Decatur Metro

Here’s an intriguing thought.

I’m beginning to hear politicos float the idea that Georgia may become a battleground state this election season.  While admittedly, it’s certainly a longer shot compared to the more frequently discussed battlegrounds (Pennsylvania, Ohio, Colorado, New Mexico, Minnesota, Virginia), the emergence of a Bob Barr’s Libertarian candidacy might help draw enough Republican voters away from McCain to give Obama an upset win with enough African-American/Atlanta-Dems support.

The latest poll out of the state, done by InsiderAdvantage, gives McCain (45%) a 10 point lead over Obama (35%), with Barr garnering 8%.

Seems like suggesting an Obama win is pretty out there, right?  Well, InsiderAdvantage’s Matt Towery explains how it could happen…

“John McCain has already acknowledged publicly that Georgia is not a guarantee for a Republican nominee. A Barr candidacy will make Georgia a centerpiece in the November race, given the fact that most other Southern states appear to be less competitive for Barack Obama. With Florida also leaning towards McCain at present, I would be shocked if the Obama camp doesn’t key in on Georgia as possible upset possibility.”

He continues “Barr is likely doing a bit better in Georgia because of his years in the political arena in the state. He has remained actively available on national talk shows and until recently wrote columns for publications (including, by disclosure not only the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, but for a monthly magazine owned by the parent company of InsiderAdvantage Polling). My guess is that his numbers are not as high around the rest of the country due to a lack of sustained name identification.”

Towery concluded ,“What makes this survey interesting is the fact that, as is usually the case this far out in a survey in a Southern state, some 12% of African-American voters says they would vote for McCain. That number almost always disappears to a negligible percent by the time the election takes place. Should Barr remain in the race, Georgia’s sizeable African-American voting population turn out at high levels in November and Obama continue to hold on to the 22% of the white vote that the poll indicates, then Georgia could be highly competitive and a new swing state, replacing others that have been critical in recent years.”

Georgia as a swing state?!  Get your hand-painted signs ready folks, the candidates might just be headed our way.