As the Georgia Senate was about to suspend its 2020 session last month because of the coronavirus, Sen. David Lucas asked a highly pertinent question for the three dozen or so lawmakers who face a primary opponent in June.
The session was temporarily postponed, not ended. And legislators can’t take in campaign donations until it is, unlike their primary challengers.
“That’s the law,” said Lucas, a Macon Democrat. “So how do we deal with the election and raising money for our campaign?”
The reality is that at least some incumbents facing intraparty challenges this spring may find themselves in an unusual, uncomfortable position, being outspent in the coronvirus era when retail politics — knocking on doors, hand shaking and attending big events — can’t be done.
The question is, will it matter?
"It's something that remains to be seen … how much of the advantages of incumbency will dissipate," said Sen. Elena Parent, D-Atlanta, who doesn't face re-election opposition this year.
Money has long been the gasoline that fuels campaigns, paying for TV, radio, newspaper and social media advertising, mailings, yard signs, phone banks and staff. Incumbency has traditionally meant you had a big leg up because you could raise money from the lobbyists and business groups who want you on their side and wealthy donors who support keeping you in office.
The Republican majority has particularly used that leverage.
An Atlanta Journal-Constitution review of campaign reports found that House and Senate leaders and their political action committees took in about $1 million during the week before the 2020 session began, with money coming from groups ranging from e-cigarette and short-term rental companies lobbying on tax legislation and the video machine industry battling potentially stricter regulations to supporters and opponents of curtailing high-dollar civil lawsuits.
Those same leaders and their PACs and “independent” fundraising wings had more than $3 million banked at the end of January, the last time reports were filed. At least some of that money could go to help incumbent Republicans keep their jobs.
But about two-thirds of the House and Senate seats with primary challengers this spring are Democratic incumbents, including many who had little money in their accounts at the end of January — the last reporting period — and are now unable to raise anything before the primary unless the 2020 session is reconvened and ended, something unlikely to happen anytime soon. The party caucuses don’t have the resources of their Republican colleagues, so they can’t provide as much help to those trying to fend off challenges.
Pandemic didn’t figure in the equation
The General Assembly decided about 30 years ago that letting members of the House and Senate raise campaign money during legislative sessions wasn’t a good idea. It looked unseemly if, for instance, lobbyists give a lawmaker a check at the same time they are asking for his or her vote on legislation or funding in the budget. So they banned it.
For years lawmakers and their PACs got around the limits by hosting fundraisers up to the Sunday before the session started because, under the law, they didn’t have to report who donated to them until after the session was over. That too was changed, and now they must report those January, pre-session contributions each February. That gives the public some idea of who is trying to influence lawmakers before most of the big votes occur during the session.
In writing those laws, legislators never contemplated a global pandemic that would force a suspension of a legislative session, preventing them from raising money for additional months and giving an advantage to their opponents. Politicians typically don’t like to give challengers an inch.
How many incumbents are facing challengers who could outspend them won't be known until next month, when candidates file their latest disclosures. But some, such as lawyer Zulma Lopez, one of three Democratic challengers to longtime Rep. Michele Henson, D-Stone Mountain, had more money banked months ago.
Chip Lake, a Republican strategist, said it’s hard to tell whether money will make the same difference it typically does in elections, or if Georgians more preoccupied with sheltering in place, their jobs and trying to figure out how to get food will pay any attention to the races.
“That’s the million-dollar question,” Lake said. “Money has always been considered the mother’s milk of politics. We may finally be in a temporary environment where that dynamic takes on less importance than previous elections. You’re making assumptions that you’ve never made before.”
Sen. Ed Harbison, D-Columbus, the longest-serving member of the Georgia Senate, had about $32,000 in his campaign account at the end of the year — not a lot of money, but more than many of his Senate Democratic colleagues with primary challengers.
Harbison said in the coronavirus era, candidates have to reinvent themselves, working harder to create a digital and social media presence, something he’d already been working on before the pandemic hit.
“For some, that’s not natural,” said Harbison, 78, who was first elected in 1992. “Some people live online.”
