Georgia Democrats monitor Super Tuesday primaries
ATLANTA - Early voting has already started, but Georgia's presidential preference primary is still three weeks away and Democrats have a watchful eye on the Super Tuesday states.
Five candidates remain in the race to be the democratic nominee including Sen. Bernie Sanders, former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard.
The Georgia primary will be held Tuesday, March 24.
"I think this is going to be the long haul. Of all the presidential campaigns I have been involved in, I can tell you this one will go the distance," said State Rep. Calvin Smyre, D-Columbus, who is a Joe Biden supporter.
Rep. Smyre said Biden's win in South Carolina gave his campaign some much-needed momentum.
"We had a chance to chat. I feel good. He feels good," Smyre explained. "We feel energized."
Biden's campaign also got a boost this week when fellow Democrats Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Amy Klobuchar dropped out of the race and threw their support behind the former VP. Former presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke also endorsed Biden.
"I'm a little bit concerned that the establishment wing of the Democratic Party is putting together a 'Stop Bernie at all costs movement,'" said former State Senator and Co-Chair of Bernie Sanders' Georgia Campaign Vincent Fort. "I think that's unfortunate. They're not talking about policies. They're talking about how can we stop Bernie Sanders?"
Sanders currently leads the pack with 60 delegates and Fort believes the Vermont Senator may build on that lead so much that Georgia's primary will hold less importance.
"March 24, regardless of how much influence it has nationally, is going to have an impact on voters because if voters get excited about March 24, they're more likely to be excited about November," Fort explained.
Georgia Gang panelist Cathy Woolard, however, does not believe the race will be decided before Georgians go to the polls.
"It's going to matter. It's definitely [going to] matter and you know, that's the thing, people should never think, no matter where we are in the process, that it's settled without their vote," said Woolard.
Georgia Democratic Party Chair Nikema Williams believes Georgia will play a big role both in the primary and in the general election in November.
"Georgia Democrats will decide not only who the nomination is for the next Democratic president, but who the next president is," said Williams. "Because we are battleground Georgia. We are the deciding factor and I'm inviting all the candidates to come here and engage with our voters in a very real and authentic way."