Congressman Scott DesJarlais M.D. presents a flag to the family of Private First Class Glenn Schoenmann on Wednesday at the Grundy County Courthouse.NASHVILLE – Tennessee and Georgia’s 2016 political campaign season begins with an early rush – just 61 days from New Year’s Day – with voters here and other Southern states hoping to play key roles in deciding the Republican and Democratic presidential nominees.
If you haven’t already marked it on your calendar, check it now: March 1 is “Super Tuesday.”
That’s when Republican and Democratic voters in 12 states, including Tennessee and Georgia, will go to the polls and vote for party nominees for president. Seven of the states are in the South, part of a subset dubbed the “SEC primary” because all have college sports teams in the Southeastern Conference.
With the GOP contest now at a boiling point between Donald Trump and Ted Cruz – Hillary Clinton currently leads the much smaller Democratic field – Southern states could prove pivotal in shaping the contests coming out of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.
“Georgia and Tennessee are both part of that SEC primary,” said Charles Bullock, a political science professor at the University of Georgia. GOP candidates are frequent visitors in both states. Cruz came to Chattanooga in August and was back in Tennessee last week hitting multiple cities with appeals to evangelical voters.