Georgia Senate braces for mass exodus
One of the immutable truths in politics is that just about every position—except the presidency—can be viewed as a possible stepping stone to higher office. This sounds like a particularly cynical hot-take, but it’s the truth for a variety of reasons. Burnout in our hyper-political environment, low lawmaker pay and vacancies higher up the electoral food chain can influence officials to seek different roles.
An open seat can be a tempting opportunity for greener—but highly ambitious—politicians who have been diligently amassing the experience to serve the public in a larger capacity. Most of them shouldn’t be criticized for seeking higher office either. After all, would you want to vote for someone with no experience? Of course not, but this attrition can take a detrimental toll on our institutions.
Some public officials are serial candidates for different positions and don’t remain at their posts long. Meanwhile, others are seasoned veterans of the General Assembly, and when they vacate their post, they leave large shoes to fill. That’s where matters stand in the Georgia Senate where the august body is hemorrhaging senators and risks a degree of brain drain.
The domino effect contributing to this exodus starts at the top of Georgia politics: Gov. Brian Kemp is term-limited. Among those with a role in the Senate, Sen. Jason Esteves, D-Atlanta, announced his intention to run for governor and Lt. Gov. Burt Jones is assumed to be running as well. This is creating a mad dash to fill Jones’ soon-to-be open seat.
Sens. John F. Kennedy, R-Macon, Steve Gooch, R-Dahlonega, Blake Tillery, R-Vidalia, and Josh McLaurin, D-Sandy Springs, are all vying to replace Jones, and Sen. Greg Dolezal, R-Cumming, is rumored to be mulling a run too. Sens. Bill Coswert and Brian Strickland are seeking to succeed Attorney General Chris Carr who is also running for governor. Sen. Emmanuel Jones, D-Decatur, is pursuing a seat in Congress, Sonya Halpern, D-Atlanta, may as well, and Sen. Brandon Beach, R-Alpharetta, vacated his seat earlier this year to join the Trump administration.
Every so often there is a massive amount of turnover in the Georgia General Assembly, but this year feels different. If all of these 11 potential candidates ultimately depart the Senate, along with Beach who makes 12, it could prove a serious blow. The Georgia Senate has only 56 members, and these soon-to-be former senators aren’t exactly all junior lawmakers.
They include the Lieutenant Governor, Senate President Pro Tempore, Senate Majority Leader and the committee chairmen of Appropriations, Judiciary, Regulated Industries, Transportation, and Economic Development and Tourism. By the end of their upcoming term, they will have well over a century of combined senatorial experience.
The turnover rate could reach much higher, too. Congressman Buddy Carter and Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner John King are running for U.S. Senate, and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has long been rumored to be considering a run for something else. If they follow-through, then more state senators might seek to replace them, which will deplete their ranks even further.
This could drastically change the Senate’s makeup and political bent—for better or for worse—which happens from time to time. However, one of the bigger problems with such an exodus is that the Senate loses continuity and critical institutional knowledge, but there is some solace. It’s not as if the Senate has no other experienced politicians or has an empty bench.
There are still numerous deeply qualified senators on both sides of the aisle who can guide the Senate and mentor a new generation of senators, but the reality is that while serving in the Georgia General Assembly is a critically important job, I fear that some view it as a stepping stone to greater things.
As we are currently witnessing, it only takes one domino to fall to lead to incredibly high turnover in the Legislature, and it feels particularly acute this term. There is probably little that can be done to retain more incumbents short of vastly increasing lawmaker pay and power, which doesn’t seem to be in the cards, especially since legislators recently received a pay bump.
Nevertheless, this is a good lesson for voters: Come election season, you’re not necessarily voting for the candidate for the job they’re running for, but the job they eventually want.