SANDERSVILLE — Larry Smith and John McCarty first met for coffee at the Sandersville McDonald’s in 1982.
Over the next 42 years the gathering would grow to become a near-daily morning meeting for a group of local men to drink coffee and catch up on sports, hunting and local news of the day.
Members of the “men’s coffee club,” which moved to the Jet Food Store on South Harris Street after the pandemic hit, try not to talk politics too much. But when asked, they have plenty of opinions.
Many are conflicted conservative voters who typically support Republicans in federal races, but local politics have long been controlled by Democrats. All eight of the men at a recent coffee club said they plan to vote for Republican Donald Trump in the presidential election.
“We’re voting for Donald Trump, but we vote for whoever is the Republican candidate because of policies,” said Smith, a Sandersville native. “Trump’s a controversial person, but he’s the best candidate to win.”
While they say they vote according to the party, not the person, most said they will pull Democratic primary ballots next month because Republican candidates don’t do well in local elections.
“Most people have to run as Democrats if they want to win,” said William Pierce, an octogenarian who has lived in Washington County his entire life.
All of the county’s elected officials who run in partisan races — from the County Commission and school board to sheriff and coroner — are Democrats.
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Lifelong residents describe Washington County as a moderate place, with voters leaning slightly left or right of center. That lean often falls along racial lines, with Black voters supporting Democrats and many white voters backing Republicans, many county residents said.
Some white Democrats would run as Republicans if they could win in Washington County, said Tennille resident Sammie Knight, a former Board of Education member.
“But once elected, they push conservative policies,” said Knight, who is Black.
Pierce said many Black people vote for Democrats because it’s been a tradition in the area.
“We, as Black people, have a sense that most of the Republicans are rich people who don’t really care for Black people,” Pierce said during a recent campaign event for Sheriff Joel Cochran.
Cochran, a Democrat running for his second full term as sheriff, is the only countywide candidate running this year who has a primary opponent.
“It really is a 50-50 county, politically,” said Cochran, who is white. “Most of my supporters are Black. I have supporters who are white, but most people who vote against me are white.”
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Credit: Miguel Martinez
As of July 2023, Black residents accounted for about 53% of Washington County’s nearly 20,000 residents, according to census data. About 44% of the county population is white. Hispanic or Latino residents account for about 3%.
Voters in Washington County have selected the Democratic candidate in five of the past six presidential elections. In 2004, the county voters supported Republican President George W. Bush.
The county’s longtime state lawmakers are both Black Democrats. State Sen. David Lucas of Macon has been in office since 1975, serving first in the House before being elected to the Senate in 2012. State Rep. Mack Jackson, a Sandersville native, has served for nearly 15 years.
But in 2022, county voters supported Gov. Brian Kemp and U.S. Senate candidate Herschel Walker, both Republicans.
Sandersville Mayor Jimmy Andrews described Washington County as a relaxed community. Sandersville is the hometown of former Gov. Nathan Deal and Olympic gold medalist and Atlanta Dream player Allisha Gray, who is said to still stop by a local gym to play basketball in the early hours a few times a week.
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Credit: Miguel Martinez
It’s a place where if residents don’t know every other person living in their town, they probably know someone who does. And it’s where a reporter asking questions at a Jet Food Store is greeted, asked her name and where she’s from, and told to visit again soon.
Mostly, residents care for the well-being of their neighbors, said Daryl Frost, who, at 58, is the baby of the Jet Food Store coffee club.
“If someone falls on hard times, it’s nothing to start a GoFundMe and raise $20,000,” he said. “We take care of each other.”
That goes beyond politics, even in closely divided Washington County.
This story has been updated to correct an error regarding when State Sen. David Lucas began serving in the General Assembly.
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Credit: Miguel Martinez
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