AJC assistant senior editor James Salzer on covering historic Georgia governor’s race
James Salzer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution assistant senior editor for state government & politics, is preparing for what could be a historic race to become Georgia’s governor.
Salzer says that the Georgia governor’s race promises intrigue and excitement as Democrat Stacy Abrams may again face Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican. Kemp must first defeat David Purdue in the GOP primary.
Add in former star football player Herschel Walker to the Senate race, and Georgia becomes a national political juggernaut.
“The intensity and the amount of money that’s flowing into the state is just insane, because now we are a state where we’re 50/50 and we don’t know what’s going to happen,” Salzer said during a recent meeting with Georgia State University journalism students.
Intrigue in the state’s politics is noticeable at the state capitol as Salzer and his team are rubbing shoulders with teams from The New York Times and Washington Post, which actually outnumber his Atlanta-based team.
“Covering a race is a grind, particularly in today’s world, it’s 24/7.”
“I got kind of burned out on electoral politics because it cam be very discouraging. You can find that you can just write amazing stories and expose amazing stuff. And in the end, the vote turns out the same way, because we are a partisan state like every state.”
COVID proved to be a particularly long grind as the pandemic began just before the 2020 legislative session ended.
The pandemic allowed for Salzer to clock in at Florida’s St. George Island or with his wife’s family in Spain rather than the capitol.
“That thought me that I could,” Salzer said. “I knew it in the back of my head I could work anywhere because I work in cars sometimes, but I never thought about going somewhere and working.”