GA-8th CD: South Georgia’s Been Quiet a Long Time — Justin Lucas Sounds Like Home Again

Every election cycle, somebody steps forward who reminds you what politics used to feel like in South Georgia, personal, grounded, and rooted in community instead of performance. In the 8th Congressional District, that somebody is Justin Lucas of Sylvester.

Lucas isn’t a newcomer to public service. He’s a member of the Worth County School Board and a pastor, two roles that put him face‑to‑face with the real lives of working families. He’s not a polished, big‑city Democrat with a consultant‑tested message. He’s a rural, moderate voice who talks like the folks he’s trying to represent. And in a year where rural Georgia is becoming a critical piece of the Democratic path forward, that matters.

South Georgia hasn’t had a real political awakening in over 15 years. The region has been written off by some, overlooked by others, and left to drift while the political spotlight stayed locked on metro Atlanta. But the truth is simple: you can’t build a winning statewide coalition without at least shaking the rural map awake. You don’t have to win every county but you do have to show up, speak the language, and give people a reason to believe their vote still counts.

That’s where Lucas fits into the conversation.

He oozes country‑boy politics, not the caricature, but the real thing. The kind that comes from growing up in a place where everybody knows your people, where your word still means something, and where you can’t hide behind slogans because folks will call you on it. His presence on the ballot is a reminder that rural Democrats aren’t extinct; they’ve just been quiet, waiting on someone who sounds like home.

Georgia’s 2026 midterms are shaping up to be a test of whether the party can reconnect with the parts of the state that once formed its backbone. Up and down the ballot, Democrats are trying to figure out how to balance ideology with electability, purity with pragmatism, and online noise with real‑world turnout. Rural candidates, the ones who can walk into a farm supply store, a church fellowship hall, or a volunteer fire station and not feel out of place  are part of that equation.

Lucas represents that lane. A school board member. A pastor. A rural moderate who knows the culture, the pace, the values, and the frustrations of South Georgia. Whether voters embrace that in the general election remains to be seen, but his candidacy speaks to a larger truth: if Democrats want to compete statewide, they can’t keep treating rural Georgia like an afterthought.

South Georgia may have been asleep for a long time, but elections have a way of shaking the ground. And sometimes, all it takes is one familiar voice stepping forward to remind folks they still matter. 

Fundraiser for Winfred Dukes slated for tomorrow in Atlanta

Tomorrow in Atlanta, Agriculture Commission candidate Winfred Dukes (D-Albany) will be the recipient of a high dollar fundraiser that will feature Roy Barnes, Mark Taylor, Charles Walker, Keith Mason, Shirley Franklin, and Bobby Kahn among others, Dukes is running to replace Gary Black who is running for the U.S. Senate. Tyler Harper is the only republican who's running for Ag Commissioner. Other Democrats in the race include Nakita Hemingway and Fred Swann. 

Dukes, a south Georgia Democrat is one of three democrats running statewide who hails fron outside of Atlanta, (Floyd Griffin of Milledgeville and Lester Jackson of Savannah)

It Must Be A Election Year!

It's 2014, it's a election year and to no one's surprise, the wedge and cultural issues are back just in time for the Georgia GOP & the midterm elections.

Legislation from allowing guns in churches, stripping the governor from implementing medicaid, a Arizona-Style anti-gay bill, restrictions on early voting, etc, etc are bills designed to cater to their base and to drive voter participation in this year's elections. Clearly instead of trying to make the lives better for Georgians, the republican-led majority are making things worse and creating problems for the sake for gathering votes at the ballot box.

Wedge Issues are issues that appeal to people's emotions. Georgia Republicans are skilled at employing these tactics to get most Georgians to avoid reasoned discussion of public policy on issues like economic fairness, education for example. They do this by appealing to voters emotional instinct.  While they have the general public, political experts and the media distracted with these emotional issues, they go off and the make the already wealthy even more wealthier at the expense of the working class worker. Issues like the Arizona-Style Anti-Gay bill and the Gun Bill that would allow guns to be carried in churches and on college campuses are a powerful distraction and allow Georgia Republicans to accomplish their goals while the public is pre-occupied with some trumped up emotional issue in a election year that they could care less about.





These things are a great way for them to raise $$$ from diehard supporters for their members while liberals and democrats have fewer pre-sold appeals and that maybe because, well they tend to use their heads before acting.

Part 1: The future of the Democratic Party in Georgia

This is the first of a two party series on the future of the Democratic Party of Georgia:

It isn't easy being a Democrat in Georgia these days.

Like many states across the South, Georgia has become a Republican stronghold over the last decade.

