Georgians leave Philadelphia optimistic

Peach State had visible presence at national gathering.

PHILADELPHIA — As Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine headed out on a bus tour Friday of Pennsylvania and Ohio, Georgia Democrats, though bleary-eyed and exhausted, were still basking in the glow of a Democratic National Convention that was heavily represented by the Peach State.

And they’re trying to process what it means.

Georgia had a major presence on stage at the Wells Fargo Center every night of the four-night convention, beginning with former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin on Monday afternoon and ending with the Rev. Bernice King, who helped give the invocation at Thursday’s final session.

In between, state House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams of Atlanta, former state Sen. Jason Carter of Atlanta, former President Jimmy Carter (by video), state Rep. Park Cannon of Atlanta, AIDS activist Daniel Driffin, U.S. Rep. John Lewis of Atlanta and Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed graced the stage. It was a mix of the party’s old guard and current or rising stars.

“That says that we have a lot of well-respected leaders in this state and a deep bench,” said Jason Carter, the party’s 2014 candidate for governor. “And the national party is taking notice. Georgia is in play right now.”

At least Democrats hope it is. A Democrat hasn’t won Georgia in a presidential race since 1992, and every four years since, the story has been the same: Democrats believe Georgia will be competitive and, other than for a few months in 2008, it turns out not to be.

With that caveat, there are reasons to believe this could be a different year. The state becomes more diverse by the day, and that diversity appears to largely benefit Democrats. And there’s the Donald Trump factor. More than a few establishment Republicans in Georgia have so far been frustrated by what they’ve seen of their party’s standard-bearer.

Republican operative Chip Lake said it was difficult watching last week’s convention, when Democrats embraced patriotism and the military.

“It was tough for me to sit through last night,” Lake said Friday. “We all know that Donald Trump is the nominee for our party. But to watch all the speakers, to see them take items that we had ownership of – it was hard.

“Last night served as the height of frustration for the nomination of Donald Trump for the Republican Party.”

Lake’s concerns notwithstanding, there are many Georgia Republicans just as fired up about Trump as many Democrats now appear to be about Clinton.

Still, Democrats left Philadelphia ecstatic. Sure there remain pockets of upset among a subset of Bernie Sanders supporters who continued to express their displeasure with Clinton, her VP nominee, Kaine, and with the Democratic National Committee. That just means there’s work to do, said Kip Carr, the treasurer of the Democratic Party of Georgia and a Sanders delegate.

“If Georgia is not solidly a purple state, it has potential of becoming one,” Carr said. “What we have to do, we have to energize these millennials who came in as part of the Sanders campaign. It’s real clear. That’s my charge and I will talk to young people.”

Many Democrats are gleeful at the prospect of a competitive presidential campaign in the state while others warn that enormous work remains to make that so.

“Some say we’re a purple state. I know we’re in the right direction,” said Sheikh Rahman of Lawrenceville, the state party’s newest member of the Democratic National Committee. “I hope to win some day. I’m optimistic we’ll try our best. We’re doing a better job registering voters but not as well at turning people out to the polls. If we can get people to the polls, we will win Georgia.”

State party chairman DuBose Porter said the breeze is picking up and it’s blowing their way.

“The fact that our state had such a prominent role this week is no coincidence — people are paying attention,” he said. “There’s a growing drumbeat of validation that Georgia is the next battleground state. And we’ll use this momentum to not only send the most qualified candidate of our lifetime — Hillary Clinton — to the White House, but lift up down-ballot candidates in the process.”

Rahman said victory is so close.

“We see the finish line,” he said. “I can see the line. We just can’t cross that line.”

ALEX WONG / GETTY IMAGES Former President Jimmy Carter, speaking by video, is displayed on the second day of the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center on Tuesday in Philadelphia. Carter was one of many Georgians to be featured at the event.

J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE / ASSOCIATED PRESS HIV/AIDS activist Daniel Driffin from Atlanta speaks Wednesday at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.