In an unexpected development, former Georgia Rep. John Barrow announced on Sunday that he'd run for secretary of state, a position that will be open next year because the current Republican office-holder, Brian Kemp, is running for governor. Barrow has the distinction of being the last white Democrat to hold a seat in Congress in the Deep South—a seat he held during many tough elections, even after Republicans repeatedly made his district redder and forced him to move, but finally lost in the GOP wave of 2014.
During his time in office, Barrow cultivated a reputation as a conservative Blue Dog, a profile that allowed him to survive in a red district but may not serve him as well should he face a contested statewide primary. That seems unlikely, though: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution says that former Rockdale County Tax Commissioner R.J. Hadley "has been persuaded to stand down," while another candidate, State Rep. Dee Dawkins-Haigler, reported raising no money in the first half of the year. No other Democrats are running, and Barrow's message of nonpartisanship should serve him well in pursuing a post like this one, which ought to be (though often isn't) apolitical.
Republicans, on the other hand, have a multi-way fight for their nomination, which includes a trio of state legislators—state Reps. Buzz Brockway and Brad Raffensperger, plus state Sen. Josh McKoon—as well as Alpharetta Mayor David Belle Isle, who has led in fundraising so far. Whoever the GOP chooses, though, will have to contend with Kemp's mistakes as secretary of state, most notably a costly data breach that exposed the confidential information of over six million Georgia voters in 2015.