But it’s hard to overstate just how strongly that partisan trend has prevailed in the Peach State, or the difficulty Democrats face in turning it around.

In the Georgia State Legislature, for example, Republicans hold overwhelming majorities, comprising 34 of the state’s 56 Senate seats and 117 of the 180 House seats.

Democrats have not held a majority of seats in the state House since 2004 and the state Senate since 2002.

At the national level, things are no different. Georgia has not had a Democratic U.S. senator since 2004, following Max Cleland’s loss to Republican Saxby Chambliss in 2002 & Johnny Isakson's win in 2004.

Here, there’s no doubt who will win the state’s electoral votes  in November Georgia gave John McCain 52% to Barack Obama 47%. Expect Mitt Romney to get a higher percentage than McCain in November.

So how did the Republican Party gain such a large majority, and what, if anything, can Democrats do to chip away at it?

The first question is one of population changes that occurred during the 1990s and the Republican Party’s masterful ability to capitalize on them.

Then look at the National Democratic Party. Since the New Deal era of Franklin Roosevelt and the civil rights battles of the 1960s, the national Democratic Party has earned an image of promoting “big government.” The belief is that the government, for all its faults, can still do some things better than the individual, whether it’s building and maintaining highways, regulating the harmful impacts of industry, or using the tax system to provide assistance to the working poor or disabled.

The national image of the two parties is that the Democratic Party is for centralized control and the Republican Party is for decentralized control. You see that reflected in any number of policies & gun control, any type of policy where the image generally is one of the national government imposing restrictions on the state.

Despite the state's republican trend, a  democratic gubernatorial candidate can still do well in this state. Voters across the state , I believe tend to be more likely to pay attention to who is running for governor than for their local legislative district. As a result, they’d more likely to consider their vote, rather than just pull the lever for whoever belongs to the dominant political party.

Secondly, if democratic candidates running for governor tend to focus less on national partisan issues and more on issues related directly to Georgia, he/she would do very well here. For that reason, voters may be more willing to vote for a Democrat they feel understands Georgia issues in spite of, rather than because of, his/her party affiliation.

Gubernatorial democratic candidates in 2014 can do well by appealing to the independents in the electorate. It’s much easier in a U.S. Senate or House race to characterize your Democratic opponent as symbolizing the national party. You can’t do that to the same extent when you have a gubernatorial candidate that, at the time they were elected, had no real connections to the national party.

The downside to that is that down-ballot Democrats need better infrastructure for getting their names out into the public sphere if they want to enjoy similar electoral success And the biggest roadblock to that is fundraising.

Given the spread-out nature of Georgia, fundraising can’t be ignored. Even if candidates don’t necessarily spend a lot on television ads, they still need to cover the costs of crisscrossing this huge state

Can Calvin Smyre Save the Democratic Party of Georgia?

I think Smyre should run in 2015 for Party Chairman to right the Democratic Ship...ASAP!!

In sports, many teams have gone back to the past with re-threats to revitalize their sagging programs or franchises..look at Kansas State where Bill Snyder is once again (2nd time around) working his magic a K-State, remember when Dan Reeves came to coach the Falcons and led them to the '98 Super Bowl, or Bill Parcells leading the woeful Patriots to the 1996 Super Bowl or Howard Schnellenberger who re-built a struggling Miami Hurricanes program to dominance, or Buck Showalter who has led the Baltimore Orioles to the 2012 baseball playoffs after years away from the game. All have one thing in common: All are re-threads, veterans of their craft who rebuilt or re-energized teams who suffered for years.

It's the same situation the Democratic Party of Georgia is now facing. The old guard was ushered out for newbies like Mike Berlon (not so new) Nikema Williams, Miguel Camacho, RJ Hadley, etc, etc. Well so far how has that worked out? I say its time for democrats to go back to the past & bring in someone with experience on the state level & deep connections nationally. Calvin Smyre, the Muscogee County Pol is just what the party needs.

Calvin Smyre & Tom Buck in State Legislature

The Georgia Democratic Party has been in a free fall over the last decade, resulting in losses at the statewide level which has no Democratic Officeholders & massive losses at the legislative levels due to retirements & party switching of moderate & conservative democrats from rural, conservative leaning areas & suburbs dating back to 2002.

In 2011, party activist & state committee members elected a slate of new democrats to rebuild the party from the bottom up.. from Mike Berlon, chairman to Miguel Camacho to Vice-Chair of Candidate Recruitment.

