McKinney faces runoff; CBC divided
By Jonathan E. Kaplan
and Josephine Hearn
Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-Ga.) will face DeKalb County Commissioner Hank Johnson in the Democratic primary runoff next month with little money and only tepid support from her colleagues on the Hill.
In Tuesday’s primary election, fewer than 1,500 votes separated McKinney and Johnson, who held the sixth-term lawmaker to just 46.9 percent of the vote, according to the Georgia secretary of state. Johnson received 44.5 percent and John Coyne, a white businessman, finished a distant third, with 8.6 percent.
The outcome surprised political observers in Washington and Georgia and threatened a repeat of the 2002 election upset. That year McKinney lost her primary to Democratic challenger Denise Majette, the eventual election winner, by 14 points, a dismal showing for an established incumbent. McKinney regained her seat in 2004 after Majette pursued a Senate nomination.
Several observers expressed surprise that McKinney did not win the nomination outright Tuesday.
“It’s a shocker in every respect,” said former Rep. Buddy Darden (D-Ga.), a practicing attorney in Atlanta.
Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) said, “I had no idea she had a race.”
McKinney now faces an uphill battle to hold on to her seat and Johnson is the likely front-runner, political observers said.
“[McKinney] is in a very difficult position. A well-known person tends to get all the votes they’re going to get the first time around. That’s the history,” a knowledgeable CBC lawmaker said, predicting that Johnson would get Coyne’s votes.
Merle Black, a political scientist at Emory University in Atlanta, said, “An incumbent who is forced into a runoff is a serious sign of weakness. Johnson’s vote will go up, he’ll raise a lot of money, and the momentum has gone over to Johnson.”
McKinney may have been hurt by a bizarre incident this spring in which she struck a U.S. Capitol Police officer with her cell phone after he did not recognize her and asked to see her identification at the entrance to a House office building. A grand jury declined to indict her.
She also failed to appear at two televised debates leading up to the primary.
Black lawmakers, who are among her most loyal supporters, had mixed reactions to the results of the race. Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.) predicted that most of her congressional colleagues would not rally to her aid.
“Some will, but a great majority will distance themselves. It’s called ‘avoidingitis,’” he said. “We avoid her. Cynthia won’t approach people beyond her real friends.”
But others were more sanguine.
Rep. Albert Wynn (D-Md.), chairman of the CBC’s political action committee, said the group would continue to support McKinney.
“The first principle of the CBC PAC is to support our incumbent members. ... If she’s an endangered incumbent, we’ll do everything we can to protect her,” Wynn said.
Rep. Mel Watt (D-N.C.), chairman of the CBC, said that he was “surprised and disappointed” and that he would give to McKinney’s campaign.
“I don’t think anybody viewed that she was in a distressed race. ... I was personally disappointed. She’s an outstanding representative. She represents her district well,” Watt said.
One CBC member denied that McKinney had been damaged politically by her much-publicized tussle with police.
“I don’t know anybody here who’s pure as the driven snow. Everybody has baggage. Everybody,” said Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.). “Obviously, [Johnson] knows how to be political. The congresswoman will have to redouble her efforts.”
Black noted that turnout in the district had dropped to 60,000 voters from 95,000 voters in 2004. McKinney lost 20,000 votes from 2004; her total vote dropped to 28,000 from 48,000. She and Johnson ran evenly in DeKalb County, the district’s largest county, but she lost in Gwinnett and Rockdale counties.
“She’s so polarized the district that half who show up will be opposed to her,” Black said.
Johnson’s campaign aides were elated with the result and announced yesterday that they had earned an endorsement from the local chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP).
“There were plenty of naysayers, but we just knew,” said Carole Mumford, Johnson’s campaign manager, reacting to the tally. “It was a good effort on a shoestring budget. No humble pie is required. We are just moving on from here. People now know differently.”
Johnson spoke with Coyne on Tuesday evening, but the two men did not discuss the possibility of an endorsement and, with contingency plans in place for the runoff campaign, Johnson hit the ground running. In a television news interview yesterday, he challenged McKinney to more debates.
Johnson and McKinney will have to regroup for the 18-day sprint to the runoff.
At the end of June, McKinney had raised $244,896 and had just $43,000 on hand, according to PoliticalMoneyLine, which tracks campaign contributions. Johnson was just as strapped, having raised $129,000, and has $13,000 left in the bank.
“This by no means [indicates] that she won’t be coming back,” Darden said. “The runoff is all about who you bring back.”
The winner will face Republican Catherine Davis in November.
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