By: Jack Keller
After two terms in office, Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga) has decided to retire rather than run for a third term in 2014. A Republican stronghold in the U.S. Senate, Chambliss’s retirement could, perhaps, leave the GOP vulnerable both in Georgia and on the hill.
Chambliss, always a target of the left, faced a protracted campaign for re-election in 2008: a campaign season that led to Democrats nabbing up the seats of six other Republicans, including two from the South—Virginia and North Carolina. However, Chambliss was poised against Democratic challenger Jim Martin in his wide-margined victory in the Senatorial run-off election of December 2008, thus denying Democrats a filibuster-proof, 60-seat majority in the Senate.
When he confirmed his retirement in January, Chambliss released a statement on his reasons for stepping down:
“This is about frustration, both at a lack of leadership from the White House and at the dearth of meaningful action from Congress, especially on issues that are the foundation of our nation’s economic health. The debt-ceiling debacle of 2011 and the recent fiscal-cliff vote showed Congress at its worst and, sadly, I don’t see the legislative gridlock and partisan posturing improving anytime soon.”
That being said, let’s take a look at Chambliss’ potential replacements. Front-runners in the Republican Primary include U.S. Representatives Jack Kingston of Savannah, Ga., Phil Gingrey of Marietta, Ga., and Paul Broun of Athens, Ga.
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Jack Kingston:
Jack Kingston, a University of Georgia alumnus, is the U.S. Representative for the First Congressional District of Georgia. The district incorporates 17 counties in southeast Georgia including the entirety of the state’s coastline, consequently positing that Congressman Kingston might have a lock on the south Georgia voters.
Having been a U.S. Representative since 1993, Kingston serves as the Chairman of the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Subcommittee which oversees federal spending on worker safety, health, education, and retirement security programs. In terms of the 2014 Senate race, Kingston has raised about $3.4 million, eclipsing his next competitor by more than $1.5 million. Slightly centrist in comparison to his other Republican counterparts, Kingston will look to find common ground with Georgia’s GOP.
At the Republican Primary Debate in Adel, Ga., Kingston reassured his constituents that he is, indeed, focused on cutting federal spending: “I’m very concerned about the American dream. I’m the only one up here who’s cut his own office expenses over a million dollars. I’m the only one who’s cuts federal spending and negotiated with Democrats and got it signed by Barack Obama.”
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David Perdue:
First cousin of former Governor Sunny Perdue (R-Ga.), David Perdue is a Republican hopeful in the Georgia senate race. Having earned his undergraduate degree in industrial engineering and master’s degree in operations research at Georgia Tech, Perdue is a proven business man currently serving as an appointee to the Georgia Ports Authority and the Trustee and Treasurer of the Georgia Tech Foundation. Citing his experience in international business—Senior-Vice President of Asia Operations for Sara Lee, CEO of Dollar General and CEO of the Reebok Company—Perdue’s résumé supports his belief in ending the debt-ceiling and strengthening the economy in a manageable manner.
Addressing the first major debt-ceiling confrontation, Perdue told Jim Galloway of the Atlanta Journal- Constitution, “This is why I got into the race. Financial irresponsibility on both sides is what drew me in. We keep moving around from one topic to another, without addressing the 800-pound gorilla in the room.”
As a businessman, Perdue said he was appalled by the damage done by Congress saying, “The rhetoric right now does not bode well for the economy,”
He currently sits on the board of directors of five major corporations and is active in Perdue Partners, a Georgia-based global trading company that he co-founded. Perdue is a staunch supporter of bringing jobs back to Georgia going as far as to rebuke outsourcing. In his short campaign, Perdue has raised $1.8 million and hopes to use his business affluence to bring fiscal change to Georgia and America.
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Paul Broun:
Rep. Paul C. Broun, Jr. was elected in July of 2007 to serve the Tenth District of Georgia. Since his arrival in Congress, he has been appointed to the House Homeland Security Committee, the House Committee on Natural Resources, and currently serves as Chairman of the Investigations and Oversight Subcommittee for the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee. A native of Athens, Ga., Dr. Broun attended Athens High School, graduated from the University of Georgia with a B.S in chemistry in 1967, and received his M.D. degree from the Medical College of Georgia in 1971.
A member of the Tea Party Caucus, Rep. Broun is a staunch supporter of repealing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in favor of market-based reform policies. Broun is a political conservative who believes his religious views inform his politics. Despite his tenure on the House’s Science, Space , and Technology Committee, Broun stated that “the sciences of embryology, evolution, and the Big Bang are ‘lies straight from the Pit of Hell’ … lies to try to keep me and all the folks who are taught that from understanding that they need a savior.” Broun will mostly bring in voters from the far-right as he prides himself on being, “the true conservative in this race and I hope I painted that picture here [in Georgia] . It’s absolutely imperative that people look at the voting records and who we are.”
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Phil Gingrey:
Congressman Phil Gingrey was born and raised in Augusta, Ga. He attended the Georgia Institute of Technology. After completing his undergraduate studies in chemistry, Phil returned home to Augusta to attend the Medical College of Georgia. Later moving to Marietta, Ga, Dr. Gingrey practiced as a pro-life OB-GYN for 26 years.
In 2002, Gingery was elected to represent Georgia’s 11th District. Rep. Gingrey currently serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, House Administration Committee, and was recently selected to serve on the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (Helsinki Commission). Dr. Gingrey is proud to be the Chairman of the GOP Doctors Caucus where the congressman works with 21 medical providers in Congress to develop patient-centered, patient-driven healthcare reforms focused on quality, access, affordability, portability, and choice. Rep. Gingrey has been a driving force in the fight to repeal Obamacare, and continues working hard to reduce waste and fraud in the Medicare system. Congressman Gingrey trails Jack Kingston in fundraising by about $2 million, however his representation of north Atlanta will hopefully to secure the area’s votes.
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Michelle Nunn:
Michelle Nunn seems to be the leader of the Democratic opposition. The daughter of Sen. Samuel Nunn (D-Ga., 1972-1997), Michelle Nunn has had a distinguished business career of her own. After graduating Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Virginia, she returned home and founded Hands On Atlanta, served as its first executive director. Over the next decade, Michelle grew volunteerism efforts across Georgia, and eventually throughout the country, through Hands On Network, a national outreach of volunteer-service organizations. In 2007, Hands On Network merged with the Points of Light Foundation, President George H.W. Bush’s organization and legacy. After leading a successful merger, Nunn became the CEO and President of Points of Light, now the largest organization in the country devoted to volunteer service, with 250 affiliates and partnerships with thousands of nonprofits and corporations.
In relations to her political ideology, Nunn said that some aspects of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act should be fixed, but that it should not be eliminated, and she criticized Georgia’s refusal to accept Medicaid expansion under the act. Following the start-up problems with the associated Healthcare.gov website, Nunn broke with the Obama administration and said that the individual mandate portion of the law should be delayed. Her stance on same sex-marriage is in-line with her counterparts stating that she personally favored marriage equality, but that the decision should be made on a state-by-state basis. Having raised over $1.7 million, Nunn is gathering support; An initial Public Policy Polling showed Nunn tied or ahead of the various possible Republican candidates, yet this bound to change after the Republican Primary.
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Needless to say, this will shape up to be an interesting senatorial election. The Republican primary is scheduled for late May.
