2016_United_States_Senate_election_in_Georgia
The 2016 United States Senate election in Georgia was held November 8, 2016, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Georgia, concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. The primary election for the Republican and Democratic parties took place on May 24, 2016.[1]
See also: 2016 United States Senate elections
Quick Facts Nominee, Party ...
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 County results Congressional district results Precinct resultsIsakson: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Barksdale: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Tie: 40–50% 50% No data | |||||||||||||||||
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Incumbent Senator Johnny Isakson won re-election to a third term in office by a wide margin.[2] He later resigned from the Senate on December 31, 2019 due to health issues. As of 2024, this remains the last time Republicans won a Senate election in Georgia, as well as the last time that suburban Gwinnett and Henry counties have voted Republican in a statewide election. It also remains the last time that any statewide candidate has won an election in Georgia by double digits, and the last time that any U.S. Senate candidate in Georgia has won without a runoff. This is the most recent and the last United States Senate election in Georgia in which the winning candidate won a majority of Georgia's counties.
Candidates
Declared
- Mary Kay Bacallao, college professor, former Fayette County Board of Education member and candidate for State Superintendent of Schools in 2014[3]
- Derrick Grayson, MARTA engineer, minister and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2014[4][5]
- Johnny Isakson, incumbent U.S. Senator[2]
Withdrawn
- Lee Benedict, teacher and state senate candidate in 2007 (running for the Columbia County Commission)[5][6]
Declined
- Paul Broun, former U.S. Representative and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 1996 and 2014 (running for GA-09)[7][8]
- Tom Graves, U.S. Representative[9][10]
- Kelly Loeffler, owner of the Atlanta Dream and future U.S. Senator for this seat[11][12]
- Tom Price, U.S. Representative[9][13]
- Allen West, former U.S. Representative from Florida[2]
Endorsements
Johnny Isakson
- Governors
- U.S. Representatives
- Doug Collins, Georgia[14]
- Phil Gingrey, Georgia (former) and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2014[14]
- Tom Graves, Georgia[14]
- Jack Kingston, Georgia (former) and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2014[14]
- Barry Loudermilk, Georgia 11
- David Scott, Georgia (Democratic)
- Lynn Westmoreland, Georgia[15]
- State senators
- David Shafer, President Pro Tempore of the Georgia State Senate[14]
- State representatives
- David Ralston, Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives[14]
- Statewide officials
- Gary Black, Agriculture Commissioner[14]
- Casey Cagle, Lieutenant Governor of Georgia[14]
- Brian Kemp, Secretary of State of Georgia[14]
- Individuals
- Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard, 2010 Republican nominee for Senate in California, and 2016 presidential candidate[16]
Polling
More information Poll source, Date(s) administered ...
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Johnny Isakson |
Another candidate |
Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| InsiderAdvantage | June 11–14, 2015 | 492 | ± 4.4% | 50% | 26% | 24% |
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Results
Map legend
- Isakson—80–90%
- Isakson—70–80%
- Isakson—60–70%
- Isakson—50–60%
More information Party, Candidate ...
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Johnny Isakson (incumbent) | 447,661 | 77.50% | |
| Republican | Derrick Grayson | 69,101 | 11.96% | |
| Republican | Mary Kay Bacallao | 60,898 | 10.54% | |
| Total votes | 577,660 | 100.00% | ||
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Candidates
Declared
Withdrawn
- Jim Knox, information technologist and United States Air Force veteran[20][21]
Declined
- Stacey Abrams, Minority Leader of the Georgia House of Representatives[22][23]
- Thurbert Baker, former Attorney General of Georgia and candidate for governor in 2010[12]
- Roy Barnes, former governor[24]
- John Barrow, former U.S. Representative[25]
- Jason Carter, state senator and nominee for Governor of Georgia in 2014[22][24][26]
- Stacey Evans, state representative[22][27]
- Shirley Franklin, former Mayor of Atlanta[23][24][28]
- Scott Holcomb, state representative and candidate for secretary of state in 2006[23][24][29]
- Margaret Kaiser, state representative[22][30]
- Jim Marshall, former U.S. Representative[24]
- Michelle Nunn, former CEO of Points of Light and nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2014[24][26]
- Kasim Reed, Mayor of Atlanta[31]
- Michael Sterling, executive director of the Atlanta Workforce Development Agency, former Assistant United States Attorney and former adviser to Mayor Kasim Reed[28][32]
- Doug Stoner, former state senator[22][33]
- Ed Tarver, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia and former state senator[29][34]
- Regina Thomas, former state senator and candidate for GA-12 in 2008 and 2010[18][20]
- Teresa Tomlinson, Mayor of Columbus[35]
- Raphael Warnock, pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church and future U.S. Senator for this seat[23][36]
- Valarie Wilson, former president of the Georgia School Boards Association, former chair of the Decatur School Board, and nominee for State Superintendent of Schools in 2014[23][24]
Results
Map legend
- Barksdale—80–90%
- Barksdale—60–70%
- Barksdale—50–60%
- Barksdale—40–50%
- Copeland—40–50%
- Copeland—50–60%
- Copeland—60–70%
- Copeland—70–80%
More information Party, Candidate ...
