2016 United States Senate election in Georgia

The 2016 United States Senate election in Georgia was held November 8, 2016, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Georgia, concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. The primary election for the Republican and Democratic parties took place on May 24, 2016.[1]

2016 United States Senate election in Georgia

November 8, 2016

Nominee Johnny Isakson Jim Barksdale Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 2,135,806 1,599,726 Percentage 54.8% 41.0%

County Results Isakson:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Barksdale:      40-50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%

U.S. senator before election Johnny Isakson Republican Elected U.S. senator Johnny Isakson Republican

Incumbent Republican Senator Johnny Isakson won re-election to a third term in office by a wide margin.[2] Isakson resigned from the Senate on December 31, 2019 due to health issues. As of 2021, this is the last Senate election in Georgia won by a Republican. This is also the last time as of 2020 that Gwinnett and Henry counties have voted for the Republican candidate in a statewide election.

Republican primary

Declared

• Mary Kay Bacallao, college professor, former Fayette County Board of Education member and candidate for State Superintendent of Schools in 2014[3]
• Derrick Grayson, MARTA engineer, minister and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2014[4][5]
• Johnny Isakson, incumbent U.S. Senator[2]

Withdrawn

• Lee Benedict, teacher and state senate candidate in 2007 (running for the Columbia County Commission)[5][6]

Declined

• Paul Broun, former U.S. Representative and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 1996 and 2014 (running for GA-09)[7][8]
• Tom Graves, U.S. Representative[9][10]
• Kelly Loeffler, owner of the Atlanta Dream[11][12]
• Tom Price, U.S. Representative[9][13]
• Allen West, former U.S. Representative from Florida[2]

Endorsements

Johnny Isakson

Governors

• Nathan Deal, Governor of Georgia[14]

U.S. Representatives

• David Scott, Georgia (Democratic)
• Doug Collins, Georgia[14]
• Phil Gingrey, Georgia (former) and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2014[14]
• Tom Graves, Georgia[14]
• Jack Kingston, Georgia (former) and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2014[14]
• Lynn Westmoreland, Georgia[15]
• Barry Loudermilk, Georgia 11

State senators

• David Shafer, President Pro Tempore of the Georgia State Senate[14]

State representatives

• David Ralston, Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives[14]

Statewide officials

• Gary Black, Agriculture Commissioner[14]
• Casey Cagle, Lieutenant Governor of Georgia[14]
• Brian Kemp, Secretary of State of Georgia[14]

Individuals

• Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard, 2010 Republican nominee for Senate in California, and 2016 presidential candidate[16]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Johnny Isakson	Another candidate	Undecided
InsiderAdvantage	June 11–14, 2015	492	± 4.4%	50%	26%	24%

Results

Republican primary results[17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Johnny Isakson (incumbent)	447,661	77.50%
	Republican	Derrick Grayson	69,101	11.96%
	Republican	Mary Kay Bacallao	60,898	10.54%
Total votes			577,660	100.00%

Democratic primary

Declared

• James F. Barksdale, investment firm executive[18]
• Cheryl Copeland, AT&T manager[19]
• John Coyne, businessman and perennial candidate[20]

Withdrawn

• Jim Knox, information technologist and United States Air Force veteran[20][21]

