Here's a friendly reminder of what's going on in Georgia:
http://politics.blog.ajc.com/...
As the longest GOP runoff in state history heads into the home stretch, Democrat Michelle Nunn is quietly raising thousands of supporters for her own campaign.
Nunn’s campaign said it has enlisted more than 3,000 volunteers to help her contest against the eventual winner of the July 22 runoff between Rep. Jack Kingston and businessman David Perdue.
“We are building a grassroots army,” Nunn said at a recent campaign stop at an Atlanta restaurant. “I think there’s a lot of excitement, and we make sure we’re getting everybody to participate. It’s good for Georgia and it’s good for democracy. We’re building a really broad coalition – some of them are long-time Democrats and some are people who have never voted Democrat.” - Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 6/29/14
I talked about Nunn's ability to put together a grassroots campaign in my last GA-Sen diary which you can read here:
http://www.dailykos.com/...
Democrats are hoping Tea Party backed candidate, Rep. Jack Kingston (R. GA) emerges as the nominee so they can hit him on his record. Nunn though sounds like she would be ready to take on either Kingston or businessman David Perdue (R. GA):
“They’ve been largely attacking one another, as we’ve said, in a race to the extremes. I haven’t been analyzing their race, but I’m ready for whoever emerges. I just got back from traveling across the state, and talking about businesses like this, and what happens when people actually work together, and what we can accomplish to get things done. And I don’t hear any of that on the Republican primary side.“ - Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 6/29/14
Meanwhile, Kingston wants to be just like Nunn's dad:
http://politics.blog.ajc.com/...
Jack Kingston, one of two Republicans remaining in the race for U.S. Senate, said Monday he would pursue a seat on that chamber’s Armed Services Committee should he win the nomination in July and the November election.
The announcement is a significant one: If Kingston beats David Perdue on July 22, he’ll face Democrat Michelle Nunn, whose father, Sam Nunn, was the longtime chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee – and one of the foremost defense experts of his period.
Kingston made his remarks during a well-placed presser in Marietta, at the end of the runways of Dobbins Air Reserve Base.
Among his priorities, Kingston said, would be the next round of military base reductions and closings – “an issue that will always be out there.”
“Part of what we need to do is make sure we’re always looking for new missions – what else can be done on that base to expand it? What kind of military needs do they have?” Kingston said.
It came as no surprise, given that the aircraft are stationed at Moody Air Force Base near Valdosta, within his congressional district, but Kingston said he would be a Senate advocate for the A-10 Warthog – a ground-troop support aircraft currently on the chopping block as a cost-cutting measure. - Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 6/30/14
And of course Kingston is gloating the Supreme Court's ruling on Hobby Looby and the contraception mandate:
http://www.northwestgeorgianews.com/...
"This is yet another reason why Obamacare should be repealed - it is unworkable. I am glad the court recognized private companies should not be forced to violate their religious convictions. Religious liberty is a bedrock principle of the United States and should be defended fiercely by those elected to uphold the Constitution."
Congressman Kingston is the Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee which oversees funding of the Department of Health and Human Services. - Northwest Georgia News, 6/30/14
And Perdue is still touting his outsider label:
http://www.southernpoliticalreport.com/...
Tapping into widespread disapproval of Congress, David Perdue campaigns as a candidate from the outside with fresh ideas and perspective.
It makes a stark contrast between him and his GOP Senate runoff opponent Jack Kingston, a 22-year veteran of the House of Representatives from Savannah. Since Perdue spent his career in the executive suites of major corporations rather than politics, he's not a stranger to the inner sanctums of power.
He headed corporations like Reebok and Dollar General and sat on the boards of influential trade groups like the National Retail Association. His cousin, Georgia's first modern-times Republican governor, appointed him to the board of the Georgia Ports Authority.
The important thing, he says, is that he hasn't been in Congress like Kingston and three other primary opponents.
"If they were going to make a difference, wouldn't they have done it by now?" he asks, adding that the Founding Fathers envisioned citizen-legislators rather than career politicians.
