ATLANTA — The non-partisan Cook Political Report said Georgia is among three states that no longer lean Republican in the presidential race. That follows the entrance to the race of Democrat and current Vice President Kamala Harris.
Poll after poll in Georgia had showed former President Donald Trump with a narrow lead, typically within the poll's margin of error. Democrats think they've detected a shift - and Cook seems to think so too.
When Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris showed up at the same venue in Atlanta within a week of each other, it showed that both camps think they can win Georgia. But from Gov. Brian Kemp down to the legislature, Republicans control state government.
Nonetheless, the Cook Political Report said Georgia plus Arizona and Nevada have shifted from leaning Republican this fall to a toss-up.
"This is a center-right state. People in this state have common sense," Georgia Republican chairman Josh McKoon told reporters Thursday. Although the politics in Georgia have leaned right for decades, McKoon said it makes sense for both campaigns to fight it out here this fall.
"Yes, we're gonna win Georgia, but we've been treating Georgia at the Georgia Republican Party as a battleground since last June," McKoon said.
The battleground will add up to more media and online advertising – and way more unsolicited texts on the cell phones of voters, Democratic strategist Tharon Johnson said.
"You now are going to be asked to get engaged, whether you're Republican, Libertarian or Democrat," Johnson said. "Both campaigns are laser like focused on contacting people and one of the best ways you do it is through people’s devices."
Johnson expects the Harris campaign to get another bump in the polls after this month’s Democratic convention—and that the race will tighten again after Labor Day into October, a month known for its political surprises.