Rep. Charlie Norwood (R, GA-10) is gravely ill with lung and liver cancer that is spreading to the rest of his body. He has stopped medical treatment and returned home to Georgia to die.
Obviously this is sad for Norwood and his family, but this is a political blog and I'd like to focus on the inevitable special election. With the recent redistricting in Georgia, I don't have stats about GA-10, a new district for 2006, at my fingertips, but it is a district created by a GOP legislature with the intent of electing a Rethug.
According to the Athens Banner-Herald, the likely candidates to replace Norwood are:
Observers have speculated that a special election would create a free-for-all of candidates vying for a rare open seat. Frequently mentioned candidates include Democrats Terry Holley, a Grovetown jeweler who lost to Norwood last year; former state senator Carol Jackson of Habersham County and state Rep. Alan Powell of Hartwell. On the Republican side, state Sen. Ralph Hudgens of Comer, former state Sen. Brian Kemp of Athens, former Athens-Clarke County Mayor Doc Eldridge and Gary Black, a former candidate for state agriculture commissioner from Jackson County, are considered potential candidates.
Does anyone know anything about any of these candidates? Do we have a chance in GA-10?