Ballotpedia interview: Newt Gingrich on the Georgia special election
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| Special Election: April 18, 2017 Runoff Election: June 20, 2017 Election Winner: Karen Handel  Incumbent: Tom Price (R) |
| Cook Political Report: Toss-up[2] Sabato's Crystal Ball: Toss-up[3] Rothenberg & Gonzales: Pure Toss-up[4] |
On March 31, 2017, former Speaker of the House and U.S. Representative from Georgia's 6th District (1979-1999) Newt Gingrich spoke with Ballotpedia's Federal Desk Editor, Sarah Rosier, about the 6th District special election in Georgia and his endorsement of candidate Judson Hill. Below you will find a transcript of the conversation.
Sarah Rosier: What made you decide to endorse Sen. Hill in this race?
Newt Gingrich: He’s an old friend and we’ve worked together a long time. He’s a solid conservative. And I think he’s earned it. He’s a guy who I think is reliable. He has a proven record. And he’d make a very good congressman.
SR: One thing we’ve been closely monitoring has been the “endorsement race” in this district. We’ve seen the high-profile endorsements from both you and Sen. Rubio for Mr. Hill, a few notable ones for Handel, and then Gray receiving the Club for Growth endorsement. Why do you think we saw such a split in endorsements here, and do you think it will affect this race?
NG: Well, I think, obviously, you’d love to have everybody back your candidate, but I think with this large of a field, you’re going to have different people with different relationships. They will have to sort themselves out. Then whoever the Republican is in the runoff, I think we’ll all unite behind them. My hope is for Judson Hill.
SR: Could an influx of endorsements in the final two weeks cause Republican voters to make late decisions? Possibly even at the voting booth?
NG: I noticed that Bernie Marcus, who is very respected as the founder of Home Depot, endorsed Judson, and you might see other business leaders like that. This would be the right time for people to try to have an impact on the race.
SR: Are you concerned about the recent press indicating there’s a chance that Ossoff could take the election on April 18th and surpass the 50 percent requirement?
NG: Go and interview Sen. Michelle Nunn. She was the last great liberal fantasy to come out of Georgia. Could he? Of course. It’s a matter of turnout. If the Democrats do a brilliant job of turnout, maybe he could get 50. It’s not likely in a field that big. It’s more likely that he’ll be in the 40s, probably the low 40s. The last poll I’ve seen had him at 40 and the leading Republican at 20.
Could you get in a big fight over the health bill? He’s got to find an issue that reaches beyond the Democratic Party. If he could, and turn it into a referendum… The problem he’s got is that he will get in the runoff, but he has to have in the runoff some unique issue other than personality that compels people to vote for him or that keeps Republicans at home.
SR: What's the winning strategy going to be here from the Republican perspective, Speaker Gingrich?
NG: I would ask Ossoff one question and only one question: Did you vote for Hillary Clinton?
In 2016, Secretary Price still enjoyed a comfortable margin of victory in his election, but Democrats closed the gap in the presidential, with President Trump winning by only 1.5 percentage points over Clinton, compared to Romney pulling a 23.3-point margin over President Obama. Why do you think Democrats were able to make such gains in the district?
SR: Do you think that will affect this race?
NG: The last survey I saw showed that in that district, he’s now at 64 percent approval. I think you just say, look, she would have nominated a liberal to the SCOTUS, Trump nominated a conservative. He’s strengthening America’s military, she would have weakened it. Just turn it into a straight liberal/conservative race and in the general that should be enough.
SR: Do you think the district has gotten more liberal over the past decade or two?
NG: Marginally, maybe on social issues. But it’s still a very high-income district that doesn’t particularly like bureaucracy and doesn’t like high taxes and has an instinctive belief in a strong military. I think it’s still largely conservative.
SR: Does this race remind you of any others in the past? Especially from your history background, have we seen such a significant race this early in an administration?
NG: Sure. We picked up a Minnesota special election when Carter appointed a Minnesota congressman to be secretary of agriculture. We won that special. We fought like crazy when I was speaker and won for Tom Campbell to win the special in Northern California. We knew that if we did, it would be a barometer for people to do exactly what we’re doing here. This is, historically, something the party works at. I do think Republicans have to pay attention, and I think it would be a big mistake to allow this district to go to Ossoff, partly because of the psychology nationally, and partly because once a relatively talented person gets in office, it’s really hard to get rid of them. In that sense, it’s certainly important and I would not understate the importance of our winning the race. But I also know that virtually every Republican group in Washington is focused on it and a lot of different people are going to be helpful. We should be able to win the general.
Frankly, Governor Deal has a great deal of popularity across the board, and I believe he will be actively in favor of our candidate as well as the two senators. We have a pretty good bench in Georgia, the opposite of my childhood when I started in this business.
SR: In order to help our readers figure out which candidate aligns with their values—in this case as a Republican voter—what do we need to tell our readers from this district so they really can tell the difference between these three? What separates Hill from Gray from Handel?
NG: In Hill’s case, he is an experienced state senator who is consistently conservative. He’s had the courage to even buck the governor when necessary. I admire his tenacity and his willingness to put his values first, so I think Hill is a proven quality and has shown he has real leadership capabilities. That’s why I’m for him.
Plus, to be honest, he’s a very old personal friend. He helped me in every one of my campaigns, and I know him to be somebody to rely on.
SR: Why do you feel Handel is currently pulling ahead? Is it name recognition or something else?
NG: Handel’s tradition is that she does very well with name ID and then collapses. I saw one survey that on an informed ballot, she drops from 20 to 13 very rapidly, and I have every reason to believe that in the next two weeks, people will have that information. She is the frontrunner. She has a shot of getting into the runoff. I think she would be the weakest Republican candidate in the runoff because of her bad relationship with the governor.
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ Race ratings from outside sources are their initial ratings for the 2018 election.
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "2018 House Race Ratings for April 10, 2017," accessed April 11, 2017
- ↑ Sabato's Crystal Ball, "Initial 2018 House Ratings," accessed April 11, 2017
- ↑ Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report, "House Ratings," accessed April 11, 2017