Declined

• Stacey Abrams, Minority Leader of the Georgia House of Representatives[22][23]
• Thurbert Baker, former Attorney General of Georgia and candidate for governor in 2010[12]
• Roy Barnes, former governor[24]
• John Barrow, former U.S. Representative[25]
• Jason Carter, state senator and nominee for Governor of Georgia in 2014[22][24][26]
• Stacey Evans, state representative[22][27]
• Shirley Franklin, former Mayor of Atlanta[23][24][28]
• Scott Holcomb, state representative and candidate for secretary of state in 2006[23][24][29]
• Margaret Kaiser, state representative[22][30]
• Jim Marshall, former U.S. Representative[24]
• Michelle Nunn, former CEO of Points of Light and nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2014[24][26]
• Kasim Reed, Mayor of Atlanta[31]
• Michael Sterling, executive director of the Atlanta Workforce Development Agency, former Assistant United States Attorney and former adviser to Mayor Kasim Reed[28][32]
• Doug Stoner, former state senator[22][33]
• Ed Tarver, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia and former state senator[29][34]
• Regina Thomas, former state senator and candidate for GA-12 in 2008 and 2010[18][20]
• Teresa Tomlinson, Mayor of Columbus[35]
• Raphael Warnock, pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church[23][36]
• Valarie Wilson, former president of the Georgia School Boards Association, former chair of the Decatur School Board, and nominee for State Superintendent of Schools in 2014[23][24]

Results

Democratic primary results[17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jim Barksdale	166,627	53.74%
	Democratic	Cheryl Copeland	130,822	42.19%
	Democratic	John Coyne	12,604	4.07%
Total votes			310,053	100.00%

Libertarian nomination

Declared

• Allen Buckley, attorney, accountant, nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2004 and 2008 and nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Georgia in 2006[37]
• Ted Metz, insurance agent, former Cobb County Republican district chairman, and nominee for insurance commissioner in 2014[38]

Allen Buckley won the nomination at the March 5, 2016, nominating convention in Marietta[39]

General election

Debates

Dates	Location	Isakson	Barksdale	Buckley	Link
October 21, 2016	Atlanta, Georgia	Participant	Participant	Participant	Full debate - C-SPAN

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Johnny Isakson (R)	Jim Barksdale (D)	Allen Buckley (L)	Other	Undecided
SurveyMonkey	November 1–7, 2016	2,419	± 4.6%	47%	41%	8%	—	4%
WSB-TV/Landmark	November 6, 2016	1,200	± 2.8%	52%	41%	4%	—	3%
SurveyMonkey	October 31–November 6, 2016	2,348	± 4.6%	47%	41%	8%	—	4%
CBS News/YouGov	November 3–5, 2016	995	± 4.6%	48%	41%	—	6%	5%
WSB-TV/Landmark	November 2–3, 2016	1,000	± 3.1%	50%	40%	5%	—	6%
FOX 5 Atlanta/Opinion Savvy	November 2–3, 2016	538	± 4.2%	50%	39%	8%	—	3%
SurveyMonkey	October 28–November 3, 2016	2,872	± 4.6%	47%	42%	8%	—	3%
SurveyMonkey	October 27–November 2, 2016	2,722	± 4.6%	47%	42%	7%	—	4%
NBC/WSJ/Marist	October 30–November 1, 2016	707 LV	± 3.7%	48%	37%	7%	3%	5%
		937 RV	± 3.2%	46%	36%	8%	4%	7%
SurveyMonkey	October 26–November 1, 2016	2,678	± 4.6%	48%	41%	6%	—	5%
Emerson College	October 29–31, 2016	650	± 3.8%	48%	40%	—	5%	7%
SurveyMonkey	October 25–31, 2016	2,665	± 4.6%	50%	41%	5%	—	4%
WXIA-TV Atlanta/SurveyUSA	October 25–27, 2016	594	± 4.1%	50%	38%	5%	—	8%
Quinnipiac University	October 20–26, 2016	707	± 3.7%	54%	40%	—	—	6%
FOX 5 Atlanta/Opinion Savvy	October 20, 2016	570	± 4.1%	51%	42%	3%	—	4%
Google Consumer Surveys	October 18–20, 2016	439	± 4.2%	58%	36%	—	—	6%
Atlanta Journal Constitution	October 17–20, 2016	839	± 4.3%	47%	32%	11%	—	7%
The Times-Picayune/Lucid	October 17–18, 2016	807	± 3.0%	49%	39%	—	—	13%
Washington Post/SurveyMonkey	October 8–16, 2016	886	± 0.5%	50%	46%	—	—	4%
WSB-TV/Landmark	October 11–12, 2016	1,400	± 2.7%	50%	37%	5%	—	8%
JMC Analytics (R)	September 20–22, 2016	600	± 4.0%	41%	28%	4%	—	27%
Quinnipiac University	September 13–21, 2016	638	± 3.9%	55%	34%	—	—	10%
Monmouth University	September 15–18, 2016	401	± 4.9%	50%	34%	5%	—	10%
FOX 5 Atlanta/Opinion Savvy	September 14, 2016	568	± 4.1%	47%	34%	6%	—	13%
Emerson College	September 9–13, 2016	600	± 3.6%	48%	32%	—	—	10%
NBC/WSJ/Marist	September 6–8, 2016	649	± 3.8%	53%	38%	—	—	9%
JMC Analytics (R)	August 6–7, 2016	615	± 4.0%	39%	30%	4%	—	27%
Atlanta Journal Constitution	August 1–4, 2016	847	± 4.0%	44%	38%	6%	—	12%
				48%	42%	—	—	10%
WSB-TV/Landmark	July 31, 2016	787	± 4.0%	46%	41%	5%	—	8%
WXIA-TV Atlanta/SurveyUSA	July 29–31, 2016	570	± 4.2%	48%	39%	5%	—	8%
Public Policy Polling	May 27–30, 2016	724	± 3.6%	47%	35%	—	—	18%

