[Marxism] McKinney defeated in Dem. primary for House seat from Ga.

["Fred Feldman" <ffeldman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

www.nytimes.com
 
August 9, 2006

Democratic Congresswoman Loses Georgia Runoff for Re-election 

By BRENDA GOODMAN

ATLANTA, Aug. 8 - A lawyer and former DeKalb County commissioner
unseated Cynthia McKinney, the controversial incumbent congresswoman, on
Tuesday night in a runoff election for the
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/d/dem
ocratic_party/index.html?inline=nyt-org> Democratic nomination in
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/national/usstatesterritoriesandposse
ssions/georgia/index.html?inline=nyt-geo> Georgia's Fourth Congressional
District.

The winner, Henry C. Johnson Jr., must still defeat the Republican
candidate, Catherine Davis, in November. But as the Democratic nominee
in what has historically been considered a safely Democratic seat, he is
presumed to already be on his way to Washington. Mr. Johnson led Ms.
McKinney by 17 percentage points, winning 58 percent of the vote.

Mr. Johnson, 51, a trial lawyer in Decatur, Ga., said watching the
returns "was kind of like waiting for a jury to come back."

"I was glad to finally get to the end of the campaign," he said.

At her campaign headquarters, Ms. McKinney began her concession speech
by singing along to the song "Dear Mr. President" by the pop artist
Pink. "I wanted you to hear this song, which says so much about why this
election in Georgia was so important," she said.

"Not only do we want our country back, we want our party back," she said
in a speech that criticized President Bush, the news media and
electronic voting machines. She concluded, "I wish the new
representative of the Fourth Congressional District well."

Ms. McKinney's political future had been uncertain since an encounter
she had in March with a Capitol Police officer who had tried to stop her
after he said he had failed to recognize her at a security checkpoint.

The officer accused Ms. McKinney of hitting him, but she was never
charged with wrongdoing.

Still, Ms. McKinney's response to that episode was a factor for some
voters. "I would definitely not vote for Cynthia McKinney," said
Jennipher Johnson, 24, a prekindergarten teacher in Decatur who said she
was a Democrat. "I believe Democrats are dissatisfied with her. I wasn't
pleased with what happened on Capitol Hill. It made her look crazy to
me."

In tone, political observers found this election to be much like the
2002 contest Ms. McKinney lost to Denise Majette, a Democrat who
campaigned then, as Mr. Johnson did this time, as the anti-McKinney
candidate. A significant percentage of voters in that race, however,
were
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/r/rep
ublican_party/index.html?inline=nyt-org> Republicans who had crossed
party lines to vote Ms. McKinney out of office in an organized "Anyone
but Cynthia" campaign.

Ms. McKinney, 51, the first black congresswoman from Georgia, reclaimed
her seat in 2004 after Ms. Majette dropped out of that race to run for
the
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/s/sen
ate/index.html?inline=nyt-org> United States Senate. Ms. McKinney has
served six terms in the House over 14 years.

Alan I. Abramowitz, a professor of political science at
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/e/emo
ry_university/index.html?inline=nyt-org> Emory University here, said
that unlike the 2002 election, this race's outcome was likely to be
determined by Democrats ready for a change.

That's why Frederick Gray, 68, a retired Methodist minister who
described himself as a lifelong Democrat, said he had cast his ballot
for Mr. Johnson. "I think Johnson can do a better job than she," Mr.
Gray said. "I think anybody can."

But Lamar Barber, 24, an artist who lives in Decatur, said he liked that
Ms. McKinney was "more outspoken." 

"In politics you need somebody to speak for you," Mr. Barber said. "You
need a loud voice to be heard."


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