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2006 Georgia's 4th congressional district election

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2006 Georgia's 4th congressional district election

← 2004 November 7, 2006 2008 →
  Hank Johnson, official 110th Congress photo portrait.jpg
Nominee Hank Johnson Catherine Davis
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 106,352 34,778
Percentage 75.4% 24.6%

U.S. Representative before election

Cynthia McKinney
Democratic

Elected U.S. Representative

Hank Johnson
Democratic

The 2006 Georgia's 4th congressional district election was an election for the United States House of Representatives. The general election was held on November 7, 2006. However, the 4th was a heavily Democratic district, with the Democratic primary viewed as the more important contest. In that primary, DeKalb County Commissioner Hank Johnson upset the incumbent, Cynthia McKinney.

Johnson went on to defeat Republican Catherine Davis, a human resources manager and GOP activist, in November to become the district's Representative.

Discover more about 2006 Georgia's 4th congressional district election related topics

Election

Election

An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office.

United States House of Representatives

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together, they comprise the national bicameral legislature of the United States.

DeKalb County, Georgia

DeKalb County, Georgia

DeKalb County is located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 764,382, making it Georgia's fourth-most populous county. Its county seat is Decatur.

Hank Johnson

Hank Johnson

Henry Calvin Johnson Jr. is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Georgia's 4th congressional district since 2007. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district is anchored in Atlanta's inner eastern suburbs, including Decatur, Conyers, Lithonia, Lilburn and a sliver of Atlanta itself. Johnson is one of only three Buddhists to have served in the United States Congress. The others are Senator Mazie Hirono and former Representative Colleen Hanabusa, both of Hawaii.

Cynthia McKinney

Cynthia McKinney

Cynthia Ann McKinney is an American politician, academic, and conspiracy theorist. As a member of the Democratic Party, she served six terms in the United States House of Representatives. She was the first African American woman elected to represent Georgia in the House. She left the Democratic Party and ran in 2008 as the presidential nominee of the Green Party. She ran for vice president in 2020 after the Green Party of Alaska formally nominated her and draft-nominated Jesse Ventura for president. She is currently a professor in Political Science at North South University in Bangladesh.

Primary campaign

Johnson portrayed himself as the more reasonable Democratic Party candidate; an alternative to the highly controversial McKinney. On December 21, 2005, Johnson commented during the press conference announcing his decision to run, that "The Fourth District faces serious problems of traffic and transportation, public safety, healthcare and education. I'm a nuts-and-bolts public servant. My record speaks for itself. I am committed to getting results for those [who] made me their County Commissioner. I will bring that same approach to representing the District in the 110th Congress."[1]

Democratic primary election

McKinney finished first in the July 18, 2006, Democratic primary, edging Johnson, 47.1% to 44.4%, with a third candidate receiving 8.5%.[2] Since McKinney failed to get a majority of the votes, she and Johnson were forced into a runoff.

Georgia's 4th congressional district Democratic primary election, 2006[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Cynthia McKinney (incumbent) 29,216 47.1
Democratic Hank Johnson 27,529 44.4
Democratic John Coyne 5,253 8.5
Total votes 61,998 100

McKinney had been favored to win. Her narrow margin in the primary, and failure to get 50% of the vote surprised some observers. Those results focused attention on the challenger, Johnson, and changed the perception of the race. Voter interest increased with the realization of McKinney's vulnerability, and Johnson's level of support. Almost 62,000 people voted in the primary; slightly over 70,000 voted in the runoff.

