Suburban women – the possible deciding factor in Georgia's election
It’s 10 a.m. on a slightly cloudy Saturday morning. Despite the light rain, around 30 to 40 people, including a diverse group of students from Athens, are gathered in a Gwinnett County parking lot.
They are preparing for canvassing and passing lawn signs for Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate Tim Walz, as well as for Jasmine Clark, a state representative who is running for re-election.
Clark knows the critical role of suburban women in the election. Knocking on their doors is her recipe for success.
Clark emphasized that while it’s one thing to set an expectation for people to vote, it makes a bigger impact when someone personally knocks on their door, expresses a strong desire for them to vote and explains the importance of heading to the polls.
On this day, Clark’s canvassing is in partnership with an initiative targeting Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities. The Asian population in the United States grew by 39%, and their population is projected to pass 35 million by 2060.
This growth is reflected in their increasing political influence, with voter registration among Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders rising by 43% recently, a rate more than double that of new Black and white voters, according to studies of the AAPI Data.
The data reflects the growing diversity that is being found in Atlanta suburbs. Once seen as predominantly white suburban mothers, today’s suburban women are younger and more racially and ethnically diverse, like Clark, who is Black.
This demographic shift has generally favored Democrats, with notable gains among suburban voters between 2016 and 2020, according to findings of the non-profit organization KFF.
However, the closer split in 2022 raises questions about which party will capture their support in the 2024 presidential race. According to Clark it all comes down to turnout.
“On Election night, one of the things that bothers me the most is the number of eligible voters. They are registered and they just don’t show up,” she notes. “So the question is, ‘but why?’ A lot of the time the answer to that is because nobody really has asked them to [vote].”
By the end of the morning, Clarke will have knocked on nearly two dozen doors. Although only a few people answer, she encourages those who have registered to vote to perhaps consider casting their votes for Democrats.
A couple of weeks earlier, 22 miles away in Alpharetta, the Fulton County Republican Women, a social group made of up metro Atlanta conservatives, hosted a luncheon that revolved around the upcoming November elections.
Women of all ages gathered around tables draped with white tablecloths, discussing the importance of winning suburban women’s votes. While most attendees were white, Mary Karp and her mother, who both identify as Hispanic and as lifelong Republicans, stand out.
“The Left doesn’t want to believe that a lot of minorities are diverse people who are Republican,” said Karp. “I mean I am Hispanic and it is very disenfranchising to have us targeted as this voting group when minorities don’t all think the same. ”
According to KFF’s survey of American women voters, inflation is the top issue for them in rural, urban and suburban areas.
Vice President Harris and former President Donald Trump have both campaigned on lowering costs. Karp argued that the left primarily focuses on abortion, overlooking other important issues such as the rising cost of groceries, the financial challenges women face due to inflation and the sacrifices they must make because they can’t afford personal indulgences.
With the state flipping blue in 2020 by just under 12,000 votes, every ballot matters this time around. Candidates from both parties are keenly aware that winning the hearts —and votes — of suburban women could very well decide Georgia’s political future. Perhaps even the nation’s political direction.
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