Amid widespread worries about voter turnout, Savannah Mayor Van Johnson is calling in some powerful friends and allies to juice up his campaign against Kesha Gibson-Carter and Tyrisha Davis for another four years in office.
Speaking on Sunday at a candidate forum sponsored by the Savannah branch of the NAACP, Johnson announced that former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams will campaign in the Hostess City for him on Sunday, followed by Rep. Nikema Williams (Atlanta), chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia on Monday and former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms will follow on Tuesday.
Johnson didn’t spell out the location and exact times of the appearances of the trio of Atlanta-based Democratic political luminaries, but he concluded his remarks with the exhortation, “Make sure you vote!”
That may have been more of a plea than a mere campaign staple.
Signs of voter apathy
Before the mayoral and city council candidates each delivered their two-minute remarks, Glenda Jones, a member of the Chatham County Board of Elections, told the gathering at Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church in west Savannah that only 1,300 out of 25,000 eligible voters cast ballots on Oct. 17 in the District 2 runoff for the seat on the Chatham County Commission left open by the death of Larry “Gator” Rivers.
Certainly, a specialty election doesn’t draw as much voter enthusiasm as a general election. Still, there’s a sign that voter apathy may carry over to the Nov. 7 elections. To date, only 18 of the 683 absentee ballots issued for those elections have been returned, Jones said Sunday.
It was the election commissioner’s only concern. Responding to what she described as a “rumor,” Jones also warned against offers by candidates to fill out absentee ballots for voters. Such actions, she said, were illegal and subject to 10 years in jail and a $10,000 fine, if convicted.
Black women voters are crucial
Born in Brooklyn and a graduate of Savannah State University, Johnson has a base of supporters that stretches beyond Savannah — in February, Johnson and his supporters held a fundraiser for his reelection campaign at a “private location” in Atlanta.
But the all-female makeup of the outside Democratic political stars coming to Savannah to campaign for him is another sign that voter turnout may be Johnson’s biggest concern.
The reason is demographics: Black women comprise the largest single block of Democratic voters in Coastal Georgia, a pattern that’s mirrored in Savannah, a majority Black city of some 148,000 people.
In the 2020 Democratic primary for U.S. representative, for instance, 57.7% of the voters in Coastal Georgia were Black (versus 32.18% white); 62.46% were women (versus 37.52% men), and 37.09% were Black women (versus 20.61% Black men, 19.08% White women, and 13.11% white women).
The Tide brings observation and information from The Current’s staff.
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