Democratic primary runoff campaign

Johnson continued to stress his ability to get along with people. He told a reporter for USA Today, "I'm going to be an effective legislator," and "I'm not going to be a divisive one."[4]

Both campaigns went negative. McKinney criticized Johnson for receiving $16,000 in donations from Republicans. Johnson responded that he was a "lifelong Democrat" and that the money McKinney criticized was small compared to the $130,000 in donations he took in before the primary vote. Johnson pointed out that McKinney has received large donations from donors from New York and Los Angeles, while most of his support had come from within the Congressional district.[5]

Johnson raised questions about McKinney's controversial confrontation with a U.S. Capitol police officer. During the second debate on August 5, 2006, Johnson pointed to the Capitol Hill incident as an example of what he has called McKinney's embarrassing leadership in office.[6] Johnson also raised questions about McKinney missing votes in Congress. He specifically asked about her missing a vote to extend the National Voting Rights Act of 1965: "If the Voting Rights Act is not important enough for you to show up, then what is important enough for you to show up?"

A reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, commenting on the appearance of Johnson and McKinney in the second debate, said that Johnson showed confidence and knowledge of the issues, while McKinney "seemed rattled and frustrated at times" and that she "refused to directly answer some questions from the panel."[7]

In the period leading up to the primary election, McKinney had $282,000 in total campaign receipts compared to $170,000 for Johnson. Between the primary and the runoff, Johnson doubled his contributions; taking in nearly three times the amount that McKinney did during the same period.[8]

Use of the internet and blogosphere

Johnson's aggressive use of the internet to court supporters and attract national attention to the race was noted by national political media. The National Journal wrote that of all Congressional candidates nationwide in 2006, "Johnson had the most unique blog strategy by far."[9] In July, another National Journal article dubbed Johnson a "staple of the blogosphere."[10]

Blogger Joe Gandelman wrote about Johnson's candidacy, driving traffic to his campaign web site. After he observed that Johnson was posting on multiple prominent political blogs, Gandelman wrote, "These are fascinating posts -- worth the attention of readers of all persuasions -- because they show a candidate taking full advantage of Internet technology to directly spread his word and also (not a small matter) a candidate who's offering voters a different style of representation."[10]

The National Journal went on to tout Johnson's use of the internet to defeat McKinney as the number-three blog story of 2006.[11]

Polls and predictions for the primary runoff

The first poll on the race was done right after the primary on July 26, 2006. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that a poll by InsiderAdvantage "shows challenger Hank Johnson with a hefty lead over incumbent Cynthia McKinney in the Democratic runoff for the 4th District congressional race. The poll shows Johnson leading McKinney, 46 to 21 percent, with a third of voters undecided."[12]

Insider Advantage took a second poll on July 31, 2006. Johnson still led McKinney, but by a smaller margin of 49 to 34 percent, with 17 percent undecided. InsiderAdvantage CEO Matt Towery commented that "There has been some shift in African American voters in McKinney’s direction. However, the black vote remains split with local black leaders endorsing Johnson, who is trouncing McKinney among eligible white voters.[13]

A poll taken on August 3, 2006, indicated that Johnson was leading McKinney heading into the final weekend before the runoff election. The poll of 300 eligible voters found that Johnson's support was at 52 percent and McKinney's support was at 39 percent, the first time that a poll placed Johnson above the 50 percent level. The poll only had nine percent undecideds.[14] Early voting in the Fourth Congressional District was high.[15]

The last poll by InsiderAdvantage before the primary runoff election, taken on August 6, 2006, gave the impression that Johnson had strengthened his lead in the race against McKinney. The poll showed Johnson leading McKinney, 53 percent to 40 percent. Seven percent were undecided.[16]

Based upon historical results in Georgia runoff elections, many experts in Georgia politics believed that Johnson was the favorite to win the runoff election. University of Georgia political science professor Charles Bullock said that McKinney would probably lose because historically most incumbents forced into a runoff in Georgia do. "There is blood in the water and the sharks are circling," Bullock concluded.[17] Merle Black, a political science professor at Emory University in Atlanta, expressed a similar sentiment, "An incumbent who is forced into a runoff is a serious sign of weakness. Johnson’s vote will go up, he’ll raise a lot of money, and the momentum has gone over to Johnson.[18]

Discover more about Democratic primary runoff campaign related topics

USA Today

USA Today

USA Today is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virginia. Its newspaper is printed at 37 sites across the United States and at five additional sites internationally. The paper's dynamic design influenced the style of local, regional, and national newspapers worldwide through its use of concise reports, colorized images, informational graphics, and inclusion of popular culture stories, among other distinct features.

