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Georgia's 2nd Congressional District election, 2018

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General election

General election for U.S. House Georgia District 2

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Sanford Bishop Jr.
Sanford Bishop Jr. (D)
 
59.6
 
136,699
Image of Herman West Jr.
Herman West Jr. (R)
 
40.4
 
92,472

Total votes: 229,171
(100.00% precincts reporting)
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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2020
2016
Georgia's 2nd Congressional District
Ballotpedia Election Coverage Badge.png
Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: March 9, 2018
Primary: May 22, 2018
Primary runoff: July 24, 2018 (if needed)
General: November 6, 2018
General runoff: January 8, 2019 (if needed)

Pre-election incumbent:
Sanford Bishop, Jr. (Democrat)
How to vote
Poll times: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Voting in Georgia
Race ratings
Cook Partisan Voter Index (2018): D+6
Cook Political Report: Solid Democratic
Inside Elections: Solid Democratic
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Democratic
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds
U.S. House battlegrounds
Federal and state primary competitiveness
Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2018
See also
Georgia's 2nd Congressional District
1st2nd3rd4th5th6th7th8th9th10th11th12th13th14th
Georgia elections, 2018
U.S. Congress elections, 2018
U.S. Senate elections, 2018
U.S. House elections, 2018

All U.S. congressional districts, including the 2nd Congressional District of Georgia, held elections in 2018.

Heading into the election the incumbent was Sanford Bishop, Jr. (D), who was first elected in 1992.

Georgia's 2nd Congressional District is one of the largest districts by size, and it takes in most of the southwestern fourth of the state. The district includes Baker, Calhoun, Chattahoochee, Clay, Crawford, Crisp, Decatur, Dooly, Dougherty, Early, Grady, Lee, Macon, Marion, Miller, Mitchell, Peach, Quitman, Randolph, Schley, Seminole, Stewart, Sumter, Talbot, Taylor, Terrell, and Webster counties. Portions of Bibb County and Muscogee County also lie within the district.[2]



Candidates and election results

General election

General election for U.S. House Georgia District 2

Incumbent Sanford Bishop Jr. defeated Herman West Jr. in the general election for U.S. House Georgia District 2 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Sanford Bishop Jr.
Sanford Bishop Jr. (D)
 
59.6
 
136,699
Image of Herman West Jr.
Herman West Jr. (R)
 
40.4
 
92,472

Total votes: 229,171
(100.00% precincts reporting)
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Georgia District 2

Incumbent Sanford Bishop Jr. advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Georgia District 2 on May 22, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Sanford Bishop Jr.
Sanford Bishop Jr.
 
100.0
 
42,855

Total votes: 42,855
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Georgia District 2

Herman West Jr. advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Georgia District 2 on May 22, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Herman West Jr.
Herman West Jr.
 
100.0
 
23,147

Total votes: 23,147
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

District analysis

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index
See also: FiveThirtyEight's elasticity scores

The 2017 Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was D+6, meaning that in the previous two presidential elections, this district's results were 6 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made Georgia's 2nd Congressional District the 158th most Democratic nationally.[3]

FiveThirtyEight's September 2018 elasticity score for states and congressional districts measured "how sensitive it is to changes in the national political environment." This district's elasticity score was 0.89. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 0.89 points toward that party.[4]

Campaign finance

The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.

Name Party Receipts* Disbursements** Cash on hand Date
Sanford Bishop Jr. Democratic Party $1,169,113 $1,273,000 $92,416 As of December 31, 2018
Herman West Jr. Republican Party $22,549 $17,110 $0 As of December 31, 2018

Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2018. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee."
** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election.


