ATLANTA - Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle's sudden withdrawal from the governor's race has touched off furious jockeying among Georgia Republicans, some of whom are giving the contest a fresh look now that the presumed front-runner has bowed out.
While there are still three Republican hopefuls running to replace Sonny Perdue when his second term expires in 2010, the field could grow in the coming weeks after Cagle's announcement turned the race on its head.
``It certainly does have a lot of people looking,'' House Majority Leader Jerry Keen told reporters Thursday.
Cagle said Wednesday he is withdrawing from the race to undergo surgery for a degenerative spine condition. He has said he will seek re-election as lieutenant governor. Cagle had raised the most money of the candidates in the race and was considered a top contender to win the GOP nomination in July 2010. That had kept some Republicans in the wings.
Among those now believed to be eying the open seat are House Speaker Pro Tem Mark Burkhalter, of Johns Creek, state Sen. Eric Johnson, of Savannah, U.S. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, of Grantville, and Cobb County Commission Chairman Sam Olens.
Olens called Cagle's announcement ``a game changer.''
``The events yesterday significantly increase the likelihood that I will enter the race,'' Olens said Thursday. He said he will announce his plans Tuesday.
Burkhalter could not immediately be reached for comment. He has led an unsuccessful effort to eliminate the ad valorem tax on cars.
Johnson is currently running to replace Cagle as lieutenant governor. Now, with Cagle staying put, he may set his set his sites instead on the governor's mansion. He released a statement on Wednesday saying that he was keeping his options open. Johnson pushed unsuccessfully this year to make Georgia the first state in the nation with a universal school voucher program.
If Johnson doesn't jump in, another Savannah Republican, U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston, has suggested he might.
Westmoreland, one of the more conservative members of the U.S. House, said Thursday he's looking at getting in.
``We are were making a few phone calls and we're talking to some people,'' the west Georgia Republican said. ``When something like this happen there are a lot of moving parts and so we're trying to figure that out.''
Already in the GOP race are Secretary of State Karen Handel, Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine and state Rep. Austin Scott, of Tifton.
On the Democratic side, Attorney General Thurbert Baker, House Minority Leader DuBose Porter and former Georgia National Guard Commander David Poythress are running. Former Gov. Roy Barnes is also mulling the race and has said he will decide by early June.
The lure of an open governor's seat is proving tempting to the state's politically ambitious who know such an opportunity doesn't come along very often.
``I think I broke my single day phone call record yesterday, I had to recharge my cell phone twice in one day,'' Keen said Thursday. ``I think you're going to see a lot of jockeying over the next few weeks and months in both parties.''
Keen had considered entering the race but decided against it. He said Thursday he stood by that decision.
Monday
October 7th, 2024
10:31PM
