ATLANTA — Georgia’s upcoming U.S. Senate race is considered among the most likely in the U.S. to flip from Democrat to Republican, according to CNN and other news outlets.
Democrat Raphael Warnock will defend the seat he won just six months ago.
Republicans are waiting for former UGA football star Herschel Walker to decide whether he wants to run for the US Senate. However, Republican Gary Black made the call weeks ago to run.
Agriculture commissioner is an office easily overlooked in metro Atlanta – though Black’s name appears on every gasoline pump in Georgia.
Black has high visibility in rural Georgia where Republican voters dominate. In 2018, Black helped growers manage the effects of President Trump’s trade war with China. Trump has been encouraging Herschel Walker to run in Georgia.
"Commissioner Black is betting on his experience and his network that he’s used to win statewide races time and time again," said Dr. Andra Gillespie, an Emory University political scientist.
Gillespie said Black's experience should "be strong enough to offset a challenge by somebody with no experience who just has the endorsement of the former President of the United States."
Election results indicate Black is already Georgia’s most popular Republican. Black got more votes than Brian Kemp in 2018, and more votes than Nathan Deal in 2014 and 2010. Black will turn 64 by election day 2022.
Republican political newcomers Latham Saddler and Kelvin King have also entered the race to face Warnock.
"I think we’ll have a good debate among Republicans," said Black, who went to UGA when Walker played football there. "When all that’s said and done, we’ll come together. And when we all turn out, it will still be a red state."
Unlike Walker, Black didn’t move to Texas after they both left UGA. Black made his first statewide race in Georgia 15 years ago – and expects to continue his winning streak next year.