So far, the results have been the same. Continued infighting among democrats within the party to resignations,  to finger pointing among the Pro and Anti Mike Berlon factions has done nothing but weakened the already fragile party here in the Peach State. And it appears that it will not get any better anytime soon.

There maybe one person who could right the ship & get the the State Party back on its feet......State Representative Calvin Smyre of Columbus, a 40 year veteran of Georgia Politics who was elected in 1974.

Smyre was appointed by then Gov-Roy Barnes as chairman of the Georgia Democratic Party back in 2001 & he served in that position until 2003. But that was when the Democratic Party was in much..MUCH better shape. Smyre knowledge of the state & experience is what the party needs more than ever.

State Reps. Bill McKinney & Calvin Smyre 1980

No one knows how long Smyre will continue to serve in the legislature given hoe far the democrats have fallen in a span of 10 years, but one job I think he would terrific at is chairman of the Georgia Democratic Party. Smyre connections, not only statewide, but nationally & in Washington D.C. would be a huge asset in helping get the party on the right track. In 1976 he served as a advisor to the Carter/Mondale Campaign, serve as senior advisor to the campaigns of Joe Frank Harris & Zell Miller & was twice named as National Legislator of the Year. He currently serves on the Democratic Party of Georgia Executive Committee, State Committee, & has been a delegate to 9 Democratic National Conventions.

Smyre with Roy Barnes

What the party needs now more than ever is stability, leadership & direction & State Rep. Calvin Smyre brings those to the table, as well as respect from his colleagues & a winning attitude. Having worked for both governor Joe Frank Harris & Zell Miller, Smyre has a good idea what it will take for democrats to become competitive again in Georgia, as well as recruit STRONG democratic candidates statewide, something that is sorely lacking at the DPG & in both the House & Senate Democratic Caucuses. But would Smyre want to take on such a job if asked? Who knows? But with elections coming up in 2015 for DPG officers, if things doesn't improve from now 'til 2015, it maybe time to clean house once again at DPG. 

The Cost of Reapportionment

When trying to redraw a legislative district here in Georgia, if you want to place 55,000 voters into a current rural house district, do not leave out a entire county in the process.

And while redrawing a legislative district, don't split a county in two, three districts

And while redrawing a legislative district, don't dilute minority voting strength in a particular area to ensure the election of certain candidates.

And while the VRA protects Majority-Minority Districts, please do not create anymore of these type of districts. Where would they be located. Democrats,(Black Democrats) in general, the more you push for these type of districts, the more you are ensuring the democratic party of a permanent minority status over the next 10-15 years. So no more deal making with republicans over "GIVE US MORE MAJORITY-MINORITY DISTRICTS & IN RETURN, WE'LL SUPPORT ANY MAP YOU PUT FORWARD".

And plus this only solidify the notion that if you're black, you belong in the Democratic Party & if you're white, you belong in the Republican Party.

A BLACK & BROWN GEORGIA DEMOCRATIC PARTY, SPRINKLED WITH WHITE LIBERALS CANNOT WIN IN GEORGIA! ESPECIALLY STATEWIDE!!

No more Racially Gerrymandered Districts (just as they want to do with the 2nd by moving predominently Black, Inner city of Macon into Sanford Bishop's 2nd Congressional District, while leaving the unincorporated areas in the 8th District, held by first term Congressman Austin Scott.

Keep an eye on Gerrymandering over in the 12th Congressional District held by John Barrow, a conservative democrat. Despite Barrow only needing around 660+ more voters to meet the 692,000+ needed, the Georgia Republicans will "likely" alter the district significantly to lessen the chances of Barrow getting re-elected & increasing a prospective republican's chances of GETTING elected.

Dems have complained about being shutout of the process, while some republicans like State Senator Tommie Williams keeps referring to 2001 when Democrats ran the show & kept republicans out as well. Its like republicans such as Tommie Williams are saying, "Now its payback for what you tried to do to us (GOP) 10 years ago".

And lastly, Georgia Republicans are considering instead of going through the DOJ to get approvals of the maps, they might instead go to a court in tryin to get the maps approved because many from what I've heard say the Obama DOJ are very Partisan. You didn't think the Bush DOJ was partisan when they approved a mid-decade 2005 redistricting after the GOP got full control of the State Legislature in which they tried to oust Jim Marshall & John Barrow back in the 2006 elections?

The straight-to-court strategy has another possible drawback: It takes more time & ITS VERY EXPENSIVE. They could do like Louisiana & Virginia & take their maps to both the DOJ & the court for approval. In any event, don't be surprised if the Democrats present legal obstacles to a republican plan that they view as not constitutional or diluting minority or democratic strength in any area of the state.