So his campaign is spending more time on social media. “You go where the voters are, and hopefully it works out that way,” he said. “I think people are looking for a steady hand.”
His opponent, attorney Teddy Reese, who had about $4,000 in his campaign account in January, said he announced plans to run for the seat last year, so he was able to do some retail politicking before the shelter-in-place order took effect. He said most candidates are now limited to social media campaigns. But he’s slowed down, he said, because health officials need to get vital information to Georgians, often using social media channels.
“I think it’s more important people get information about their health,” Reese said.
Reese said it’s less and less a given that the winner of state races is the one who raises the most money, but, as is the case of other candidates, getting donations isn’t easy at a time when Georgians don’t know if they’ll have jobs, or if their businesses will survive.
“I have had people tell me they wanted to donate,” Reese said, “but they said we’ll have to see how it goes.”
Dan McEntire, a carpet manufacturing veteran from Dalton challenging Sen. Chuck Payne in the GOP primary in northwest Georgia, had about the same amount of money in the bank as the incumbent in January and has continued collecting checks.
“This area has been supportive of me,” he said.
While he’s planning more signs, mailings and other advertising closer to primary day, he too has turned to social media sites to get his name, and message, out. “Social media is one of the best ways to get your name before people,” he said.
Rory McShane, a corporate and political strategist who has worked local, state and congressional races, said a 10-second video on Facebook or other social media costs about 10 cents per targeted viewer. The percentage of campaign budgets going to digital advertising has grown substantially, he said,
“If you don’t have enough money to saturate (the district) on television,” he said, “then digital is a better place to spend your money.”
McEntire’s opponent, Payne, will likely get help from his Senate caucus, which had more than $500,000 banked as of the end of January.
"The Senate Republican Caucus has a long-standing tradition of supporting its members," said Senate Majority Leader Mike Dugan, R-Carrollton. "In the upcoming cycle, the caucus will engage in primary elections, any necessary runoff elections and a number of general elections to support incumbent senators as necessary."
Information could mean more than money
With eight Democratic senators facing primary challengers, Parent said her caucus is trying to help candidates improve their use of social media, something they maybe felt like they didn’t have to do in the past. That includes preparing them to post videos, host virtual town halls and produce more traditional social media ads.
“Everyone is staying at home and on their computers and phones,” she said. “Our members need to be creative. If you work harder, work smarter, you can overcome a money disadvantage.”
The bigger question for candidates trying to sell themselves may be whether potential voters are paying attention to partisan, legislative elections.
"I think the last thing people want to deal with right now is a robocall from a candidate or a hit piece in the mail," House Speaker David Ralston, R-Blue Ridge, said recently.
House Minority Leader Bob Trammell, D-Luthersville, who faces a primary challenge, said his caucus' main goal is to keep lawmakers informed about the state's response to the coronavirus so they can respond to questions from constituents.
“We are trying to make sure they are able to plug into their constituents, that there are places they can turn to for answers,” he said. “That’s really the focus.
“I think undoubtedly campaigning has been changed completely in the type of information voters are looking for right now. They are looking for information on what’s happening. They are not looking for typical political campaign information.
“Serving and providing this information is definitely what voters have an appetite for and need to know.”
While some incumbents may not have more money this time around, they have access to information about the state’s response.
Said Trammell: “During uncertain times, people are looking for more certainty.”
Cash for 2020
As of Jan. 30, campaign money in the bank for:
House Speaker David Ralston, R-Blue Ridge
$732,018
House Minority Leader Robert Trammell, D-Luthersville
$200,548
Senate President Pro Tem Butch Miller, R-Gainesville
$545,795
Senate Majority Leader Mike Dugan, R-Carrollton
$345,125
Senate Minority Leader Steve Henson, D-Stone Mountain
$15,242
Senate Democratic Caucus Chairwoman Gloria Butler, D-Stone Mountain
$79,857
House Republican caucus
$989,725
Senate Republican caucus
$545,678
Source: Campaign reports filed with the state ethics commission
