Joey Collins, a Thomasville farmer with 1,650 acres of pecan trees and 2,000 acres of timberland, said he once gave Bishop $1,000. Some former Bishop supporters have been receptive to that message. The district is spotted with “Farmers for West” signs, as West argues that Bishop's longtime reputation as a friend of the farmer is misleading, saying that “the average farmer doesn’t get any help from Sanford” and that it's time to “rotate the crop.” He argues that if Bishop was ever a moderate, that's no longer true, pointing to factors including a National Rifle Association rating that has fallen from A to F over time. Now West is betting that people feel the impact of higher prices more acutely than they appreciate the achievements of a Democratic-controlled Congress. West, an Air Force veteran and lawyer with deep roots around Thomasville, won an upset GOP runoff victory against Jeremy Hunt, a Black military veteran and Yale University law student, by effectively arguing that Hunt was parachuting into the district from Washington. He's been making campaign stops in Black areas trying to peel off traditional Democrats. For Republicans, winning will require almost all white voters to support West, who is white. The latest round of redistricting nudged the Black voting age population below 48%, but analysts say it still favors Democrats. The 2nd District was never as heavily Black as some other districts, meaning Bishop has always had to pay attention to white constituents as well. Supreme Court is considering a case that would make it harder to create new electoral districts in which Black or Latino voters hold sway. Many of those districts heavily favor Democrats, while adjoining districts are often heavily white Republican strongholds, reducing competitiveness. Like many Deep South districts, it's an outgrowth of the Voting Rights Act, which required lawmakers to create districts where Black voters had a chance of electing their preferred candidate, despite racially polarized voting. That means that even if Bishop wins, Republicans are likely to hold a 9-5 edge in Georgia's congressional delegation, compared to an 8-6 edge now. In Georgia, Republicans took two competitive districts in the northern Atlanta suburbs that Democrats had flipped in recent years and drew one safe Republican seat and one safe Democratic seat. The 2nd District's status is an outlier after a round of redistricting that reduced the number of competitive congressional seats nationwide. Last year, Georgia Republicans redrew the district to make it somewhat more favorable to their party, sparking fresh interest from GOP candidates. “You asked what we’ve done in the last two years and we've done a lot," Bishop said in an interview before a rally in Albany.īishop’s 15 previous victories have rarely been close, although the Democrat squeaked to reelection by fewer than 5,000 votes in 2010′s Republican wave. He focuses more on legislative achievements and what his seniority helps him accomplish than on political red meat, rattling off an eight-minute list including COVID-19 aid, gun control and relief on medical costs when asked about his most recent achievements. The 2nd District covers Georgia's southwestern corner, including Albany and parts of Macon, Columbus and Warner Robins, but also miles of peanut fields, pine forests and pecan groves sprawling across 30 counties.īishop, who is Black, has long styled himself as a moderate, courting the largely white farmers who drive the rural economy and supporting the district's military bases. of districts where both parties had a chance. Though Georgia has emerged as one of the nation's most politically consequential states for statewide contests, House races here are often an afterthought this year, a reflection of how the latest round of redistricting drained the U.S. West and Bishop are rarities in the Deep South: candidates for a congressional race that is even marginally competitive.
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