Having passed on the United States Senate race to replace retiring senior Senator Zell Miller, the two remaining political heavyweights of the Georgia Democratic Party appear headed for an inevitable showdown in the 2006 Democratic Primary for Governor. Like Republicans watching two of its brightest stars face each other in the Republican Primary for United States Senate in 2004, Georgia Democrats have to be wondering why their valuable political resources could not be more productively spread around. Instead, like an inevitable train wreck between locomotives coming from differing directions, Secretary of State Cathy Cox and Lieutenant Governor Mark Taylor appear steaming steadily toward a political collision.

Using the perks of her office as effectively as any statewide politician in the country, Secretary of State Cathy Cox has elevated her name recognition and political profile to heights that most politicians only dream of. Among businesses and professionals, the Secretary of State has worked hard to make sure that her name appears prominently and continuously as businesses meet the mandates for organizing and maintaining corporate structures and business licenses. More significantly, Cox has used her position as the interface point for voters across Georgia to enhance her profile from a records custodian to a recognizable face and name for Georgia voters. Finally, with the rollout of Georgia’s new voting machines, and the mandated training for election supervisors, Georgia’s top election official has networked officials throughout Georgia’s 159 counties as effectively as any candidate with an existing political infrastructure. The result is a political powerhouse that not only can command frontrunner status for any statewide office, but also automatically become a formidable opponent in a challenge to Governor Sonny Perdue.

Coming from a different direction, Lieutenant Governor Mark Taylor has largely inherited the position as leader of the Georgia Democratic Party. While Cox’s position as arbiter of election issues has prevented open partisanship, Taylor’s position as the highest ranking Georgia official has lent itself to a role as leader of Georgia Democratic causes. Having been deposed as ruler in the Georgia Senate, and called upon to respond to Roy Barnes’ defeat, Taylor has answered the call as a reliable spokesman for the Democratic position on a variety of issues, and served effectively as the loyal opposition to the Republican Governor. While Cox has been left largely to creating an infrastructure within the confines of her office, Taylor has been free to build a political machine complete with fundraising operations and communications capabilities. With no real job left in the Georgia Senate, the Lieutenant Governor has had plenty of time to travel the state and a platform for articulating messages designed to rally the base and assemble a sizable cadre of loyal political allies.

As these Democratic titans moved steadily toward their rendezvous with destiny in the primary, the contrast in their styles will only become greater. Taylor will undoubtedly build on his strong Democratic credentials and call upon operatives and activists to reward his service with the Democratic nomination for Governor. Cox will undoubtedly call upon Democratic voters to select a candidate who has moved past the narrow base of partisan preferences and can reach out to independent voters necessary to a General Election win in November 2006.