Randall, Reichert and Brown

Both Lance Randall and Robert Reichert were on hand today for "Politics and Lunch." Randall said that he will be announcing soon for the Macon Mayorial and asked those who were uncommitted to support him. That brings the field, on the Democratic side, to Randall, Reichert, Ponder and Dillard. The hot speculation is that Senator Robert Brown will also run. Everyone I trust tells me that Brown is running, but I won't believe it until he qualifies. That speculation gained steam when he blocked the local legislation to reduce the number on City Council.

Here's why I have trouble believing Brown will run. Brown worked on Randall's campaign for County Commission Chair. That makes it sort of hard for him to tell people not to vote for Lance. I had also heard that Brown had agreed to co-chair Lance's campaign this time. Maybe that was a premature declaration. But, could it be that Sen. Brown is allowing the rumor that he is running to percolate because he wants to keep other possible candidates (Godsey) out of the race? Maybe. The City Council thing? Well, Robert Brown would be concerned if he thought the power of African-Americans on Council would diminish, and he would have that concern whether or not he was running for Mayor.

If Brown does enter the race, he would be the odds on favorite to win. That's not because everyone loves Robert Brown. As is common in politics, some do and some do not. It's because he runs GOTV like no one else in Middle Georgia. This race will almost certainly go two rounds. He is likely to be one of two candidates in a runoff, and in a runoff, the race is all about turnout. Sure, the winner of the runoff would face Republican opposition in the fall, but a Democrat will take this seat.

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