Photo above: L-R Judge Penny Brown Reynolds, Dr. John Tures and Sen. Raphael Warnock
By John A. Tures, Professor of Political Science, LaGrange College
In the race for Georgia’s Secretary of State office, the Democrats brought out one of their most successful candidates, Senator Rev. Raphael Warnock, to boost their nominee, Judge Penny Brown Reynolds. The roving U.S. Senator who helped the national party from New Hampshire to South Carolina popped up in my hometown to lead a Reynolds rally at a church sounded much more like a revival than a traditional campaign case. They’re hoping such election events will help the party in winnable downticket races.
Rev. Warnock immediate began with a history lesson of the Rev. Otis Moss, who walked all day in LaGrange, Georgia, being repeatedly told he was at the wrong voting station. He never did get to cast a ballot and died the following year. Conjuring up memories of Bloody Selma, the Philadelphia Mississippi murders, and Medgar Evers, he repeated “Our ballot is bloodstained.”
But this was not a documentary for the History Channel. Senator Warnock noted that the President has already tried to interfere in the election, questioning the outcome of one race based on who wins. Conjuring stories of the 2020 election Warnock said “If anyone asks Reynolds to find them 11,700 votes, she’s hanging up.”
We learned that Judge Reynolds was more than just a former judge. We discovered her experience with the Agricultural Department, working for Former Governor Roy Barnes, her seminary training, and her doctorate.
Judge Reynolds, for her part, called for streamlining licensing, continuing to focus on combatting senior fraud, taking on wannabe kings. She noted that prices at the pump and grocery stories hurt Republicans, and not just Democrats. “America is the land of abundance, not scarcity.”
In an interview, I asked Reynolds about combatting other forms of fraud. “Seniors are the most vulnerable, but there are scammers that target the military, the disabled, and younger people, noting news of a recent $76 million Ponzi scheme that scammed Republicans too,” which she claimed was missed by local government. In that case, the leader of that scheme was sentenced to 15 years in prison and forced to pay that money back in restitution.
At the same interview, I asked Senator Warnock what the priorities for the House and Senate Democrats in 2027 would be. “We need to put an end to this lawless war of choice which is driving up diesel prices,” he replied. “We also need to stop these tariffs, which are like a sales tax, hurting the poor. We have to reverse the draconian cuts in health care with the Big Beautiful Bill, most of which hit Americans next year. Then we need to come together with political leaders and constituents to develop a plan for housing affordability.”
At the rally, Warnock used a little humor for the GOTV (Get Out The Vote) push. He said that women are voting, and men need to step up. “You need to tell your husbands it will be a long cold winter if you don’t vote,” he stated. “And for single men, young women need to say ‘I’ll write my phone number down…on your voting card.”
Despite the late hour, and the formidable opponent in the form of state legislator Tim Fleming, the Democratic crowd in the church was pumped and excited, ready for Tuesday. With so many races up in the air, it goes without saying that every vote counts, and Democrats aren’t taking any vote for granted. And they’d prefer Reynolds to be certifying the election in 2028, rather than being “on the bench” in that contest.
John A. Tures is a professor of political science at LaGrange College in LaGrange, Georgia. His views are his own. He can be reached at jtures@lagrange.edu or on “X” at @johntures2. His first book “Branded” a thriller novel where corporate greed, media manipulation and academic intrigue collide in a deadly game of product placement, has been published by the Huntsville Independent Press (https://www.huntsvilleindependent.com/product-page/branded). His second novel, “Independent Thought,” about a third-party candidacy that brings America to its knees, is also published by HIP (https://www.huntsvilleindependent.com/product-page/independent-thought).