Herring raised six times as much Carter's previous challengers, only to lose by a larger margin

There was no beginner's luck Tuesday night for first-time politician and Savannah lawyer Wade Herring.

Herring was handily defeated by 1st District Rep. Buddy Carter at a 59% to 41% margin, despite raising a million dollars more than any other Democratic challenger Carter has faced since he first took the seat in 2014.

It's more or less what the 1st District has come to expect in recent years, likely in part due to Carter's political savvy, his own well-funded war chest and his established name within the district.

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But the 1st District would arguably be a tough win for any Democrat, regardless of money, and the recently reapportioned Congressional District maps, which passed in 2021, made the climb even steeper.

The Princeton University Gerrymandering Project estimated that the partisan vote share for the 1st District would lean 56.8% Republican, 43.2% Democrat. Carter beat Herring by an even steeper margin.

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So with Herring joining the long line of failed Democratic challengers, the question is no longer "What can a Democrat do to win the 1st District?" and more "Can a Democrat even win the 1st District at all?"

Money can't buy a Congress seat

Herring managed to draw plenty of folks to his side, raising $1.2 million in his first political campaign — with most of that cash, $1.18 million, coming from individual donors.

Despite raising a million dollars more, Herring did worse on Tuesday than both previous challengers to the undefeated 1st District Rep. Buddy Carter.

The previous high water mark for fundraising came from Lisa Ring. Ring raised a little over $220,000, and still managed to take 42.3% of the vote against Carter in 2018.

In 2020, Joyce Marie Griggs managed to take 41.7% of the vote with only $130,000.

With $1.2 million, Herring took 40.2%.

Herring failed to pull Republicans over

Herring campaigned as a centrist, a strategy aimed at pulling over Republicans who may have been dismayed by Rep. Carter’s vote against the certification of the election results in January 2021. 

Sort of. Herring sees unrestricted access to abortion as the center line in America, a defining issue for many Republicans. Herring is pro-choice and said Congress "must act to restore women's reproductive rights."

Additionally, Herring said background checks should be expanded to keep felons, fugitives and those under restraining orders from buying guns. He also supported putting "red flag laws" into place.

President Joe Biden’s popular vote win in the 2020 general election seemingly carved a path to success for center-left candidates. But Biden was running against the highly divisive Trump, whose rhetoric gave Georgia’s left-of-center voters, and a few centrists, something to rally against.

Carter just wasn't a big enough enemy for that.

Experience

Buddy Carter has won five congressional races. Wade Herring had never tried politics before this year.

Herring held his own in debates. He took Carter to task from the start on his vote against the confirmation of the 2020 election results. He fundraised five times more money than the next closest Democratic challenger to Carter.

But he was up against an opponent who will hit his 30th consecutive year in politics after his next term, and no one stays in politics that long without being good at it.

In an interview with SMN, Carter said the last time he lost an election was when he was in college.

Herring's strategy was to align his opponent with Jan. 6, and former President Donald Trump. But as Carter said in their WTOC debate, the people of this district aren't thinking about Jan. 6.

And Carter, who has never experienced a close re-election race since he first won his post on Capitol Hill in 2014, waved his Donald Trump endorsement like a banner, albeit still quietly criticizing the former president for his tone, but lauding him for his policies.

Herring, made waves locally, especially in Savannah, during his campaign. But ultimately, it wasn't enough to beat Carter, who adds another name to the list of Democratic challengers toppled in his wake.

For Carter, it means he's cleared to keep working, and pursuing the coveted House Budget Committee Chairman seat. Carter told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution he wants to become Budget chair because he believes it is past time to balance the books and begin bringing down the national debt. He said that can be done by tightening the eligibility for programs such as Social Security and Medicare.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Georgia Election Results: Three takeaways from Carter, Herring race