Facts about the Georgia PSC runoff

Facts about the PSC runoff:

  • The GOP has won all six runoffs for PSC since the first runoff in 1992 (Democrat John Frank Collins v. Republican Bobby Baker).
  • The challenge for Daniel Blackman, as it was for Lindy Miller in 2018, has been to both ride the coattails of the marquee runoffs and also emerge from their shadow as an important statewide race at the same time.
  • Only twice – 1998 (special) and 2006 – has there been a PSC runoff as the only partisan runoff on the ballot.
  • The frequency of PSCs runoffs tracks closely with the slow rurally-driven collapse from 1992 to 2010 and the (sub)urban-driven re-emergence since 2018 of Georgia Democrats as a serious party intent on fighting for power.
  • There is no national 527 or PAC organization of Democrats dedicated to organizing fundraising and campaign ads for PSCs in the same way that there is for Democratic candidates for governor (DGA), secretary of state (DASS) and attorney-general (DAGA), at least not in the 11 states which hold partisan PSC elections.
  • Blackman and McDonald’s percentage in November track closely with Miller and Eaton’s initial percentage in November 2018.
  • Blackman would be only the second African American on the body in its history, following David Burgess who was defeated in his only re-election bid in 2006 by Chuck Eaton.
  • Despite Blackman having went up against McDonald once before in 2014 (a dismal year for Democrats at all levels), this runoff promises to be a lot closer in the final percentage.

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