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jim Barksdale | 166,627 | 53.74% | |
| Democratic | Cheryl Copeland | 130,822 | 42.19% | |
| Democratic | John Coyne | 12,604 | 4.07% | |
| Total votes | 310,053 | 100.00% | ||
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Candidates
Declared
- Allen Buckley, attorney, accountant, nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2004 and 2008 and nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Georgia in 2006[37]
- Ted Metz, insurance agent, former Cobb County Republican district chairman, and nominee for insurance commissioner in 2014[38]
Allen Buckley won the nomination at the March 5, 2016, nominating convention in Marietta.[39]
Debates
More information Dates, Location ...
| Dates | Location | Isakson | Barksdale | Buckley | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 21, 2016 | Atlanta, Georgia | Participant | Participant | Participant | Full debate - C-SPAN |
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Polling
 | Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org. |
More information Poll source, Date(s) administered ...
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Johnny Isakson (R) |
Jim Barksdale (D) |
Allen Buckley (L) |
Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SurveyMonkey | November 1–7, 2016 | 2,419 | ± 4.6% | 47% | 41% | 8% | — | 4% |
| WSB-TV/Landmark | November 6, 2016 | 1,200 | ± 2.8% | 52% | 41% | 4% | — | 3% |
| SurveyMonkey | October 31–November 6, 2016 | 2,348 | ± 4.6% | 47% | 41% | 8% | — | 4% |
| CBS News/YouGov | November 3–5, 2016 | 995 | ± 4.6% | 48% | 41% | — | 6% | 5% |
| WSB-TV/Landmark | November 2–3, 2016 | 1,000 | ± 3.1% | 50% | 40% | 5% | — | 6% |
| FOX 5 Atlanta/Opinion Savvy | November 2–3, 2016 | 538 | ± 4.2% | 50% | 39% | 8% | — | 3% |
| SurveyMonkey | October 28–November 3, 2016 | 2,872 | ± 4.6% | 47% | 42% | 8% | — | 3% |
| SurveyMonkey | October 27–November 2, 2016 | 2,722 | ± 4.6% | 47% | 42% | 7% | — | 4% |
| NBC/WSJ/Marist | October 30–November 1, 2016 | 707 LV | ± 3.7% | 48% | 37% | 7% | 3% | 5% |
| 937 RV | ± 3.2% | 46% | 36% | 8% | 4% | 7% | ||
| SurveyMonkey | October 26–November 1, 2016 | 2,678 | ± 4.6% | 48% | 41% | 6% | — | 5% |
| Emerson College | October 29–31, 2016 | 650 | ± 3.8% | 48% | 40% | — | 5% | 7% |
| SurveyMonkey | October 25–31, 2016 | 2,665 | ± 4.6% | 50% | 41% | 5% | — | 4% |
| WXIA-TV Atlanta/SurveyUSA | October 25–27, 2016 | 594 | ± 4.1% | 50% | 38% | 5% | — | 8% |
| Quinnipiac University Archived July 30, 2019, at the Wayback Machine | October 20–26, 2016 | 707 | ± 3.7% | 54% | 40% | — | — | 6% |
| FOX 5 Atlanta/Opinion Savvy | October 20, 2016 | 570 | ± 4.1% | 51% | 42% | 3% | — | 4% |
| Google Consumer Surveys | October 18–20, 2016 | 439 | ± 4.2% | 58% | 36% | — | — | 6% |
| Atlanta Journal Constitution Archived October 22, 2016, at the Wayback Machine | October 17–20, 2016 | 839 | ± 4.3% | 47% | 32% | 11% | — | 7% |
| The Times-Picayune/Lucid | October 17–18, 2016 | 807 | ± 3.0% | 49% | 39% | — | — | 13% |
| Washington Post/SurveyMonkey Archived October 19, 2016, at the Wayback Machine | October 8–16, 2016 | 886 | ± 0.5% | 50% | 46% | — | — | 4% |
| WSB-TV/Landmark | October 11–12, 2016 | 1,400 | ± 2.7% | 50% | 37% | 5% | — | 8% |
| JMC Analytics (R) | September 20–22, 2016 | 600 | ± 4.0% | 41% | 28% | 4% | — | 27% |
| Quinnipiac University Archived September 24, 2016, at the Wayback Machine | September 13–21, 2016 | 638 | ± 3.9% | 55% | 34% | — | — | 10% |
| Monmouth University | September 15–18, 2016 | 401 | ± 4.9% | 50% | 34% | 5% | — | 10% |
| FOX 5 Atlanta/Opinion Savvy | September 14, 2016 | 568 | ± 4.1% | 47% | 34% | 6% | — | 13% |
| Emerson College | September 9–13, 2016 | 600 | ± 3.6% | 48% | 32% | — | — | 10% |
| NBC/WSJ/Marist | September 6–8, 2016 | 649 | ± 3.8% | 53% | 38% | — | — | 9% |
