Georgia Democrats gathered Saturday in Atlanta for their annual Carter-Lewis dinner, headlined by Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, as the party works to build momentum heading into what many expect to be a difficult midterm election cycle.
U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, who flipped his seat in a tight 2021 runoff election, is the only Democratic senator running for reelection in a state won by President Donald Trump in 2024. National Republicans have made his seat a top target, and three high-profile GOP candidates have already entered the race.
Beshear, who won reelection as governor of deep-red Kentucky, outlined what he described as “the path back for the Democratic Party” in traditionally Republican states during a nearly 30-minute keynote address.
“For too long, the national Democratic Party wrote off the South,” Beshear told the crowd. The key to winning voters back, he said, starts with “showing up and getting dirt on our boots and then governing well.”
The event also featured appearances from U.S. Sens. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, along with Democrats who have made recent inroads in Republican-leaning races, including Public Service Commissioner Peter Hubbard, Rep. Eric Gisler, and 14th congressional district candidate Shawn Harris.
Ossoff, who will face one of three Republican challengers in November, addressed the crowd of roughly 900 attendees and highlighted what he described as the impact of Trump’s second term on working-class Americans.
“Our task is not just to contain this wickedness, but to repair the brokenness beneath it and advance toward a new era of reform and progress and justice,” Ossoff said. “It’s all coming down to Georgia again, and you better believe we’re ready.”