Perdue grew up in rural, Warner Robins, Ga., in the home of two educators who spent many days toiling on his grandfather's farm. He worked his way through Georgia Tech. Rising in the corporate world required many moves, including years overseas heading international divisions.
His career didn't allow time for political volunteering, but it did provide lessons on balancing budgets, leading coalitions and reacting to government policies. It also paid him millions of dollars that bought his retirement home on exclusive Sea Island, resulting in charges that he has no connection with everyday Georgians.
"If I were out of touch, there is no way that I would have been successful in a competitive business career," he said, adding that he could have never marketed to bargain-conscious consumers at Dollar General or motivated rank-and-file Reebok employees without an understanding of their needs. - Southern Political Report, 6/30/14
And of course he's running on the typical Republican platform:
http://www.rockdalenews.com/...
His two main agendas as senator would be instituting Congressional term limits and tackling the national "debt crisis."
"The Founding Fathers never imagined the rise of career politicians," Perdue said, saying the lack of term limits gives lobbyists and special interests too much influence over legislators. "It really does distort the priorities and sense of urgency."
As for the national debt, he focuses on "reducing spending and getting the economy going." He claimed there are 480 "redundant federal agencies" that are "low-hanging fruit" to cut spending on.
"Let's take the Department of Education as an example," Perdue said. It spends over $70 billion a year, he said, "and yet the results we're seeing are not acceptable. And this is not partisan. We're talking about both sides here."
As a businessman, he said, he views the Department of Education as a corporate division that is underperforming and should be "defunded" and fixed. More education spending decisions should be made at the local level, he said.
Like outgoing Sen. Saxby Chambliss, Perdue is a support of the "FairTax," a proposal to replace federal income and payroll taxes with a large flat sales tax on all goods and services. Admitting he knew little about the FairTax before the race, Perdue said he now believes it would help industries in places such as Rockdale.
The current tax code "has created an unlevel playing field for our manufacturers," he said. "We have the highest corporate tax rate in the world...It puts our manufacturers at a great disadvantage. I believe [the FairTax] can make a huge difference in our economy."
Perdue's platform includes strong support for gun ownership rights. But he declined to comment on Rockdale's ongoing Second Amendment controversy over a new state law allowing guns to be carried into unsecured government buildings.
"I'm a purist" on the Second Amendment, he said, noting the Founding Fathers placed gun rights immediately after the freedoms of speech and religion in the Bill of Rights. "I'm going to go up [to Washington] and fight for that."
"I'm proud to be from a state that has passed one of the most comprehensive gun bills in the country," he said, referring to Georgia's recent new gun laws. But he repeatedly declined to comment specifically about the guns in government buildings part of that package, calling it a "state issue" that it would be "irresponsible" for a federal office-seeker to comment on.
Asked about the U.S. response to the latest crisis in Iraq, where militants are attacking and seizing cities, Perdue expressed concern about the safety of U.S. personnel already there.
"We cannot let another Benghazi happen. We cannot let another Tehran happen," he said, referring to infamous attacks on U.S. embassies in Libya and Iran.
He said he supports placing U.S. military advisers in Iraq to gain first-hand knowledge of the situation, but not a full troop deployment. "The last thing we want is to get into a civil war" with no exit strategy, he said. - Rockdale News, 6/30/14
And Perdue's own polling shows that this race is far from over between him and Kingston:
http://politics.blog.ajc.com/...
The data come from a live voice poll conducted on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday of this week – 600 GOP voters, MOE of +/-4.0 percentage points.
The memo contains two basic messages that Perdue is attempting to push out: One, that a barrage TV criticism from pro-Kingston groups hasn’t wounded him. The first-time candidate’s approval ranking still sits at a 63 percent, with 19 percent of voters rating him unfavorably.
Secondly, the race is closer than other polls have indicated. Those have given Kingston a double-digit lead. Perdue’s survey – conducted by a firm he’s paying, remember – has the two candidates in a virtual tie: Perdue, 45 percent, and Kingston, 44 percent. - Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 6/26/14
In person voting started today and anything can happen between now and July 22nd. Lets make sure Nunn is ready to go for November by donating and getting involved with Nunn's campaign:
http://www.michellenunn.com/