Democrats Lead Early Voting in Key State of Georgia

• Georgia sets record for early voting
• Analysts project possible blue wave
• Democrats show lead in recent polls.

Democrats are leading the vote. A ‘blue wave’ is shaping up in early voting in Georgia, which has seen a record turnout of Democrats in this key state for the party’s aspirations to regain control of Congress in the November midterm elections, according to analysts and projections based on official figures.

«What is being seen is that voters in Democratic areas of urban areas and also groups that favor Democrats, such as minorities and those with higher education levels, are voting more,» Julio Sevilla, a professor at the University of Georgia (UGA), told EFE.

Two-thirds of votes cast in Georgia are for Democrats

The political analyst estimates that two-thirds of the votes cast in Georgia since Tuesday, when early voting began, correspond to Democrats.

The non-partisan and independent organization VoteHub agrees with Sevilla and projects a ‘blue wave’, as a decisive electoral victory for the Democratic Party is commonly described in the United States, a party traditionally represented by this color.

Advantage for the party?

VoteHub predicts a considerable advantage for the party so far: Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff could obtain between 55.3% and 62.6% of the votes, while Republican Mike Collins could get between 37.4% and 44.7%.

However, both Sevilla and VoteHub warn that Democrats tend to have higher participation in early voting, while Republicans tend to go to the polls more on election day.

Record turnout

For Luis, a voter of Mexican origin who cast his ballot on the first day of voting, this is the «beginning of the blue tsunami.»

The Hispanic voter was one of more than 190,000 voters who cast their ballots on October 13 in Georgia, in an electoral day that broke the record for early voting in midterm elections, according to the Georgia Secretary of State, who described the turnout as «massive.»

In just the first six days of voting, more than 850,000 ballots were counted, approximately 10.4% of Georgia’s electoral roll, which totals around 8.2 million voters, the secretary reported on Monday.

«A great endorsement of Democratic candidates»

In statements to EFE, Jerry González, executive director of the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials (GALEO), considers this record to be «a great endorsement of Democratic candidates.»

«We are urging Latino voters to join us to avoid any possible setbacks and also to vote early,» González said.

Democrats lead the vote: The polls

Recent polls also suggest that there is greater enthusiasm on the Democratic side, with more than 70% of respondents expressing this view, Sevilla said, highlighting that in these elections there is greater motivation among voters than in other midterm elections: the rising cost of living.

The polls point to Republican President Donald Trump as the main culprit: a Pew Research Center survey published last Friday indicates that seven out of ten registered Hispanic voters (70%) believe that his policies have harmed Hispanics.

According to analysts, this situation has boosted Senator Ossoff and hurt Collins, who is considered a political ally of Trump.

Democrats lead the vote: President Trump visits Georgia

President Trump visited Georgia last Friday to lead a campaign event in the town of Dalton, a conservative stronghold in the northwest of the state, where he asked voters to «imagine» that he was the one on the ballot.

The most recent polls, compiled by Real Clear Polling, show that Ossoff is ahead of Collins by around 9 to 10 percentage points.

Another contest that is drawing national attention is the race for the governorship of Georgia, which is virtually tied, although the most recent polls give a slight advantage to Republican Rick Jackson over Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms, who was the mayor of Atlanta.