Democrats’ chief visits Georgia to campaign with state Senate candidate as runoff enters homestretch

MILTON – The national Democratic Party’s top official campaigned in Georgia this weekend with Democrat Debra Shigley in hopes of helping her flip a conservative state Senate district in the north Atlanta suburbs. Ken Martin, who chairs the Democratic National Committee, called Shigley’s surprising first-place finish in last month’s seven-way race “a huge overperformance for […]

DNC Chair Ken Martin was in Georgia on Saturday to campaign with Debra Shigley, a Democrat who drew national attention last month when she was the top vote-getter in a seven-way race in a special state Senate election. Jill Nolin/Georgia Recorder

MILTON – The national Democratic Party’s top official campaigned in Georgia this weekend with Democrat Debra Shigley in hopes of helping her flip a conservative state Senate district in the north Atlanta suburbs.

Ken Martin, who chairs the Democratic National Committee, called Shigley’s surprising first-place finish in last month’s seven-way race “a huge overperformance for Democrats in a district that has historically been pretty red.”

Shigley, a Milton mom, attorney and small business owner, won about 40% of the vote in the first round of voting. She now faces a head-to-head matchup with Republican Jason Dickerson, a Cherokee County resident who is the president of a private investment firm. The district includes north Fulton and Cherokee counties.

Martin, who became the new DNC chair in February, said his visit to Georgia represents an effort to rebuild after Democrats suffered devasting losses last year and to broaden the party’s focus beyond federal power. That includes supporting candidates running for mayor, school board and other local races too, he said.

“We’ve made the mistake as a national party for too long of just focusing on what happens in Washington DC,” he told reporters Saturday.

He said Democrats are overperforming in special elections since President Donald Trump returned to the White House. Some are even winning, such as a Democrat who flipped a state Senate seat representing a farming community in Pennsylvania.

“We’re happy that we’re overperforming, but there’s no brownie points when you come in second place, and you can’t get anything done when you’re in the minority,” Martin said. “But guess what? Every inch of ground that we win adds up. Every race that we flip adds up. That’s how we start rebuilding our party again, and Debra is an important part of that rebuilding process.”

Tuesday’s special election is being held to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of former state Sen. Brandon Beach, an Alpharetta Republican and staunch ally of President Donald Trump. Beach, who coasted to reelection last year with 70% of the vote, is now U.S. Treasurer.

Shigley acknowledged the challenge of winning the right-leaning district Saturday as she stood outside her Milton home, where Martin, state Senate leaders Harold Jones and Elena Parent and volunteers gathered before fanning out to knock on the doors of voters.

“We surprised the Republicans (last month), and I’m here to say that we are going to surprise them again. It is going to be an uphill battle until the finish line,” she said.

Shigley said her team had visited about 35,000 houses. Her door-knocking outings have featured a long list of prominent Democrats, with former House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams and ex-GOP Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, who is now running for governor as a Democrat, set to join in for the final push.

On the Republican side, Dickerson has touted a long list of endorsements from high-profile Georgia Republicans, including Gov. Brian Kemp.

“We are continuing to focus on the citizens of District 21 with Meet & Greets and knocking on doors,” Dickerson said in a comment Saturday.

SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX