With all precincts reporting for the Special Election in today's "revote" of State House District #1, the tally is:
3907 - Jay Neal (Republican)
3980 - Mike Snow (Incumbent Democrat)
As of 11:00 PM, there were 10 provisional votes left to be determined, but even if all went for Neal, Snow would still have the winning margin.
One odd item was that 70% of the absentee ballots went for Snow. This is "odd" because absentees usually break for the Republicans in Georgia.
PV Examines The Consequences Of This Election: If the vote count holds on a recount, and Snow is declared the winner, this election may directly impact Governor-Elect Perdue's agenda.
The election of the new House Speaker will come down to how many Democrats will want to vote for Terry Coleman and how many will want to vote for Larry Walker. Coleman is the Speaker-Designate right now due to the House Democrat Caucus meeting held in late 2002.
The Republican Caucus, with the backup of the new Governor, will vote to elect Larry Walker the new Speaker. For this block vote, the GOP will gain a more favorable hearing for its' agenda in the House than they would under Terry Coleman.
The question is, will there be enough Dems to go against what was decided by their caucus late last fall, and vote for their friend Larry Walker, or stick to the Dem-Caucus nominated speaker Terry Coleman?
And, prior to this re-vote today, did Larry Walker have more than 17 committed Dems to his side? Because, he now needs a minimum of 18 Dem votes to win.
Well, it's gonna be a nail-biter all the way down to the opening day of the 2003 Session, which is 10:00 AM on Monday morning, January 13.