I’m told by a very reliable 6th district source that, as expected, Congressman Tom Price of Roswell is already making phone calls and his candidacy will be official shortly. It helps that the race has been under consideration for some time. That, and he has a couple million dollars in his campaign account that can be transferred to a Senate race.
Others considering a run now will have at least one of the data points they will need to decide if they wish to give up a current office (and/or be able to raise a sizable chunk) to face a well funded Congressman in a primary.
And, this of course sets new dominoes. I believe Karen Handel will likely jump in this race. Who else may join her in a quest to represent GA-6 in Washington?
{ 30 comments… read them below or add one }
I think Tom would be considered the front runner were he to jump in. If Westmoreland jumped in, they both would
Agree. Price has the best base, though Westmoreland is very popular in his. Kingston would be kind of silly to run.
As for 6CD, Handel’s the frontrunner. Albers may jump in but it wouldn’t be wise. Jan Jones would be less wise considering where she is.
Kingston is extremely popular in GA-1 and GA-12. He is also very close to Eric Johnson, who ran a strong gubernatorial race himself and was probably a week or two away from being in the runoff .
To quote Indy Injun in another thread:
Why replace Saxby with a clone?
Kingston is not a fiscal conservative.
Please provide some votes that Kingston, Price, etc. differed on.
I like Eric and was torn between him and Handel, not deciding until 2.5 weeks before the primary to support Karen. It was my biggest mistake since I became active in politics.
They both would be frontrunners? Simple math dictates that ain’t possible.
Price’s (short) statement on Saxby’s retirement:
Washington, D.C. – Congressman Tom Price, M.D. (GA-06) responded to the announcement of Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) that he would retire at the end of his second term in 2014, saying:
“I join my fellow Georgians in deep appreciation for Saxby Chambliss’s extensive service to our great state and nation. Since 1995, he has answered the call to public service, first as a member of Congress, and later, as a member of the Senate. Betty and I wish Saxby and his wife, Julianne, the very best. I am proud to call him a friend.”
Price, Westmoreland, Broun and Gingrey all expressed interest in challenging Sen. Chambliss before Chambliss withdrew from the race. I think their interest drove him from the race.
Yes. That, plus the disdain that conservatives have with his record.
Plus his age.
Ehh…, maybe, but I’m pretty sure that he had made the decision prior to November of 2011.
I don’t believe Westmoreland or Gingrey ever expressed any such interest.
Agreed, but Broun and Price were enough.
I thought I saw a news story where Gingrey refused to rule it out a month or so ago. Westmoreland was calling people about it for the past few weeks.
If it is Price vs. Westmoreland, that will be an epic battle. Would hate to get caught in the crosshairs of that one..
I think Tom wins that battle via metro Atlanta. A big key is if Phil does not run. But you are right it would be tight. Btw I like Phil and Tom…….
To plagiarize my comment from the other thread, I think you nailed it by saying Westmoreland is the favorite if he wants it. The Governor will flex muscle in this race. If Price is in, axes from 2010 will be ground in 2014. Westmoreland and Deal are close, in fact there were once whispers that if an appointment needed to be made to finish out Saxby’s term, Westmoreland would likely have been the guy. Regardless of who else may get in, I see Price and Westmoreland slugging this one out in August 2014.
@GAgadfly, If Westmoreland runs and Gov. Deal comes out strong for him and attacks Tom , that will hurt Lynn in tea party circles.
Seriously? You’re going to try to pre-empt Westmoreland because of what you perceive Deal might do?
First of all, you won’t see many of Deal’s fingerprints.
Most importantly, Westmoreland actually lines up well with the TEA party’s votes in DC.
If you want to try and paint him – Lynn EFFING Westmoreland- as a liberal/left of Tea party candidate, you have officially spun yourself into left field.
As those letters I get from a-hole attorneys like Bob Loblaw always say, “Please govern yourself accordingly.”
@Charlie, I am not pre-empting anyone. I like and respect Lynn a a great deal and think he would make a great Senator. He has made a great congressman. I have spoken to him numerous times the past weeks.
I was simply replying to what GAgadfly said about Lynn about Gov. Deal and his potential involvement. I was simply pointing out there was a down side to Gov. Deal getting involved.
Good
I think we should just all start a Twitter campaign – Charlie Harper for U.S. Senate
He’d really have to change his ways & tell a lot of lobbyists and tea party folks that he has seen the green flash……
I heard Chicarus would not support “No Budget, No Beer.”
Most of the Cobb portion of Cong Dist 6 overlaps with Judson Hill’s 32nd Senate District (Hunter Hill, Steve Thompson and Barry Loudermilk also have small portions of Cobb CD 6). Most of Senator John Albers’ 56th Senate District is in CD 6 (all but the Cherokee portion of his Senate district, which is in CD 11), and most of Senator Fran Millar’s 40th District overlaps with CD 6. Senate President Pro Tem David Shafer also has some of CD 6 (in Fulton part of his Fulton/Gwinnett Senate district). Judson Hill’s district had the highest turnout of all 56 Senate districts in last year’s GOP presidential primary—and the highest turnout (according to data released from SOS yesterday) of all 56 Senate districts in last November’s general election (95,000+)
Incidentally, if Price were to get elected to the Senate, this might be fhe first time both our senators hailed from metro Atlanta—and probably first time in a while (if ever) that both senators lived in the same congressional district.
Republican electorate of CD 6 generally viewed more as the moderate/somewhat conservative side of the party. This was one of only two cong districts (John Lewis’s CD 5 being the other) that Romney won in the Georgia presidential primary. Isakson doubtless won the current 6th CD in 1996 when he ran pro-choice on abortion (though he lost statewide in the primary to Guy Millner), and of course won it in the 2004 Senate primary when he was viewed as the “liberal” candidate on abortion because he favored allowing abortions in cases of rape and incest (which rivals Herman Cain and Mac Collins did not). No dubt referendums on Sunday alcohol sales have easily passed in precincts of the district (which probably has Georgia’s largest Catholic population, compared to the other 13 cong districts)
Man, you really ARE Northside!
Jan Jones would make an excellent member of the Congressional delegation.
Can Congress compel the reformation of Milton County?
I have met Karen and Jan, and in my opinion Karen wins that battle.
+1.
It’s fun and flattering for all these possible candidates to float their names, but Jan should really keep her place in the capitol.
You must log in to post a comment.