Political Insider: "It’s hard to say who’s winning, but Democrats who hold elected positions appear to be lining up behind Kidd . . . ."

The ajc's Political Insider offers a theory explaining the late entry of Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond into the contest for First Vice Chair, which now includes state Sen. Doug Stoner of Smyrna and Secretary of State candidate Darryl Hicks:

The key is that party rules require that if the chairman of the party is male, the first vice chair must be female, and vice versa. There’s no similar regulation regarding the races of the office-holders, but you’ll see that this could be an unspoken requirement.

Assume that Kidd, daughter of the late governor Ernest Vandiver, is the front-runner — not just because of Berlon’s position on elected officials, but because of her lineage, the fact that she’s not from Atlanta, and her relatively centrist positions.

The entry of Thurmond, also from Athens, into the race for the No. 2 slot first serves as a signal to African-American voters that it’s all right to vote for Kidd.

Thurmond and Hicks are then the two black candidates in the race for first vice chairman. Stoner is white.

But Hicks just took a job as chief of staff to Fulton County Commission Chairman John Eaves. That could give pause to some state committee members, while Thurmond, as we said, has a non-Atlanta address.