Republican Party (United States)

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party, also referred to as the GOP, is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States. The GOP was founded in 1854 by anti-slavery activists who opposed the Kansas–Nebraska Act, which allowed for the potential expansion of chattel slavery into the western territories. It has been the main political rival of the Democratic Party since the mid-1850s. Like them, the Republican Party is a big tent of competing and often opposing ideologies. Presently, the Republican Party contains prominent conservative, centrist, populist, and right-libertarian factions.

New York City

New York City

New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over 300.46 square miles (778.2 km2), New York City is the most densely populated major city in the United States and more than twice as populous as Los Angeles, the nation's second-largest city. New York City is located at the southern tip of New York State. It constitutes the geographical and demographic center of both the Northeast megalopolis and the New York metropolitan area, the largest metropolitan area in the U.S. by both population and urban area. With over 20.1 million people in its metropolitan statistical area and 23.5 million in its combined statistical area as of 2020, New York is one of the world's most populous megacities, and over 58 million people live within 250 mi (400 km) of the city. New York City is a global cultural, financial, entertainment, and media center with a significant influence on commerce, health care and life sciences, research, technology, education, politics, tourism, dining, art, fashion, and sports. Home to the headquarters of the United Nations, New York is an important center for international diplomacy, and is sometimes described as the capital of the world.

Los Angeles

Los Angeles

Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Southern California. Los Angeles is the largest city in the state of California, the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, and one of the world's most populous megacities. With a population of roughly 3.9 million residents within the city limits as of 2020, Los Angeles is known for its Mediterranean climate, ethnic and cultural diversity, being the home of the Hollywood film industry, and its sprawling metropolitan area. The majority of the city proper lies in a basin in Southern California adjacent to the Pacific Ocean in the west and extending partly through the Santa Monica Mountains and north into the San Fernando Valley, with the city bordering the San Gabriel Valley to its east. It covers about 469 square miles (1,210 km2), and is the county seat of Los Angeles County, which is the most populous county in the United States with an estimated 9.86 million residents as of 2022.

United States Capitol

United States Capitol

The United States Capitol, often called The Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the seat of the United States Congress, the legislative branch of the federal government. It is located on Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Though no longer at the geographic center of the federal district, the Capitol forms the origin point for the street-numbering system of the district as well as its four quadrants.

Police officer

Police officer

A police officer is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the rank "officer" is legally reserved for military personnel.

National Journal

National Journal

National Journal is an advisory services company based in Washington, D.C., offering services in government affairs, advocacy communications, stakeholder mapping, and policy brands research for government and business leaders. It publishes daily journalism covering politics and public policy and is led by president Kevin Turpin, National Journal Daily editor-in-chief Jeff Dufour, and The Hotline editor-in-chief Kirk Bado.

University of Georgia

University of Georgia

The University of Georgia is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia. Founded in 1785, it is one of the oldest public universities in the United States. The flagship school of the University System of Georgia, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public universities in the United States.

Merle Black

Merle Black

P. Merle Black is a retired American political scientist. He was formerly Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Political Science at Emory University. He specializes in Southern politics, particularly in the 20th and 21st centuries.

Political science

Political science

Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political institutions, political thought and behavior, and associated constitutions and laws.

Emory University

Emory University

Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as Emory College by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of higher education in Georgia.

Atlanta

Atlanta

Atlanta is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, although a portion of the city extends into neighboring DeKalb County. With a population of 498,715 living within the city limits, it is the eighth most populous city in the Southeast and 38th most populous city in the United States according to the 2020 U.S. census. It is the core of the much larger Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to more than 6.1 million people, making it the eighth-largest metropolitan area in the United States. Situated among the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains at an elevation of just over 1,000 feet (300 m) above sea level, it features unique topography that includes rolling hills, lush greenery, and the most dense urban tree coverage of any major city in the United States.

