Creating Influence

Georgia Credit Unions’ Impact on Primary Elections

The primary elections were held on May 22nd, with some of the races moving now to a runoff on July 24 (such as the race for Governor, Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of State on the Republican ballot). For the full election results, please click here. However, the rest of the races held very few surprises, with the majority of the incumbents winning their primary races and only eight incumbents losing to primary challengers. However, these races did not come easy, with 83 seats that saw competition in the primary (and several with multiple primary opponents) and nothing was a given; there were some races in which fewer than 100 votes separated the victory from a loss! Don’t ever underestimate the power of being involved in the elections – credit unions make a difference and shift the tables of who wins a seat.

How? Credit unions made an impact on the elections through ElectionWatch to encourage voter turnout among staff, board and members. They built influence and changed the course of races through the PAC funds raised for political donations, donating to 14 federal races and 125 state races. Credit unions also assisted with physical “boots on the ground” efforts for two candidates out of five candidates targeted: coordinated campaign assistance was provided to State Sen. Frank Ginn (R-Danielsville) and State Rep. James Beverly (D-Macon). These two candidates in the primary successfully move forward; Ginn goes on to general election competition and Beverly has successfully secured the seat! Our thanks go to the credit union individuals from Atlanta Postal CU, CGR CU, Robins Financial CU and GCUA for engaging in physical campaign activity for these candidates.

We encourage credit unions to take advantage of the election season and the opportunities it provides to engage in physical campaign efforts. It can make a difference not only in an election, but also in the ability to shape the issues of importance to credit unions before they become law.

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