Liberal-leaning voters in Georgia have recently seen State Senator Kay Kirkpatrick as a hope for a more bipartisan legislature. Kirkpatrick is a Republican who represents the 32nd District, located in northwestern Metro Atlanta and including parts of Cherokee County, Cobb County, Canton, Holly Springs, Kennesaw, Marietta, and Woodstock.
Georgia recently saw a major shift toward Democratic politicians in the midterms. Not only was Governor Keisha Lance Bottoms elected, but the party also gained control of the House of Representatives. However, the GOP still holds a 29-27 majority in the State Senate.
These political changes prompted a resident to start a thread on r/Georgia, asking whether others believed Kirkpatrick could be a moderate voice who would make local legislators more moderate than before.
Georgia Liberals Have High Hopes for Kay Kirkpatrick
When responding to the question, many liberal-leaning users seemed to have a high opinion of Kirkpatrick, who won a special election in 2017 and has remained in the position ever since.
One person described Kirkpatrick: “I’m in her district, up in south Cherokee county. She’s one where you could take away her party-affiliation label and I couldn’t tell you what party she belongs to. Her whole thing for a few elections running now has been ‘I’m a doctor and I’ve been so frustrated in my practice at how bad Georgia’s maternal mortality rates are, so I’m running to fix that.’”
Others agreed that she was very moderate and supported women’s rights: “I’ve had many conversations with her. She’s quite reasonable, and definitely believes science is real. She’s also really strong on many women’s issues; I suspect her work as a doctor has made her hyper-aware of domestic violence in particular.”
While still a Republican, some even viewed her as a liberal. One person argued: “She describes herself as pro life, but she voted against our heartbeat law and is in favor of contraception access.” Another responded: “That’s downright liberal for a Georgia Republican.”
Another point that gave people on the thread some hope was that state legislative bodies were not seen as fiercely partisan as those in Washington, D.C.: “Also important to note that state legislative bodies often are not as tribalistic as the federal ones and a people crossing the aisle to pass stuff is not uncommon.”
It remains to be seen how Kirkpatrick and the blue wave will affect Georgia politics, but it seems that Democratic voters have reasons to celebrate.