Democratic primary runoff election, August 2006

On August 8, 2006, in the runoff, Johnson won a decisive victory:

Georgia's 4th congressional district Democratic primary election runoff, 2006[19]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Hank Johnson 41,178 58.8
Democratic Cynthia McKinney (incumbent) 28,832 41.2
Total votes 70,010 100

In his victory speech, Johnson commented on the Democratic primary campaign and on future prospects: "“What we have done today is something that has been watched by the nation. It is clear, where most people have a low opinion of the work of our Congress, that they want to see things done differently."[20]

During her concession speech, McKinney praised leaders in Cuba and Venezuela and blamed the media and electronic voting machines for her defeat.[21][22]

November general election

The 4th District is a 60% black-majority district, and is heavily Democratic. Johnson defeated the GOP candidate, human resources manager Catherine Davis, in the November 7 general election, winning 76% of the vote—one of the largest percentages for a Democrat in a contested election, and the largest in the history of the district.

Davis was the 2004 Republican nominee but lost to McKinney by nearly 30 percentage points. The district supported Democrat John Kerry for President that same year with 71 percent of the vote.

Georgia's 4th congressional district election results, 2006
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Hank Johnson 106,352 75.4
Republican Catherine Davis 34,778 24.6
Total votes 141,130 100
Democratic hold
Source: Georgia Secretary of State Archived 2007-06-14 at the Wayback Machine

Discover more about November general election related topics

John Kerry

John Kerry

John Forbes Kerry is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 under Barack Obama and as a United States senator from Massachusetts from 1985 to 2013. He was the Democratic nominee for president of the United States in the 2004 election, losing to incumbent President George W. Bush.

2004 United States presidential election

2004 United States presidential election

The 2004 United States presidential election was the 55th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 2, 2004. The Republican ticket of incumbent President George W. Bush and his running mate incumbent Vice President Dick Cheney were elected to a second term, defeating the Democratic ticket of John Kerry, a United States senator from Massachusetts and his running mate John Edwards, a United States senator from North Carolina. As of 2020, this is the only presidential election since 1988 in which the Republican nominee won the popular vote. Due to the higher turnout, both major party nominees set records for the most popular votes received by a major party candidate for president; both men surpassed Reagan's record from 20 years earlier. At the time, Bush's 62,040,610 votes were the most received by any nominee for president, although this record would be broken four years later by Barack Obama. Bush also became the only incumbent president to win re-election after previously losing the popular vote.

Democratic Party (United States)

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States. Founded in 1828, it was predominantly built by Martin Van Buren, who assembled politicians in every state behind war hero Andrew Jackson, making it the world's oldest active political party. Its main political rival has been the Republican Party since the 1850s, with both parties being big tents of competing and often opposing viewpoints. Modern American liberalism — a variant of social liberalism — is the party's majority ideology. The party also has notable centrist, social democratic, and left-libertarian factions.

Republican Party (United States)

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party, also referred to as the GOP, is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States. The GOP was founded in 1854 by anti-slavery activists who opposed the Kansas–Nebraska Act, which allowed for the potential expansion of chattel slavery into the western territories. It has been the main political rival of the Democratic Party since the mid-1850s. Like them, the Republican Party is a big tent of competing and often opposing ideologies. Presently, the Republican Party contains prominent conservative, centrist, populist, and right-libertarian factions.

Wayback Machine

Wayback Machine

The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by the Internet Archive, a nonprofit based in San Francisco, California. Created in 1996 and launched to the public in 2001, it allows the user to go "back in time" and see how websites looked in the past. Its founders, Brewster Kahle and Bruce Gilliat, developed the Wayback Machine to provide "universal access to all knowledge" by preserving archived copies of defunct web pages.

