Michelle Nunn, Georgia’s Democratic senate candidate, refused to say this week whether she disapproves of the state’s Democratic Party using racially charged “get out the vote” mailers.
Instead, she said, the mailers, which invoke the death of Michael Brown, an 18-year-old who was shot to death in Ferguson, Mo., can be used to start a dialogue on race, voting and equality.
“We’re best served in our state and in our country when we have full participation and representation. So as it relates to Ferguson, first and foremost, I respond to it as a mother — as someone who sees a loss of a child — someone who is going off to college in just a few days,” she said when asked if she was prepared to denounce the mailers.
She continued: “I think we need to use Ferguson as a platform to have a conversation with our communities around what kind of society we want — how do we ensure equal justice and equal treatment under the law. And then, I think we need to encourage everybody to participate in our democracy and that means having conversations about it, and it also means voting. That’s what people have the opportunity to do. That’s what we’re pushing in the next 12 days.”
The Georgia Democratic Party is now facing criticism for the racially-tinged mailers, which warn voters in the state that a failure to vote Democratic could result in the deaths of young African Americans.
“If you want to prevent another Ferguson in their future,” the mailer reads, adding, “vote. It’s up to you to make it happen.” “If we want a better, safer future for our children,” the mailer added, “it’s up to us to vote for change.”
Nunn was then asked once more if she would denounce the mailers. She responded by saying: “As I said, I focused on reflecting upon what’s happening in Ferguson and using it as a platform to have a conversation in moving forward in terms of talking about how do we ensure everybody has their voice heard going forward for the state and for the dynamism of the democracy.”
Nunn is currently in a dead heat with her Republican Challenger, businessman David Perdue, the former leading by just 45.7 percent to 44.7 percent, according to RealClearPolitics’ weighted average. The race will go to a January runoff if neither candidate gets above 50 percent.
