As early voting gets underway in Senate District 21’s special election runoff, Georgia Republicans are publicly panicking that Democrat Debra Shigley’s stunning overperformance in last month’s general election signals Democratic momentum across the state ahead of the November 2025 and 2026 elections. Debra took first place in the first round, winning 40% of the vote and beating her nearest Republican opponent by 22 points in a district that went for Trump by 35 points last year. 

See what top GA Republicans are saying about Debra’s overperformance in SD21:

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene: MTG noted on the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Politically Georgia that Debra Shigley “really ran away with it” in SD21, and used the strong Democratic performance as her evidence when she said she “worries” that Republican “voters have completely checked out.” 

Republican political strategist Brian Robinson: Of Debra outperforming last year’s SD21 Democratic nominee by ten points, Robinson said on Fox5’s “The Georgia Gang”: “The ten-point swing is concerning to me… I’m not going to joke about that… Republicans need to be on guard for this.” 

Conservative radio personality Shelley Wynter: Wynter said on WSB-AM of the SD21 race that “I want my Republican listeners to hear….that Democrats are motivated”, while his guest analyst added that “all my Democratic friends are out knocking doors for her [Debra].”

Georgia GOP Chair Josh McKoon: McKoon struggled to make excuses for Debra’s overperformance as he tried to tamp down Republican panic about the race.

“Georgia Republicans are worried by Democrats’ massive overperformance in deep-red Senate District 21 – and they should be. While they’re trying and failing to defend their toxic agenda of sky-high costs, economic chaos, and health care cuts, Georgia Democrats are unifying voters and building undeniable momentum that we’ll carry into this November’s election and next year,” said Charlie Bailey, DPG Chair.

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