Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms (D) said in an interview aired on Friday that she’s “very concerned” about diminished enthusiasm among voters in Georgia.
“Just as a voter, I can tell you I am very concerned at the lack of enthusiasm in our state right now. Of course with my position as senior adviser to the president for public engagement, I have to be very careful in what I say about political affairs,” the Biden official said on “Joe Madison, The Black Eagle.”
“But I can tell you I don’t feel and see the enthusiasm that I think voters across Georgia should have right now. And I know that oftentimes in midterm elections, people don’t turn out to vote. I hope that won’t be the case this year in Georgia.”
The former Atlanta mayor’s comments come just one month out from the midterms where Georgia will play a decisive role in whether Republicans flip the Senate this cycle and if Gov. Brian Kemp (R) can win a rematch against Democrat Stacey Abrams.
The Georgia Secretary of State’s office suggested in May ahead of the primary that voters were enthused and turning out in record numbers. A press release from May 21 said the office saw “a 168 percent increase over the 2018, the last gubernatorial primary and a 212 percent jump above 2020, the last presidential primary year” in early voting this year alone.
Recent polling shows the race between Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) and Republican Herschel Walker polling within the margin of error, while Kemp is shown to be polling ahead of Abrams.
The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates the Georgia Senate race a “toss up” and the Georgia gubernatorial race “lean Republican.”