| JMC Analytics (R) | August 6–7, 2016 | 615 | ± 4.0% | 39% | 30% | 4% | — | 27% |
| Atlanta Journal Constitution Archived August 6, 2016, at the Wayback Machine | August 1–4, 2016 | 847 | ± 4.0% | 44% | 38% | 6% | — | 12% |
| 48% | 42% | — | — | 10% | ||||
| WSB-TV/Landmark Archived August 10, 2016, at the Wayback Machine | July 31, 2016 | 787 | ± 4.0% | 46% | 41% | 5% | — | 8% |
| WXIA-TV Atlanta/SurveyUSA | July 29–31, 2016 | 570 | ± 4.2% | 48% | 39% | 5% | — | 8% |
| Public Policy Polling | May 27–30, 2016 | 724 | ± 3.6% | 47% | 35% | — | — | 18% |
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Predictions
More information Source, Ranking ...
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[40] | Likely R | November 2, 2016 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[41] | Safe R | November 7, 2016 |
| Rothenberg Political Report[42] | Safe R | November 3, 2016 |
| Daily Kos[43] | Safe R | November 8, 2016 |
| Real Clear Politics[44] | Likely R | November 7, 2016 |
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Results
More information Party, Candidate ...
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Johnny Isakson (incumbent) | 2,135,806 | 54.80% | -3.51% | |
| Democratic | Jim Barksdale | 1,599,726 | 41.04% | +2.04% | |
| Libertarian | Allen Buckley | 162,260 | 4.16% | +1.47% | |
| Total votes | 3,897,792 | 100.00% | N/A | ||
| Republican hold | |||||
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Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
- Chatham (largest municipality: Savannah)
- Douglas (largest town: Douglasville)
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
- Quitman (largest city: Georgetown)
- Twiggs (largest city: Jeffersonville)
- Terrell (largest city: Dawson)
- Randolph (largest city: Cuthbert)
- "Georgia | GA Elections". Archived from the original on November 17, 2015. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
- "Johnny Isakson to announce he will seek a third term". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. November 11, 2014. Archived from the original on November 11, 2014. Retrieved November 11, 2014.
- "Qualifying for Georgia's May primaries ends". WSB-TV. March 11, 2016. Archived from the original on March 12, 2016. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
- Malloy, Daniel (January 9, 2015). "It looks like Johnny Isakson has his first challenger". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on January 17, 2015. Retrieved January 15, 2015.
- "Tea Party Talk". Fetch Your News. June 16, 2015. Retrieved June 27, 2015.
- Lennon, Abbigail (March 13, 2016). "Columbia County incumbents faces opposition after qualifying ends". Columbia County News-Times. Archived from the original on March 14, 2016. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
- Wirth, Michelle (November 17, 2014). "Sen. Isakson Announces Re-Election Bid". WABE. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
- Bluestein, Greg (March 9, 2016). "Barry Loudermilk, Doug Collins attract two new primary challengers". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on March 10, 2016. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
- Wilson, Reid (November 12, 2014). "READ IN: Back To School Edition". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
- Wilson, Reid (November 18, 2014). "READ IN: Keystone's Klose Edition". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
- Bluestein, Greg (November 11, 2014). "Georgia's Isakson readies run for third Senate term — and seeks GOP unity". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on November 26, 2014. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
- Bluestein, Greg (May 5, 2015). "House speaker: 'You're going to hear more discussion' about horse racing". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on June 21, 2015. Retrieved June 20, 2015.