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report[40]	Likely R	September 9, 2016
Sabato's Crystal Ball[41]	Likely R	September 19, 2016
Rothenberg Political Report[42]	Safe R	September 2, 2016
Daily Kos[43]	Safe R	September 16, 2016
Real Clear Politics[44]	Likely R	September 15, 2016

Results

United States Senate election in Georgia, 2016 [45]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Johnny Isakson (incumbent)	2,135,806	54.80%	-3.51%
	Democratic	Jim Barksdale	1,599,726	41.04%	+2.04%
	Libertarian	Allen Buckley	162,260	4.16%	+1.47%
Total votes			3,897,792	100.00%	N/A
	Republican hold

References

1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on November 17, 2015. Retrieved November 13, 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
2. "Johnny Isakson to announce he will seek a third term". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. November 11, 2014. Retrieved November 11, 2014.
3. "Qualifying for Georgia's May primaries ends". WSB-TV. March 11, 2016. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
4. Malloy, Daniel (January 9, 2015). "It looks like Johnny Isakson has his first challenger". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on January 17, 2015. Retrieved January 15, 2015.
5. "Tea Party Talk". Fetch Your News. June 16, 2015. Retrieved June 27, 2015.
6. Lennon, Abbigail (March 13, 2016). "Columbia County incumbents faces opposition after qualifying ends". Columbia County News-Times. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
7. Wirth, Michelle (November 17, 2014). "Sen. Isakson Announces Re-Election Bid". WABE. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
8. Bluestein, Greg (March 9, 2016). "Barry Loudermilk, Doug Collins attract two new primary challengers". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
9. Wilson, Reid (November 12, 2014). "READ IN: Back To School Edition". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
10. Wilson, Reid (November 18, 2014). "READ IN: Keystone's Klose Edition". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
11. Bluestein, Greg (November 11, 2014). "Georgia's Isakson readies run for third Senate term — and seeks GOP unity". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on November 26, 2014. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
12. Bluestein, Greg (May 5, 2015). "House speaker: 'You're going to hear more discussion' about horse racing". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved June 20, 2015.
13. Gould Sheinin, Aaron (March 7, 2016). "Qualifying opens for Georgia's 2016 elections". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved March 7, 2016.
14. Richards, Jon (November 17, 2014). "Johnny Isakson Announces Re-Election Bid". Peach Pundit. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
15. Joseph, Cameron (November 20, 2014). "Senator watching his back in reelection bid". The Hill. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
16. https://twitter.com/CarlyFiorina/status/786909834151157760
17. "Official Results". Georgia Secretary of State. Retrieved July 20, 2016.
18. Bluestein, Greg (March 10, 2016). "Party-backed Georgia Democrat qualifies for U.S. Senate seat". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on March 11, 2016. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
19. "Southwest Georgia's congressional delegation qualifies for re-election". The Albany Herald. March 8, 2016. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
20. Bluestein, Greg (March 6, 2016). "More Democrats come out of woodwork for Georgia Senate race". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
21. Hankerson, Jazmyne (April 18, 2016). "Candidate changes affects May primary ballot". WFXL. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
