‘The epicenter’: How ‘key’ to White House could lie in suburban Georgia county

MARIETTA, Ga. — While 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. may sit within the boundaries of Washington, D.C., the key to unlocking its front door could lie in the suburbs outside Atlanta, local officials say.

“It’s not just the state, it’s federal,” Cobb County Democratic Party Chair Essence Johnson told Fox News Digital in an interview. “Cobb County is the epicenter. It’s the bellwether of Georgia, but also on the federal level. … That’s why Cobb County is so vital.”

Salleigh Grubbs, chair of the Cobb County GOP, told Fox News Digital her area would be “very key in this election.”

“I think Cobb County is key,” she said. “I battle with people all the time about whether Cobb is blue or red and that kind of thing. And the reality is is that we do have some of the largest number of Republican voters in the state for our population.”

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Georgia’s traditionally Republican status flipped when then-Democrat candidate Joe Biden won the state in 2020. Its status as a battleground state was solidified in the 2022 midterms with the victory of Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga.

Statewide, Biden beat then-President Trump by less than 1%. In Cobb County, which encompasses parts of the Atlanta suburbs and is anchored by the city of Marietta, Biden’s margin of victory was nearly 15%.

Asked how the Democrats’ ground game in Cobb County has changed now that they’re seeking to hold onto Georgia rather than flip it, Johnson said the key was being “intentional” in outreach and meeting “people where they are.”

She also signaled that abortion is a top issue for Democrats in this election cycle but noted that it may still be an uphill battle to get certain groups – like Black men and White women – out to the ballot box for Harris.

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“We have seen some areas of weakness as far as voters and also reaching those communities to really understand the reason why they feel that they are not being heard,” Johnson said.

“They don’t feel that certain policies have reached them. And even though I say there is no specific policy for anybody, reproductive rights impact my son, right? He has a responsibility to reproductive rights because that could be his girlfriend, his partner, his best friend.”

She also said suburban White women were “sometimes the weakest link when it comes to voters” but noted that reproductive rights impacted them as well.

Meanwhile, the Trump campaign has been seeking to court minority men disenchanted with the Democratic Party, with Trump allies believing the strategy pivotal to winning battlegrounds like Georgia.

Grubbs would not say which demographics she believes are key to winning back Cobb County, but she noted the GOP’s road to victory includes focusing on local issues and election integrity.

“I don’t tend to look at things like that,” Grubbs said. 

“The way I view it more is, particularly on the local level, is what’s going on in your community and what are your values and what is your quality of life, and just translating the quality-of-life issue from the county level all the way to the national level.”

She cited the recent port workers strike, supply chain issues and “school quality” as issues with both local and national implications for people.

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Grubbs said she also had a focus on Americans feeling confident in the elections: “In this election, everybody needs to get out and vote. Everybody needs to have their voice heard. Everybody needs to be concerned about election integrity.”

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“They need to know that when they cast a ballot, their vote counts,” Grubbs said.

Georgia’s early in-person voting period begins on Oct. 15 and runs through Nov. 1.