- Gould Sheinin, Aaron (March 7, 2016). "Qualifying opens for Georgia's 2016 elections". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on May 15, 2016. Retrieved March 7, 2016.
- Richards, Jon (November 17, 2014). "Johnny Isakson Announces Re-Election Bid". Peach Pundit. Archived from the original on November 21, 2014. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
- Joseph, Cameron (November 20, 2014). "Senator watching his back in reelection bid". The Hill. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
- @CarlyFiorina (October 14, 2016). "I'm proud to endorse @SenatorIsakson..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- "Official Results". Georgia Secretary of State. Retrieved July 20, 2016.
- Bluestein, Greg (March 10, 2016). "Party-backed Georgia Democrat qualifies for U.S. Senate seat". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on March 11, 2016. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
- "Southwest Georgia's congressional delegation qualifies for re-election". The Albany Herald. March 8, 2016. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
- Bluestein, Greg (March 6, 2016). "More Democrats come out of woodwork for Georgia Senate race". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
- Hankerson, Jazmyne (April 18, 2016). "Candidate changes affects May primary ballot". WFXL. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
- Cahn, Emily. "Republicans Line Up for Open Seats in Georgia | Farm Team". Roll Call. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
- Bluestein, Greg (October 2, 2015). "Pastor of MLK's church will not run for Georgia Senate seat". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on July 6, 2017. Retrieved October 3, 2015.
- Bluestein, Greg; Malloy, Daniel (April 28, 2015). "Georgia Democrats still searching for a 2016 Senate contender". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on June 14, 2015. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
- "John Barrow to teach at University of Georgia, signaling he's out for 2016". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. July 22, 2015. Archived from the original on July 23, 2015. Retrieved July 23, 2015.
- Schultheis, Emily (November 12, 2014). "Losing Democrats Already Being Touted for 2016 Comebacks". National Journal. Retrieved November 13, 2014.
- Bluestein, Greg (August 25, 2015). "Scouted for Senate run, Stacey Evans decides to stay in Georgia House". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on August 28, 2015. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
- Leslie, Katie (December 2, 2015). "Democrats vetting Reed ally for Senate race against Isakson". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on December 5, 2015. Retrieved December 3, 2015.
- Henry, Scott (March 3, 2016). "Johnny Isakson appears to scare off all potential challengers". Atlanta Magazine. Retrieved March 5, 2016.
- Bluestein, Greg; Malloy, Daniel (April 11, 2015). "Get ready for three open-seat House races in Atlanta". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on June 21, 2015. Retrieved June 20, 2015.
- Galloway, Jim (May 9, 2013). "Kasim Reed rules out a 2016 run for U.S. Senate". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on November 1, 2014. Retrieved October 31, 2014.
- Leslie, Katie (December 18, 2015). "Search for Democratic challenger to Isakson continues". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on December 21, 2015. Retrieved December 21, 2015.
- "Former state senator to run for Smyrna City Council". Marietta Daily Journal. July 6, 2015. Retrieved October 3, 2015.
- Bluestein, Greg (January 16, 2016). "Democrat Ed Tarver eyes a potential Senate bid". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on January 18, 2016. Retrieved January 18, 2016.
- Galloway, Jim (November 20, 2014). "DuBose Porter announces re-election bid as chairman of Georgia Democrats". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on May 28, 2015. Retrieved May 27, 2015.
- Bluestein, Greg; Malloy, Daniel (August 6, 2015). "Exclusive: Pastor of historic Ebenezer Baptist Church considers U.S. Senate run". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on August 7, 2015. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
- Bluestein, Greg; Malloy, Daniel (October 7, 2015). "Johnny Isakson draws a Libertarian challenger as he raises another $1 million". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on October 8, 2015. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
- Bluestein, Greg; Malloy, Daniel (November 19, 2015). "Johnny Isakson gets an opponent — a Libertarian one". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on November 22, 2015. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
- "Libertarian Nomination". politics.blog.ajc.com. Archived from the original on May 24, 2016. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
- "2016 Senate Race Ratings for November 2, 2016". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
- "2016 Senate". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved September 19, 2016.
- "2016 Senate Ratings". Senate Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
- "Daily Kos Election 2016 forecast: The final version". Daily Kos. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
- "Battle for the Senate 2016". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved October 28, 2016.
- "General Election November 8, 2016". Georgia Secretary of State. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
- Official campaign websites