Peach State voters head to the polls on May 20th.
Michelle Nunn will inarguably be the Democrats’ nominee for the state’s open Senate seat, made vacant by Saxby Chambliss’s foregoing a bid for a third term.
She’s raised gobs of money from national forces, and many regard her as their party’s best shot at a pickup in 2014, albeit one most handicappers say will take serious lightening in a bottle.
However long her odds may be, it’s not a race that can be taken lightly, given the deluge of liberal dollars paying for campaign ads attempting to dupe voters into thinking she’s not like other Democrats, despite the fact that her victory would equate to a vote for Harry Reid as majority leader.
Five top-tier GOPers are vying for a shot – three congressmen, a former statewide office holder, and someone not cut from the political cloth.
That’s David Perdue, and now is the time for someone with his background in Georgia.
The last name’s familiar to Peach Staters – he’s the first cousin of Sonny Perdue, the state’s first Republican governor since Reconstruction. But he took a different path, this is his first run for office, and the story preceding him is that of the American Dream.
A self-made businessman, he grew up in Middle Georgia, worked and paid his way through school, and ultimately embarked on a 40 year run in business that saw him ink Reebok’s first exclusive deal with the NFL and expand Dollar General by 2,500 stores, creating thousands of jobs in the process.
That career took him and his family the world over, and he’s witnessed first-hand what the hammer of big government’s excess and regulatory machine can do to the private sector.
In this writer's mind, it sets him apart from the others in the field.
Perdue’s experience makes him a different kind of candidate, someone uniquely fitted to deal with the $17 trillion debt that should be on the mind of our leaders with each and every decision.
Point being – his legacy’s in place and he’ll tell you that he’s running so the next generation has an opportunity to leave a legacy of its own. Survey the race and it’s clear he’s the only one without an obvious political motivation.
That kind of pedigree is a refreshing voice in a field dotted with longtime officeholders and perennial candidates, evidenced by Perdue’s surge in the polls since February.
Moreover, from a political standpoint, there’s a lot to think about when it comes to Georgia’s future.
Though Nunn is the underdog in 2014, the state has been undergoing a rapid change in demographics for some time. Most agree that by 2018 or 2020 Democrats will have sufficient numbers to give the GOP a run for its money statewide.
The reality that we must elect a conservative senator who can win in both 2014 and 2020 cannot be lost over the course of this process.
Ultimately, that leaves a simple question – who is best fit to carry that mantle?
Is it one of three congressmen – two with a penchant for unelectable comments and one who was first elected the same year as Bill Clinton? Is it a former Georgia secretary of state who has sought office more times in the last eight years than the Atlanta Braves have won playoff games?
Or is it a first-time candidate with a different kind of background?
The polls bear this out – Perdue runs best in head-to-head matchups with Michelle Nunn.
With no offense intended to their accomplishments, the remainder of this field smacks of yesterday.
Georgians deserve an alternative to yesterday - someone who'll take the blade to Washington's outrageous spending, charge against Obamacare, and fight to unleash economic growth, not more government.
That’s David Perdue.
Attacks are sure to fly over this final week, as well as through the inevitable runoff, but I’m placing my stock with an electable conservative who will be a strong voice for Georgia moving forward.
Beyond personal preferences, it’s imperative Republicans put forward a united front against Michelle Nunn when the primary process is all said and done – the consequences in both 2014 and beyond are too great to ignore.