Is it Possible that the DPG’s Preferred Candidate to Face Johnny Isakson Knows Nothing About Georgia Politics?

The answer to what is, frankly, an entirely reasonable question is yes.

On paper, Jim Barksdale should have been a semi-decent candidate if only because he could self-fund his race.

However, since his March 11 announcement, Barksdale has done seemingly nothing on the campaign trail. The most damning piece of evidence is that his Facebook activity began on April 5, nearly a month after his announcement. Since then, there’s been a variety of platitudes shared (few of which have any actual relevance to the campaign), a visit to a Red Clay Democrats event and two posts about going to African-American churches in Atlanta.

Oh, and 98.41% of his warchest came from a $1.1.-million dollar personal loan. That loan was barely more than Isakson was able to raise from individual donors for the first quarter of 2016. Don’t even bother comparing the two candidates’ cash on hand.

Besides general ineptitude, Barskdale doesn’t seem to know who are the main figures in the Georgia political press corps. Maybe because in the words of The AJC, Barksdale has “shirked the press.”

To wit: 

For all the talk about Georgia possibly becoming more purple in the next few years, that seems rather pollyana when terrible Democratic candidates are recruited while actual big-name challengers sit on sidelines waiting for an ideal moment to strike.

Assuming there was a path to victory for Barksdale, I think it is safe to say that path is quickly vanishing.