FAYETTE COUNTY, GEORGIA — Former President Donald Trump’s hopes of carrying the battleground state of Georgia could depend on anxiety over the economy in an Atlanta-area suburb that has been trending blue for years.
Just a 20-mile drive south of downtown Atlanta, Fayette County is one of two counties across the state’s 159 counties that is a top contender for flipping to the Democrats after decades of backing GOP presidential candidates, according to Sabato’s Crystal Ball.
Voters who spoke with the Washington Examiner outside the Fayetteville Public Library generally declined to discuss how they voted, with hours until the first results are reported on Tuesday evening. But the economy was frequently cited as a top issue, a sign that Republicans could stem losses in what was once a red stronghold.
Trump beat Hillary Clinton in Fayette County in 2016 by 19 points, but that advantage dropped to just 7 points against President Joe Biden in 2020.
The eroding margin is part of a years-long trend away from the Republicans. Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee, won it by a margin of 30 percentage points.
This time around, Harris could be well within striking distance given the 13% population increase from 111,294 in 2016 to 125,384 in 2024.
“Fayette County has been a predominantly white county for a while, and now the county is slowly [diversifying] with mixing of races,” said Eddonis Kinsey, who owns construction and cooking businesses in Fayetteville.
“Once the county starts opening up to different demographics, that means you have a great possibility of red turning blue or blue turning red. And now, the county’s mixed,” said Kinsey, who moved here from Atlanta’s Fulton County 15 years ago.
Statewide, Georgia has historically been a red state that was a guaranteed win for Republicans dating back to the 1996 election. In 2020, the state’s 4.9 million voters selected Biden over Trump by a margin of less than 12,000 votes.
John West, 38, said the influx of new residents had caused prices to rise. In terms of Harris, he said she was campaigning “based on promises” and that he had hoped to see more actions taken during her term in office to address rent costs and high grocery bills.
“It’s kind of over-populated itself. A lot of people are moving from all over. Property prices are growing, so it’s kind of harder to afford either buying a home or renting an apartment,” said West, a cook who also works in construction.
“I’ve got to work two or three jobs, but I know people, family who are having to come together. You got 16 people in a household just to make it happen,” said West.
Kinsey said although the county may be on the verge of bleeding blue this election, she personally has flipped to red for a number of reasons, including that her property taxes have tripled without an adequate increase in income.
Kinsey said her businesses flourished during Trump’s time in office, but work has slowed since Biden took office.
“Kamala has been president, technically president, for like five, six months, and I haven’t seen you do anything with the powers that you currently have,” said Kinsey. “So, it’s like, if I already see you aren’t doing anything, I can’t let you do anything full-term now.”
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For Kinsey, abortion access is a second-tier issue compared to the economy. She told the Washington Examiner she spends $200 a week on gasoline for her business’s vehicles.
“I’m a woman. I do want rights of my body, but at the same time, if I can’t eat, we’re in the same boat,” said Kinsey. “I need more than ‘my body, my choice.’ I have a child here, and the cost of chicken just quadrupled. … That’s why everybody’s going mad. Mental health is out of whack because you can’t afford anything.”
