Wearing
an
oversized
campaign
T-shirt
and
blue
jeans,
Alisha
Thomas
Morgan
couldn’t
stop
smiling
Tuesday
night
as
she
lounged
in
the
living
room
of
her
Austell
home
with
about
15
volunteers
and
her
parents,
watching
election
returns
on
TV.
The
numbers
were
clear
early:
Morgan,
a
25-year-old
Democrat
seeking
re-election
to
State
House
District
39,
was
going
to
overwhelmingly
defeat
Morris
Angel,
an
opponent
who
attacked
her
outspoken
stance
against
a
constitutional
amendment
banning
gay
marriage
that
was
approved
by
the
General
Assembly
earlier
this
year.
Overall,
Morgan
and
most
Democratic
incumbents
in
the
state
Senate
and
House
who
opposed
the
measure
and
faced
opposition
in
the
primary
easily
held
onto
their
posts.
“These
victories
clearly
demonstrate
that
anti-gay
rhetoric
is
an
ineffective
tool
with
which
to
mobilize
voters,”
said
Sharon
Semmens,
Georgia
Equality
board
chair
and
acting
executive
director.
The
statewide
gay
political
group
is
leading
opposition
to
the
amendment,
which
will
appear
on
the
Georgia
ballot
in
November,
and
issued
a
blanket
endorsement
in
favor
of
state
lawmakers
who
voted
against
the
measure
during
the
General
Assembly
session
this
year.
Of
the
14
state
senators
who
voted
against
the
marriage
ban,
10
sought
re-election
to
their
seats,
with
all
10
victorious
on
Tuesday.
Of
the
42
in
the
House
who
voted
against
the
amendment
and
sought
re-election,
40
won
their
primaries.
Rep.
Michele
Henson
(D-Stone
Mountain)
faces
a
run-off
with
Gloria
Gaines
in
House
District
87,
and
Rep.
Lawrence
Roberts
(D-Albany)
is
in
a
runoff
with
Freddie
Powell
Sims
in
House
District
151.
In
the
waning
days
of
Morgan’s
campaign,
two
Republicans
in
Cobb
County
circulated
a
letter
urging
GOP
voters
to
oust
her
by
crossing
over
to
vote
for
Angel
in
the
Democratic
primary.
“Alisha
is
an
arrogant
liberal
socialist
who
is
pushing
her
agenda
on
the
good
people
of
the
39th
district,”
stated
the
letter,
which
dubbed
Morgan
the
“Cynthia
McKinney
of
Cobb
County.”
Former
Cobb
County
GOP
Chair
Marilyn
Gihuly
and
Timothy
Pilgrim,
a
Cobb
County
Republican
and
officer
in
the
Sons
of
the
Confederate
Army,
signed
the
letter.
The
Georgia
GOP
took
no
responsibility
for
the
letter,
according
to
a
spokesperson.
Morgan’s
campaign
decided
the
best
strategy
was
not
to
respond
to
the
letter.
“Our
first
reaction
was
to
do
something,
but
when
we
calmed
down
and
took
a
deep
breath,
we
realized
the
facts
are
they
[Angel’s
campaign]
are
not
working
as
hard
as
we
are,”
said
Heather
Fatzinger,
Morgan’s
campaign
manager.
The
negative
tactics
failed
and
Morgan
coasted
to
victory.
She
received
2,993
votes,
86.3
percent
of
those
cast,
to
only
335,
or
9.7
percent,
for
Angel.
Morgan
faces
Republican
Chris
Bouchard
on
Nov.
2.
“Tonight
proves
you’ve
got
to
stand
up
for
what
you
believe
in
and
if
you
continue
to
serve
the
community,
the
people
will
send
you
back,”
Morgan
said
Tuesday.
“I
really
operate
from
my
heart
…
and
I
don’t
know
any
other
way.”
In
an
e-mail
sent
in
response
to
questions
from
Southern
Voice,
Angel
said
Morgan’s
supporters
drove
by
his
home
honking
Tuesday
night
and
littered
his
property
with
her
campaign
signs.
He
reiterated
his
opposition
to
gay
marriage,
and
chalked
his
defeat
up
to
racial
politics.
“Last
night’s
little
demonstration
of
belligerence
in
my
yard
was
merely
directed
at
a
Whitey
who
dared
to
challenge
the
tribe,”
Angel
wrote.
“Not
just
in
my
race,
but
statewide,
the
results
point
to
the
fact
that
one
can
not
be
a
Christian
and
a
Democrat.”
Veteran
gay
political
analyst
Larry
Pellegrini,
executive
director
of
the
Georgia
Rural
Urban
Summit,
said
Morgan’s
large
margin
of
victory
was
poetic
justice.
“She’s
not
only
thoroughly
committed
to
social
justice
issues,
she
got
to
see
justice
herself,”
he
said.
The
Republican
primaries
on
Tuesday
proved
a
mixed
bag
for
state
legislators
who
led
the
fight
for
the
marriage
amendment:
-
State
Sen.
Bill
Stephens
(R-Canton)
defeated
Lauren
McDonald
to
hold
onto
his
District
27
seat.
He
faces
no
Democratic
opposition
on
the
November
ballot.
Stephens,
who
first
introduced
the
marriage
amendment
but
backed
off
when
his
own
divorce
and
allegations
of
marital
infidelity
became
public,
won
with
14,500
votes,
or
60
percent,
to
McDonald’s
9,805,
or
40
percent.
- State
Sen.
Mike
Crotts,
the
Conyers
Republican
who
took
over
sponsorship
of
the
gay
marriage
amendment,
did
not
seek
re-election,
and
lost
his
bid
for
U.S.
Congress
in
the
Republican
primary
for
the
8th
Congressional
District,
which
includes
Rockdale
County.
Crotts
came
in
a
distant
third
with
less
than
10
percent
of
the
vote,
behind
social
conservatives
Lynn
Westmoreland
and
Dylan
...
