Black voters helped Jones in Senate race

Heading into this past week’s U.S. Senate election in Alabama, the overwhelming share of attention was given to allegations of sexual misconduct against Republican Roy Moore involving teenage girls while he was in his 30s.

But Leo Smith, who until this past summer was in charge of minority engagement for Georgia’s Republican Party, pointed to the strong turnout of African-American voters in Tuesday’s election: According to CNN’s exit polling, 30 percent of all voters were black, with 96 percent of their votes going to the winner, Democrat Doug Jones.

Republicans need to pay attention to what drove those black voters to the polls, Smith said.

First, when Jones was a federal prosecutor, he fought the Ku Klux Klan. Moore, on the other hand, spoke of America’s greatness during a period before the end of slavery, going as far as saying amendments to the Constitution should have stopped with the first 10.

That would have meant there would be no 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery, and no 15th Amendment guaranteeing the right to vote to former slaves and their descendants.

A tested route: Clay Tippins aims to win the governor’s race from the outside lane.

Unlike his GOP rivals — Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, former state Sen. Hunter Hill, Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp and Michael Williams — the Atlanta businessman and former Navy SEAL has refused to pledge to sign a “religious liberty” measure if he’s elected, saying he wouldn’t sign any oath involving undrafted legislation. He wants to kick its tires first.

It’s a good way to set himself apart from the rest of the field. The outsider is a familiar and effective role in recent Georgia elections. Check out U.S. Sen. David Perdue and his denim jacket.

But Tippins does share views with his fellow Republican candidates, including an opposition to casino gambling.

Here are a couple of his other stands: He backs a limited expansion of the state’s medical marijuana program, although he is not calling for in-state cultivation. He opposes state funding for mass transit.

Expecting a wave: Emory University political scientist Alan Abramowitz took a look at whether Republican gerrymandering of congressional lines will be enough to block a Democratic surge in November’s midterm elections. The answer: probably not.

In Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball, Abramowitz wrote:

Democrats will need a margin of at least four points on the generic ballot in order to win a majority of seats in the House in the 2018 midterm election. In recent weeks, Democrats have been averaging a lead of between eight and 10 points according to RealClearPolitics . ... That large a lead on the generic ballot would predict a popular vote margin of around five points and a gain of between 30 and 33 seats in the House — enough to give Democrats a modest but clear majority.

Candidates, endorsements, etc.:

Former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm held a fundraiser benefiting Democrat Stacey Abrams’ campaign for governor.

The 37,000-member Georgia Association of Realtors is throwing its support behind Republican David Shafer’s candidacy for lieutenant governor.