The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Democrat shifts to lieutenant governor race
Former prosecutor had been candidate for attorney general.
Democrat Charlie Bailey switched from the race for attorney general to the contest for lieutenant governor with a coterie of influential supporters who hope to make him the front-runner in the wide-open election for Georgia’s No. 2 job.
The ex-prosecutor told The Atlanta Journal-constitution he was convinced by senior Democrats that making the leap to the lieutenant governor’s race would give him a better chance to advocate for his priorities — and a better shot at victory.
“Leaders in the party asked me to consider the switch, and the more I looked at it, the more I saw I could help the ticket by talking about public safety, criminal justice reform and expanding health care,” he said.
Bailey had been angling for a rematch against Republican Attorney General Chris Carr, who narrowly defeated him in 2018. But he faced stiff Democratic opposition from state Sen. Jen Jordan, a high-profile attorney who now has a glidepath to the nomination.
Though he’s relatively late to the contest, Bailey hopes to take advantage of a muddled field with no clear favorite. The Democratic contenders include state Rep. Erick Allen of Smyrna, state Rep. Derrick Jackson of Tyrone, Bryan Miller, grandson of former Gov. Zell Miller, and state Rep. Renitta Shannon of Decatur.
Bailey enters the contest with powerful backers. Former Gov. Roy Barnes and U.S. Reps. Lucy Mcbath and Hank Johnson both endorsed Bailey in tandem with his announcement. So did Dubose Porter, the former Democratic Party of Georgia chairman.
Porter was among the Democrats who appealed to Bailey to switch races. He said Bailey’s background as a protégé of former Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor and a veteran prosecutor would round out a ticket led by Stacey Abrams and U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock.
“This is someone who has prosecuted cases but also defended civil rights,” Porter said.
Bailey captured about 48.7% of the vote in 2018 when he was defeated by Carr — the highest vote share of any statewide Democrat that cycle other than Abrams. Carr, a former economic development commissioner, won by roughly 100,000 votes.
But he was considered the underdog in this year’s Democratic primary against Jordan, who had earned national attention for her opposition to the Republican-backed anti-abortion law that narrowly passed in 2019. A range of well-known Georgia Democrats and powerful national organizations backed her bid.
Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan’s decision not to stand for a second term triggered an open contest on the GOP side, too. State Sens. Burt Jones and Butch Miller have raced to curry favor with conservative voters and allies of former President Donald Trump. Party activist Jeanne Seaver is in the race, too.
Bailey’s background as a Fulton County prosecutor who targeted gang offenders could complicate GOP efforts to brand Democrats as “defund the police” backers who are weak on crime.
He said he will refashion key planks of his platform for attorney general and gear them to the role of lieutenant governor, who serves as the president of the state Senate. “It’s attacking the same problems,” he said, “just from a different perspective.”