22. Cahn, Emily. "Republicans Line Up for Open Seats in Georgia | Farm Team". Roll Call. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
23. Bluestein, Greg (October 2, 2015). "Pastor of MLK's church will not run for Georgia Senate seat". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved October 3, 2015.
24. Bluestein, Greg; Malloy, Daniel (April 28, 2015). "Georgia Democrats still searching for a 2016 Senate contender". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
25. "John Barrow to teach at University of Georgia, signaling he's out for 2016". The Atlanta Journal Constitution. July 22, 2015. Retrieved July 23, 2015.
26. Schultheis, Emily (November 12, 2014). "Losing Democrats Already Being Touted for 2016 Comebacks". National Journal. Retrieved November 13, 2014.
27. Bluestein, Greg (August 25, 2015). "Scouted for Senate run, Stacey Evans decides to stay in Georgia House". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
28. Leslie, Katie (December 2, 2015). "Democrats vetting Reed ally for Senate race against Isakson". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved December 3, 2015.
29. Henry, Scott (March 3, 2016). "Johnny Isakson appears to scare off all potential challengers". Atlanta Magazine. Retrieved March 5, 2016.
30. Bluestein, Greg; Malloy, Daniel (April 11, 2015). "Get ready for three open-seat House races in Atlanta". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved June 20, 2015.
31. Galloway, Jim (May 9, 2013). "Kasim Reed rules out a 2016 run for U.S. Senate". The Atlanta Journal Constitution. Archived from the original on November 1, 2014. Retrieved October 31, 2014.
32. Leslie, Katie (December 18, 2015). "Search for Democratic challenger to Isakson continues". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved December 21, 2015.
33. "Former state senator to run for Smyrna City Council". Marietta Daily Journal. July 6, 2015. Retrieved October 3, 2015.
34. Bluestein, Greg (January 16, 2016). "Democrat Ed Tarver eyes a potential Senate bid". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved January 18, 2016.
35. Galloway, Jim (November 20, 2014). "DuBose Porter announces re-election bid as chairman of Georgia Democrats". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved May 27, 2015.
36. Bluestein, Greg; Malloy, Daniel (August 6, 2015). "Exclusive: Pastor of historic Ebenezer Baptist Church considers U.S. Senate run". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
37. Bluestein, Greg; Malloy, Daniel (October 7, 2015). "Johnny Isakson draws a Libertarian challenger as he raises another $1 million". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
38. Bluestein, Greg; Malloy, Daniel (November 19, 2015). "Johnny Isakson gets an opponent — a Libertarian one". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
39. http://politics.blog.ajc.com/2016/04/18/georgias-libertarian-senate-candidate-sees-opportunity-with-donald-trumps-candidacy/
40. "2016 Senate Race Ratings for September 9, 2016". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
41. "2016 Senate". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved September 19, 2016.
42. "2016 Senate Ratings (September 2, 2016)". Senate Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
43. "Election Outlook: 2016 Race Ratings". Daily Kos. Retrieved September 17, 2016.
44. "Battle for the Senate 2016". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
45. "General Election November 8, 2016". Georgia Secretary of State. Retrieved December 19, 2016.

External links

Official campaign websites

• Johnny Isakson (R) for Senate
• Jim Barksdale (D) for Senate
• Allen Buckley (L) for Senate