Democrat Barksdale closing gap on Isakson

ALBANY — The initial stages of Jim Barksdale’s campaign to replace incumbent Republican Johnny Isakson as one of Georgia’s U.S. Senators was met, outside his core group of supporters, with something of a ho-hum.

“The latest sacrificial lamb to go up against an established Washington insider,” many said as they gave the businessman and first-time candidate little more than a second thought. Many did acknowledge, though, that they “loved the hat” that become something of a symbol of Barksdale’s campaign.

A funny thing has happened on the way to the general election, though.

After outpolling Cheryl Copeland in the Democratic primary on May 24, Barksdale has slowly but steadily closed what was an imposing gap between himself and Isakson. Now, slightly more than a week away from the Nov. 8 general election, the Macon-born investment manager is thinking victory.

“I feel good about where we are right now,” Barksdale said after a recent campaign run that brought him to Albany for a second time. “I believe the people of the state are really starting to pay attention to the things I’m saying. I’ve felt a connection with the people as I’ve traveled to places like Albany, Columbus and other parts of the state outside metro Atlanta.

“I’m also encouraged by polls that show a veteran senator like Johnny Isakson is not polling 50 percent. I believe people in Georgia are ready for change, and many of them are starting to see (my candidacy) as a possibility for positive change.”

Latest poll figures released by Barksdale’s campaign show the newcomer actually leading, 47-46 percent, among early voters in the state. A Washington Post poll from last week shows Isakson with a slim 50-46 advantage in a head-to-head comparison. And with Libertarian Allen Buckley polling at 11 percent in a recent AJC poll, Barksdale said he believes his hard work is starting to pay off.

“I’m so proud of this campaign. Over the past month, we have out-worked Senator Isakson at every turn and taken our message of change in Washington to all corners of Georgia,” Barksdale said. “With a few more days to go in this race, I feel more confident than ever that we’re on the path to victory.”

Barksdale said his dissatisfaction with the status quo in Washington and the growing gap between the haves and have-nots in Georgia were among the reasons for his first political campaign.

“As I’ve toured the state, I’ve seen a growing need by our people,” the Democrat said. “And it angered me that we had a Congress that was crafting laws that benefited large corporations and made it easy for our manufacturing plants to leave the country, taking Georgians’ jobs with them.

“Right there in Albany, you’re in one of the poorest districts in the country, and you’ve lost so many manufacturers that were vital to your economy. I’ve talked to people there who are hurting. And look at Columbus, with the Army Base (Fort Benning), and Sen. Isakson is in charge of the Veterans Affairs Committee that has permitted the Pentagon to try and take (bonus) money away from National Guard troops that served in Iraq and Afghanistan. All we’re hearing from Johnny Isakson is hypocritical double-talk.”

Barksdale said that while he is the Democratic challenger in the election, he is not a one-side-of-the-aisle kind of politician.

“I can tell you this: Whether someone is a conservative, liberal, rich, poor, old, young, black, white or brown, everyone in our state is aware that there’s something wrong with our government in Washington,” he said. “There’s something wrong when all of the rules benefit the biggest campaign contributors to the fat-cat politicians, while the shrinking middle class and growing lower class are left behind. The American people are tired of paying the price for the policies of career politicians like Johnny Isakson.

“The message I have for the voters of Albany — and for everywhere else across the state — is that it’s time that their voices were heard again. If they’ll go to the polls and and vote to send career politicians like Johnny Isakson home from Washington, that’s the one thing that will get their message out, loud and clear.”