Dale Carnegie famously said, “The past is where you learned the lesson. The future is where you apply the lesson. Don’t give up in the middle.”
After 2020, Georgia Republicans learned a number of lessons, chief among them: In a red state, the Left’s voter mobilization machine can tip the scales. That year, it raised over $100 million in largely out-of-state funding, thousands of paid staff, and coordination across organizations and campaigns. The fallout of picking off two U.S. Senate seats — and handing President Joe Biden control of the House and the Senate — is still felt by the nation.
A lot could have happened in Georgia after the contentious 2020 elections, but conservatives here didn’t “give up in the middle.” Instead, we passed a comprehensive election integrity law, rallied the base with strong conservative candidates and campaigns, and got back to basics by building the infrastructure to grow, reengage, and reenergize the movement.
The lessons of the last cycle were not lost — and it’s the entire reason why, immediately after leaving the U.S. Senate in January 2021, I started “Greater Georgia.” It’s a data-driven voter mobilization organization with the goal of registering, educating, and engaging conservatives with a year-round outreach apparatus. Over the last 16 months, we’ve made nearly 2 million voter contacts — registering conservatives, working with disengaged and disenfranchised Georgians, reaching diverse communities to build new constituencies, and educating voters on the state’s commonsense election laws. Basically, we’re empowering the voter. The results have been tremendous. In Georgia’s May 24 primary election, 1.93 million Georgians voted — up a whopping and historic 66% from the 2018 midterm primary. Of that, over 1.2 million Republicans cast ballots, up 98% from four years ago. Democrats also shattered their midterm turnout record, up 30% over 2018.
The data get even more compelling. According to Greater Georgia’s analysis of absentee ballot and early voting, or ABEV, data, which are the only data currently available, over 85,000 conservatives who voted in the Republican primary had not voted in any of the last four primary elections. Similarly, over 21,000 Republican voters who failed to vote in the January 2021 runoff election returned this year. The disengaged and disenfranchised are coming back when we do the work to reach them.
Perhaps most under-reported in the media is the dramatic increase in minority voters casting Republican ballots. Compared to Republican ABEV results from 2018, Asian American turnout rose 375%, black turnout increased by 281%, and Hispanic turnout increased by 397%. We’re shifting from transactions to relationships. The historic turnout both confirms proof of concept for Georgia conservatives and shatters the Left’s narratives. For months, hysterical talking points at the highest levels in America decried the Georgia Election Integrity Act as a “racist” Jim Crow 2.0 law.
Actually, Georgia’s SB-202 expanded early voting, codified ballot drop boxes, required voter ID, banned outside money such as Zuckerbucks, and increased fraud protection. It was the centerpiece of the effort to restore voter confidence and bring voters back to the polls after unprecedented changes to elections in 2020. It was a key reason for the record turnout.
Yes, there were contentious primaries with political heavyweights from the top to the bottom of the ballot, but they were rooted in kitchen-table issues and anchored by enthusiasm-building campaigns that turned out the base, the middle, and new voters alike. Amid the fallout of the Left’s policies, such as runaway inflation, open borders, spiking crime, pandemic scare tactics, and the liberal indoctrination in schools, Georgians understood the stakes and took action. The contrast of conservative leadership, which produced a nearly decadelong distinction as the No. 1 state for business and the freedoms during the pandemic, provided a powerful backdrop.
There’s still a long way to go until November 2022.
So now is the time to double down. But it is worth acknowledging what has worked. It is clear to me that year-round conservative mobilization is a game-changer. Infrastructure and growth are required, not optional. Campaigns and candidates must continue to work around the clock — there’s no substitute for a voter understanding the stakes of elections. Strong, commonsense election integrity laws also play a critical role because they support, not suppress, turnout.
In the Peach State, that blueprint resulted in a historic turnout in the primary, and for other states, it offers the same opportunity. In spite of the noise from the far Left and the storied strength of the far Left’s machine, it’s time to apply the lessons of 2020.
With them, as Georgia has proven, all signs point to a conservative comeback in November.
Businesswoman and former U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler is the founder and chairwoman of Greater Georgia Action.
