Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA) is resigning at the end of the year due to health concerns, and I wish him all the best.
That said, it’s worth analyzing how this affects the national political scene. Immediately following his resignation will come, I’ll guess, an appointment, which will no doubt be of a Republican, but that will be followed by a special election, the timing of which I’m unsure.
Isakson is, I’d say, mediocre in terms of loyalty to President Trump, having a current TrumpScore of 91.7%. It’s safe to assume his appointed successor will be no different.
But his elected successor? Isakson won his last election in 2016, Fellow Georgia Senator Perdue (R) ran in 2014, so the temper of Georgia voters statewide isn’t all that well known. For what it’s worth, Isakson won his last race by 12+% points, but at the time the Republicans were riding relatively high. The anger at Trump has been building ever since, and if Isakson’s seat comes up for election when the economy is in recession, the Democrats may find themselves handed a silver platter with a Senate seat on it. After all, Democrat Doug Jones won a Senate seat in 2017 in a special election in neighboring Alabama.
The Democrats would be well-served to recruit a strong candidate. For example, Georgia is the home of Stacey Abrams (D), who lost the race for Governor by a little over 2 points to the sitting Secretary of State, a situation many called a conflict of interest. She is intelligent, widely read, and articulate, If she chooses to run for the Senate, she might just win.
This may be the first big opportunity for the Democrats. Or at least a hurdle.