District history

2016

See also: Georgia's 2nd Congressional District election, 2016

Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Democratic. Incumbent Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (D) defeated Greg Duke (R) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Bishop faced no primary opposition, while Duke defeated Diane Vann to win the Republican nomination. The primary elections took place on May 24, 2016.[5][6]

U.S. House, Georgia District 2 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngSanford Bishop, Jr. Incumbent 61.2% 148,543
     Republican Greg Duke 38.8% 94,056
Total Votes 242,599
Source: Georgia Secretary of State


U.S. House, Georgia District 2 Republican Primary, 2016
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngGreg Duke 79% 12,959
Diane Vann 21% 3,446
Total Votes 16,405
Source: Georgia Secretary of State

2014

See also: Georgia's 2nd Congressional District elections, 2014

The 2nd Congressional District of Georgia held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. Incumbent Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (D) defeated Greg Duke (R) in the general election.

U.S. House, Georgia District 2 General Election, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngSanford Bishop Incumbent 59.15% 96,363
     Republican Greg Duke 40.85% 66,573
Total Votes 162,936
Source: Georgia Secretary of State

Pivot Counties

See also: Pivot Counties by state

Five of 159 Georgia counties—3.14 percent—are pivot counties. These are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 pivot counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.

Counties won by Trump in 2016 and Obama in 2012 and 2008
County Trump margin of victory in 2016 Obama margin of victory in 2012 Obama margin of victory in 2008
Baker County, Georgia 8.68% 0.57% 1.07%
Dooly County, Georgia 2.05% 6.98% 3.53%
Peach County, Georgia 2.91% 7.48% 6.75%
Quitman County, Georgia 10.92% 9.04% 7.90%
Twiggs County, Georgia 1.58% 8.64% 6.97%

In the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump (R) won Georgia with 50.8 percent of the vote. Hillary Clinton (D) received 45.6 percent. In presidential elections between 1900 and 2016, Georgia voted Democratic 63.33 percent of the time and Republican 36.67 percent of the time. Georgia voted Republican in every presidential election from 2000 to 2016.

Presidential results by legislative district

The following table details results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections by state House districts in Georgia. Click [show] to expand the table. The "Obama," "Romney," "Clinton," and "Trump" columns describe the percent of the vote each presidential candidate received in the district. The "2012 Margin" and "2016 Margin" columns describe the margin of victory between the two presidential candidates in those years. The "Party Control" column notes which party held that seat heading into the 2018 general election. Data on the results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections broken down by state legislative districts was compiled by Daily Kos.[7][8]

In 2012, Barack Obama (D) won 64 out of 180 state House districts in Georgia with an average margin of victory of 45.5 points. In 2016, Hillary Clinton (D) won 74 out of 180 state House districts in Georgia with an average margin of victory of 42.3 points. Clinton won 14 districts controlled by Republicans heading into the 2018 elections.
In 2012, Mitt Romney (R) won 116 out of 180 state House districts in Georgia with an average margin of victory of 36.6 points. In 2016, Donald Trump (R) won 106 out of 180 state House districts in Georgia with an average margin of victory of 36.8 points. Trump won four districts controlled by Democrats heading into the 2018 elections.


State overview

Partisan control

This section details the partisan control of federal and state positions in Georgia heading into the 2018 elections.

Congressional delegation

State executives

State legislature

  • Republicans controlled both chambers of the Georgia General Assembly. They had a 114-64 majority in the state House and a 37-19 majority in the state Senate.

Trifecta status

2018 elections

See also: Georgia elections, 2018

Georgia held elections for the following positions in 2018:

Demographics

Demographic data for Georgia
 GeorgiaU.S.
Total population:10,199,398316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):57,5133,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:60.2%73.6%
Black/African American:30.9%12.6%
Asian:3.6%5.1%
Native American:0.3%0.8%
Pacific Islander:0%0.2%
Two or more:2.1%3%
Hispanic/Latino:9.1%17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:85.4%86.7%
College graduation rate:28.8%29.8%
Income
Median household income:$49,620$53,889
Persons below poverty level:21.1%11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015)
Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Georgia.
**Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

As of July 2017, Georgia's three largest cities were Atlanta (pop. est. 470,000), Columbus (pop. est. 200,000), and Augusta (pop. est. 200,000).[9][10]

State election history

This section provides an overview of federal and state elections in Georgia from 2000 to 2016. All data comes from the Georgia Secretary of State.

Historical elections

Presidential elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of the presidential election in Georgia every year from 2000 to 2016.

