In 2006, the newly ascendant Georgia GOP chased Democratic congressman John Barrow out of his hometown of Athens in an effort to reclaim the seat. Since then, all or most of Athens has been within the crimson red 10th Congressional District.
Democrats have tried everything, running an Iraq War veteran, a progressive young law student, a prominent civil rights attorney and a Black nurse from the rural part of the district. They all struggled with fundraising to a greater or lesser degree, and some campaigned harder than others. But they all had one thing in common: None of them broke the 40% mark. The district is so hard to win for a Democrat that twice in the past nine election cycles the Republican incumbent ran unopposed.
This year is likely to be no different, as the respected Cook Political Report rates the 10th as an R+15 district, meaning that if Kamala Harris won 65% of the vote nationwide—a landslide of epic proportions the likes of which we haven’t seen since 1964—the 10th would be a coin flip. But Lexy Doherty is making a go of it anyway.
Doherty may be the most credible candidate Democrats have run for Congress in these parts since Barrow. It’s still a steep uphill climb because the vast majority of the district is composed of counties surrounding Athens that are just as red as Clarke is blue. However, running a strong candidate in a losing effort now could pay dividends for Democrats down the road.
Doherty quickly leaned into the energy generated by President Biden stepping aside and Vice President Kamala Harris winning the nomination by acclamation. She thanked Biden for ushering through landmark legislation like the American Rescue Plan, the Infrastructure and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act (primarily a climate bill). “The stakes of this election are immeasurably high, and Biden’s decision to pass the torch puts the party and country in a better position to secure the gains made under his leadership and preserve our democracy against those who would wish to end it,” Doherty said in a news release the day after Biden announced he would not run for a second term and endorsed Harris. “I am filled with hope for our future under a new generation of leaders. We inherit a direction toward a better future for working families, and we vow to honor it with our own tireless work for America.”
When the Republican vice presidential nominee, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, criticized “childless cat ladies,” Doherty shared her own hopes and fears about motherhood. She and her husband, Patrick, are “excited” about starting a family, she said, but between owning two small businesses and still paying off student loans, they are unsure if they’re financially ready—not to mention child care, housing and health care costs, or the risks of pregnancy in a state where abortion is banned after six weeks. Doherty also noted that the incumbent Republican, Rep. Mike Collins, has signed onto a bill that would ban abortion nationwide.
Collins—a former congressman’s son who inherited a trucking company from his dad—ran as the more moderate alternative to ultraconservative Jody Hice in 2014 and lost the primary. When Hice left the seat in a failed effort to oust Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in 2022, Collins learned his lesson: He would never be out-MAGA’d again. Since taking office, Collins has made headlines by saying that Biden and Athens-Clarke County officials have “blood on their hands” for the murder of Laken Riley; accused Biden of ordering a “hit” on Trump; made light of the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy and Robert Kennedy Sr.; endorsed throwing political opponents out of a helicopter; and approvingly responded to an antisemitic tweet about a reporter.
Social media and traditional media attention can only go so far, though. Any successful campaign needs money to get its own message out. Doherty has done better in that regard than any recent Democratic candidates for the 10th. At the June 30 filing deadline, she reported raising about $55,000. In mid-August, she claimed to have topped six figures. This is something of a two-edged sword for Democrats, because raising money by ginning up left-wing anger against a much-hated opponent in an unwinnable district can suck much-needed funds away from candidates who need it more. Marcus Flowers, for instance, raised $16 million to run against Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene in 2022, but wound up losing by 32 points.
Still, Athens Democrats will no doubt be clamoring to cast a vote for Doherty. “It’s a pride of the community to have a candidate running hard against someone as useless and obnoxious as Mike Collins,” said Russell Edwards, a former county commissioner and chair of the ACC Democratic Committee who ran against Rep. Paul Broun in 2010.
Henry County—part of the 10th—flipped from 66% Republican in 2000 to 60% Democrat in 2020. It doubled in population to 240,000 during those two decades, and the percentage of Black residents rose from 14% to 48%. As metro Atlanta and Athens grow, conservative counties in between like Walton, Barrow, Jackson and Oconee are likely to get bluer. One day, a candidate like Doherty will have a real chance.
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