since become disillusioned, the release said.
Those on the ground report that there is deep anger over Biden’s failure to be tougher on Israel over its actions in Gaza, as well as the party’s inability to address issues such as the rising cost of housing and student debt.
Others say the real problem is not Democrats’ failure to address the issues voters care about, but their inability to successfully communicate their achievements.
They argue that low unemployment in the Black community, large amounts of federal funds sent to the state for pandemic relief and infrastructure, and the administration’s efforts to cancel student loans are all notable achievements.
“These things should not be secrets,” Bishop Reginald T. Jackson, presiding prelate of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Georgia, told the Times.
Democrats are aware of the need to craft a narrative in the swing state and are poised to launch a $14 million advertising blitz in the state later this month.
“I’m not saying this is easy,” Quentin Fulks, Biden’s top deputy campaign manager, who is also from Georgia, told the Times.
He added, “But I do think we have a formula that is conducive to accepting that message.”