Archive for the ‘agriculture’ Category

Federal campaign reports have begun to trickle in, bringing with them an outline of next year’s congressional primaries.

The 9th District congressional campaign of Doug Collins, the state lawmaker from Gainesville, reports raising $114,235 as of Sept. 30, with only slightly less on hand. Seventy-five percent of the cash came from within the northeast Georgia district.

The report from Gainesville radio talk show host Martha Zoller has yet to pop up – but her strategist, Joel McElhannon, says the campaign will report about $30,000 raised.

Collins, as you know, has strong links to both Gov. Nathan Deal and House Speaker David Ralston. Zoller has courted the tea party crowd. But the dynamics of the race may be about to change.

We’re hearing that Hunter Bicknell, chairman of the Jackson County Commission, is giving some thought to entering the race, with the object of capturing the non-Hall County vote. From the county’s web site:

A graduate of Georgia State University, …

Continue reading Your morning jolt: 9th District race for Congress may be about to grow »

Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty will make his first appearance in Georgia as a presidential candidate next Tuesday at a West Paces Ferry fundraiser.

GOP presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota. AP

The $500-a-head event will be held at the Cherokee Town & Country Club, just down the way from the state’s most prominent public housing occupant, Gov. Nathan Deal – who has declared he’s sticking with Newt Gingrich.

But as you can see on invitation, the list of hosts – after former Gov. Sonny Perdue, former state Sen. Eric Johnson, and Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus – includes Tricia Pridemore, Deal’s unsuccessful candidate for state GOP chairman.

Otherwise, the host list looks like a reunion of Perdue staffers, led by Nick Ayers, Pawlenty’s campaign manager. Click here to see the entire invitation.

The cash is much needed. With a campaign contribution disclosure looming — which will be a measure of his viability — the Washington Post reported on …

Continue reading Your morning jolt: Tim Pawlenty heads to Georgia for much-needed cash »

Gary Black, the Republican nominee for agriculture commissioner, held a fundraiser at the Depot near the state Capitol on Thursday evening.

State Agriculture Commissioner Tommy Irvin/AJC

We were only there a few minutes, so we have no crowd count. But certainly the tallest man in the room was state Agriculture Commissioner Tommy Irvin – a Democrat who will be absent from the November ballot for the first time since most Georgians have been alive.

Why was he there?

“It’s a big job, a big department with a lot of people. He’s going to need some help,” said Irvin. And he was speaking of Black. Say what? asked a mentally sputtering reporter.

“I think he’s going to win,” said Irvin.

And somewhere in the distance, Democrat J.B. Powell of Blythe, Ga., the Democratic nominee for ag commissioner, is shaking his head and wondering why he ever agreed to leave the state Senate.

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The Cato Institute, a Washington-based Libertarian group, has made its peace with Gov. Sonny …

Continue reading Your morning jolt: Why Tommy Irvin was the tallest man at a Republican fundraiser »