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Dem newcomer surprises with labor endorsements
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| Contributor | Craverguy |
| Last Edited | Craverguy Jul 02, 2008 10:12pm |
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| Category | News |
| News Date | Thursday, July 3, 2008 04:00:00 AM UTC0:0 |
| Description | ATLANTA -- In the Democratic race for the U.S. Senate, a political newcomer has scored something of a coup. Rand Knight - an Atlanta businessman and environmental scientist - has won endorsements from two of the state's largest labor groups.
The labor backing changes the dynamic of the five-way race, which features two political veterans: Jim Martin, who spent almost two decades in the Georgia House of Representatives, and Vernon Jones, chief executive officer of DeKalb County.
The Georgia chapter of the AFL-CIO and the Georgia Association of Educators bypassed Martin and Jones and gave the nod to Knight, saying a new face is welcome in an election where change is the buzzword.
Jeff Hubbard, president of the 40,000-member GAE, called Knight's lack of a political resume "a positive."
"This is a year and an election where people are tired of politics as usual. They are looking for new voices to come up," Hubbard said.
Support from organized labor is a key building block in most Democratic campaigns. And in a race like Georgia's crowded Democratic Senate contest, political experts said it could tilt the balance. The five Democrats are vying for the right to take on Republican incumbent Saxby Chambliss November. Knight, Jones, and Martin are joined in the race by former television journalist Dale Cardwell and retired businessman Josh Lanier.
"None of the candidates is that well known, so the endorsements could really make the difference if they translate into financial support and turn out voters," Alan Abramowitz, a political science professor at Emory University, said.
Rick Dent, a veteran Democratic political strategist in Georgia, said such endorsements provide instant credibility, especially to little-known candidates.
"It also gives them access to money, (campaign) workers and votes," Dent said. "That's why the candidates work so hard for these endorsements. They do matter." |
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