Election results (President of the United States), Georgia 2000-2016
Year First-place candidate First-place candidate votes (%) Second-place candidate Second-place candidate votes (%) Margin of victory (%)
2016 Republican Party Donald Trump 51.1% Democratic Party Hillary Clinton 45.9% 5.2%
2012 Republican Party Mitt Romney 53.3% Democratic Party Barack Obama 45.5% 7.8%
2008 Republican Party John McCain 52.2% Democratic Party Barack Obama 47.0% 5.2%
2004 Republican Party George Bush 58.0% Democratic Party John Kerry 41.4% 16.6%
2000 Republican Party George Bush 55.0% Democratic Party Al Gore 43.2% 11.8%

U.S. Senate elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of U.S. Senate races in Georgia from 2000 to 2016. Every state has two Senate seats, and each seat goes up for election every six years. The terms of the seats are staggered so that roughly one-third of the seats are up every two years.

Election results (U.S. Senator), Georgia 2000-2016
Year First-place candidate First-place candidate votes (%) Second-place candidate Second-place candidate votes (%) Margin of victory (%)
2016 Republican Party Johnny Isakson 54.8% Democratic Party Jim Barksdale 41.0% 13.8%
2014 Republican Party David Perdue 52.9% Democratic Party Michelle Nunn 45.2% 7.7%
2010 Republican Party Johnny Isakson 58.3% Democratic Party Mike Thurmond 39.0% 19.3%
2008 Republican Party Saxby Chambliss 49.8% Democratic Party Jim Martin 46.8% 3.0%
2004 Republican Party Johnny Isakson 57.9% Democratic Party Denise Majette 40.0% 17.9%
2002 Republican Party Saxby Chambliss 52.8% Democratic Party Max Cleland 45.9% 6.9%

Gubernatorial elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of the four gubernatorial elections held between 2000 and 2016. Gubernatorial elections are held every four years in Georgia.

Election results (Governor), Georgia 2000-2016
Year First-place candidate First-place candidate votes (%) Second-place candidate Second-place candidate votes (%) Margin of victory (%)
2014 Republican Party Nathan Deal 52.8% Democratic Party Jason Carter 44.9% 7.9%
2010 Republican Party Nathan Deal 53.0% Democratic Party Roy Barnes 43.0% 10.0%
2006 Republican Party Sonny Perdue 57.9% Democratic Party Mark Taylor 38.2% 19.7%
2002 Republican Party Sonny Perdue 51.4% Democratic Party Roy Barnes 46.3% 5.1%

Congressional delegation, 2000-2016

This chart shows the number of Democrats and Republicans who were elected to represent Georgia in the U.S. House from 2000 to 2016. Elections for U.S. House seats are held every two years.

Congressional delegation, Georgia 2000-2016
Year Republicans Republicans (%) Democrats Democrats (%) Balance of power
2016 Republican Party 10 71.4% Democratic Party 4 28.6% R+6
2014 Republican Party 10 71.4% Democratic Party 4 28.6% R+6
2012 Republican Party 9 64.3% Democratic Party 5 35.7% R+4
2010 Republican Party 8 61.5% Democratic Party 5 38.5% R+3
2008 Republican Party 7 53.8% Democratic Party 6 46.2% R+1
2006 Republican Party 7 53.8% Democratic Party 6 46.2% R+1
2004 Republican Party 7 53.8% Democratic Party 6 46.2% R+1
2002 Republican Party 8 61.5% Democratic Party 5 38.5% R+3
2000 Republican Party 8 72.7% Democratic Party 3 27.3% R+5

Trifectas, 1992-2017

A state government trifecta occurs when one party controls both chambers of the state legislature and the governor's office.

Georgia Party Control: 1992-2025
Eleven years of Democratic trifectas  •  Twenty-one years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Governor D D D D D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
Senate D D D D D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
House D D D D D D D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R


See also

Footnotes



Senators
Representatives
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 7
District 8
District 9
District 10
District 11
District 12
District 13
District 14
Republican Party (9)
Democratic Party (7)