The Rotary Club of Atlanta on Monday invited political consultants Tharon Johnson, a Democrat, and Brian Robinson, a Republican, to talk about Georgia and the upcoming Nov. 5 election.
Both Johnson and Robinson agreed on one point. Georgia leads the nation in early voting, with 2.8 million people already casting their ballots.
Beyond that, the two had different interpretations of what those numbers mean.
“Fifty-five percent of the people who have voted already are women,” said Johnson, highlighting the wide gender gap between Democrats and Republicans, with women favoring Vice President Kamala Harris and men favoring former President Donald Trump. “I think the numbers are going our way.”
Not so fast, Robinson chimed in.
In Georgia, 51.7 percent of registered voters are white. Of those who already have voted, 59 percent are white, which would tend to favor Republicans.
“All that points to a possible Trump lead right now,” Robinson said.
Johnson and Robinson, who have a podcast, Political Breakfast, airing on WABE Tuesdays and Thursdays, are used to bantering — and sometimes agreeing — with each other.
They agreed the economy and immigration are top issues in the race. Robinson conceded the economy is doing well with low unemployment and a strong stock market, but he said many “regular Americans” don’t feel they’re benefiting.
Johnson, however, said Harris and her running-mate Tim Walz are doing a better job talking about the economy, including how inflation is much lower than it was. He also said voters care about other issues, such as a women’s right to choose when it comes to abortion and responsible gun ownership.
“I believe there are a lot of disaffected Republicans,” Johnson said. “Some are Nikki Haley supporters.”
On the other hand, Robinson said Trump could end up with support from about a quarter of Black men, a point Johnson challenged based on the banter in barbershops, which he described as the country club for Black men.
Nationally, when it comes to swing states, both men agreed that it could all come down to Pennsylvania. Had Harris selected Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro as her running mate, that would not have been the case, Robinson said.
But Johnson responded saying by Shapiro has been actively campaigning for Harris across the state. Both did agree it could take days for Pennsylvania to count the final votes, perhaps leaving the national election results up in the air.
If Trump wins Pennsylvania, Robinson said Walz would be viewed as the worst vice-presidential pick in history.
What about JD Vance, Trump’s running mate, Johnson asked, getting a laugh from the audience.
Moderator Eric Tanenblatt, who practices as a principal at Dentons and has worked for several Republicans, asked them about the implications the 2024 election could have on Georgia races in 2026 when there will be an open governor’s race and when U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) will be facing re-election.
Robinson said the best candidate to run against Ossoff would be Gov. Brian Kemp but that he may aspire to run for president.
Meanwhile, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has said 70 percent of Georgians could have voted early this year, which means most of the votes could be counted by the time the polls close, meaning the results could be declared relatively quickly.
Then Robinson said he believed President Joe Biden did win Georgia by 11,780 votes. “We need to stop this,” said Robinson about questioning the 2020 results.
In response to a question about what messages they would share if they weren’t political consultants, Johnson said he doesn’t like the name calling on either side.
Then Robinson brought humor to the program jokingly said he couldn’t share his thoughts because he would be seeing Trump later on Monday. Trump was in town for a couple of events including a rally at Georgia Tech.
But then Robinson then became passionate.
“Why in the world do we as Republicans accept a $30 trillion deficit with 4 percent unemployment?” Robinson asked. He then added that both parties will need to fix social security by increasing the retirement age , but he was not hopeful that will happen. “It’s this generation’s job to do that.”
