U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson is feeling optimistic about Hillary Clinton’s chances against Donald Trump coming out of what he called a great Democratic convention in Philadelphia.
The Democratic party endured a long primary battle between the former secretary of state and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders that went into June. However, Johnson said he felt the convention helped begin the process of bridging the divide between supporters of the two candidates as they turned their attention toward beating Trump in November.
Johnson was a super delegate at the convention, giving him an up close experience at the party gathering.
“It was about hope for tomorrow,” the congressman said of the convention. “It was about us, together, doing what needs to be done to make sure America is the place we all want it to be.”
Now that the primaries, caucuses, speculation over vice-president picks and the conventions are over with, the presidential race is now settling into its final phase. Clinton is riding a post-convention support bump, with many polls showing her leading.
Some Georgia-specific polls released earlier this week show Clinton tied with Trump or trailing him by a small margin in a state that Democratic presidential candidates have not won since 1992.
“I was heartened to see reports that Georgia is now a battle ground state,” Johnson. “With the recent polling coming out showing everything is neck-and-neck in Georgia, which is a red state, coming out of the convention is exciting.”
The congressman had endorsed Clinton’s presidential bid long before the convention, and he gave her high marks for her acceptance speech. He feels she showed that she will be able to unify people as president.
“It reaffirmed, as she’s told us before, what she believes in and what she will do as the commander-in chief, keeping us safe, protecting the values we all hold dear while making the economy work for everyone,” he said. “I thought her message was quite powerful.”
Johnson now sees Democrats, including both Clinton and Sanders supporters, rallying around the party’s nominee — even though Sanders supporters made sure their voices were heard early on in the convention. The Democratic platform adopted last week is mixture of goals both candidates had in their individual platforms during the primaries.
“The Sanders supporters got to exhibit their passion and cast their votes for the candidate of their choice,” Johnson said. “But when Sen. Sanders asked that they dispense with the counting of the votes and Mrs. Clinton be declared the nominee by unanimous consent — that was the unifying moment.”
Although Clinton and Trump are the most visible names in the presidential race, they are not the only candidates running for the office. Several third party candidates are running as well, including Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson and Green Party nominee Jill Stein.
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
I'm a Crawford Long baby who grew up in Marietta and eventually wandered to the University of Southern Mississippi for college. Earned a BA in journalism (double minor in political science and history). Previously worked in Florida and Clayton County.
According to the American Red Cross, winter is “one of the most difficult times of year to collect enough blood products to meet patient needs.” National Blood Donor Month has taken place each January since 1970. Find a blood drive here: https://www.redcrossblood.org/give.html/find-drive.
This poll is not scientific - results reflect opinions of respondents
Commented
Sorry, there are no recent results for popular commented articles.