Source: "2006 Georgia's 4th congressional district election", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2023, March 14th), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Georgia's_4th_congressional_district_election.

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References
  1. ^ Congressional Desk (2005-12-21). "Hank Johnson Announces Congressional Campaign Against Cynthia McKinney". American Chronicle. Archived from the original on 2007-12-12. Retrieved 2006-08-04.
  2. ^ "Georgia Election Results: Official Results of the July 18, 2006 Primary Election". Georgia Secretary of State. 2006-07-16. Archived from the original on 2012-07-22. Retrieved 2006-08-08.
  3. ^ "United States Representative - 4th District". sos.ga.gov. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  4. ^ Lawrence, Jill (2006-08-03). "Georgia lawmaker in scuffle now in 'fight of career'". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2006-08-04.
  5. ^ Dave, Williams (2006-08-04). "Low-key primary turns into high-profile runoff". Gwinnett (Georgia) Daily Post. Retrieved 2006-08-04.
  6. ^ Haines, Errin (2006-08-05). "McKinney and Johnson square off in debate". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 2006-08-22. Retrieved 2006-08-05.
  7. ^ Suggs, Ernie (2006-08-06). "How Johnson, McKinney fared in debate". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved 2006-08-06.
  8. ^ Jeffrey L., Austin (2006-08-04). "Johnson Draws in Dollars as Runoff With McKinney Nears". CQPolitics.com. Archived from the original on 2006-10-27. Retrieved 2006-08-06.
  9. ^ Glover, Danny (2006-08-15). "The Online Curse Of Incumbency". National Journal. Archived from the original on 2006-08-30. Retrieved 2008-04-28.
  10. ^ a b Glover, Danny (2006-07-27). "The Run-Off Blog Battle In Georgia". National Journal. Archived from the original on 2008-02-09. Retrieved 2008-04-28.
  11. ^ Glover, Danny (2007-01-12). "Blog Power: The Top 10 Blog Stories Of 2006". National Journal. Archived from the original on 2008-01-02. Retrieved 2008-04-28.
  12. ^ Galloway, Jim (2006-07-27). "Poll: Johnson has lead over McKinney". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on 2006-10-16. Retrieved 2006-08-04.
  13. ^ Michael (2006-08-01). "Poll: Johnson Leads McKinney by 15". WXIA-TV 11 Alive Atlanta. Archived from the original on 2006-08-03. Retrieved 2006-08-04.
  14. ^ King, Michael (2006-08-04). "Poll: McKinney Trails Johnson 52-39". WXIA-TV 11 Alive Atlanta. Retrieved 2006-08-05.
  15. ^ Elaine, Reyes (2006-08-01). "Early Voting Brisk in 4th District". WXIA-TV 11 Alive Atlanta. Retrieved 2006-08-05.
  16. ^ Borghese, Matthew (2006-08-07). "Poll Shows Incumbent Cynthia McKinney Still Trailing Rival". All Headline News. Archived from the original on 2006-09-22. Retrieved 2006-08-07.
  17. ^ McCaffrey, Shannon (2006-08-04). "McKinney Must Fend Off Primary Challenge". Associated Press. Archived from the original on February 24, 2004. Retrieved 2006-08-04.
  18. ^ Kaplan, Jonathan E.; Josephine Hearn (2006-07-20). "McKinney faces runoff; CBC divided". The Hill. Retrieved 2006-08-07.
  19. ^ "WSBTV.com - Politics". 13 August 2006. Archived from the original on 13 August 2006. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  20. ^ Redmon, Jeremy; Nancy Badertscher (2006-08-09). "Johnson basks in big victory over McKinney". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved 2006-08-09.
  21. ^ "AP Wire | 08/09/2006 | McKinney has fellow Democrats to blame for her loss". Archived from the original on 2006-09-05. Retrieved 2006-08-10.
  22. ^ "CNN.com - McKinney beaten but unbowed - Aug 9, 2006". Archived from the original on August 31, 2006.
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