The Georgia Capitol was abuzz Monday with lawmakers and hopeful lawmakers lined up to qualify to run for office.
All of Georgia’s 14 Congressional representatives, 56 state senators and 180 state representatives will be up for election. A lot of them – and a lot of people who want to replace them – showed up at the Capitol Monday for the first of five days of signups.
An open seat
One person who won’t be dropping by is Republican Congressman Drew Ferguson, who announced he would not be running late last year, opening up a seat in the deeply conservative 3rd District.
Three Republican former state lawmakers signed up to try their hands in Congress Monday. Former state Rep. Philip Singleton and former state Sens. Mike Dugan and Mike Crane will be on the Republican ballot next to retired police officer Jim Bennett.
Singleton said he’s expecting seven Republican candidates to qualify, but he thinks he’s the best man for the job.
“They’re doing a lot on the campaign trail now, and unfortunately I’m the only one that’s ever done it in the legislature,” he said. “So to me it’s about telling the truth to the voters, and then when you get into office and you get elected, you actually have to do the things you said you were going to do. That’s more than a token vote on the topic once every legislative cycle and try to cover your bases.”
Dugan said he thinks voters will find his record superior.
“In the four years that I was majority leader, you look at issues that the state had been talking about for decades that we needed done and never got them done, during those four years, we got them done,” he said. “Whether it be in the military, whether it be in business, whether it be legislative, I’m the only person in this race that has a proven record of actually accomplishing things.”
Two Democrats have qualified for District 3, retired physician Val Almonord and nuclear medicine technologist Maura Keller.
A periwinkle state?
All five of Georgia’s Democratic congressional incumbents qualified Monday morning.
The Democratic Party has been gaining in Georgia in recent elections, and Congresswoman Nikema Williams, chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia, was chipper about her party’s prospects.
“People are lined up this morning waiting to get in to qualify,” she said. “We’re gonna have a very diverse slate of candidates up and down the ticket, some new state legislative lines, we are gonna be competitive in places where we have not been competitive before, a few more fair districts on the ballot, so I am looking forward to Georgia Democrats performing in every corner of every county.”
If Georgians are excited about the Democrats in the corners of their counties, they are less jazzed up about the Democrat in the figurative corners of the Oval Office.
A recent Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll found that if the election were held last month, 45% of the respondents said they would have given their vote to presumptive Republican nominee former President Donald Trump while 38% would go for President Joe Biden.
As he shook hands with and chatted with newly official GOP candidates, Georgia Republican Party Chair Josh McKoon predicted Biden’s weakness would help Republicans chalk up wins this November.
“Like in many other states, immigration and the economy are the top two issues,” he said. “(Trump) has been talking about immigration for eight years. He’s got a huge advantage over President Biden on that issue. He’s got an advantage over President Biden on the economy. People vote their pocketbooks. They vote national security, and I think that means they’re going to be voting Republican in November for President Trump and the…
This article was originally published by a georgiarecorder.com . Read the Original article here. .