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Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Poythress getting a head start on 2010
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It seems like a long way off, but there’s a pretty good reason folks like retired Georgia National Guard Adjutant General David Poythress may be filing paperwork for the 2010 governor’s race already this summer.
Poythress, 64, who also served as secretary of state and labor commissioner, is expected to open a campaign account within the next month to raise money to run for governor as a Democrat.
State Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine, a Republican, is the only other candidate to file such paperwork for what may be a crowded 2010 race to replace Gov. Sonny Perdue.
Perdue is in his second term and can’t run for a third.
When asked how much he’ll need to compete in the governor’s race, Poythress said, “Realistically, something a little shy of $20 million.” He later added, “$20 million may be a little on the low side.”
Back in 1998, Poythress ran for governor, finishing third in the Democratic primary to Roy Barnes and Lewis Massey. He raised about $1.5 million for that race. Barnes won the general election, then spent about $20 million to win re-election in 2002, only to lose to Perdue.
—James Salzer
Jim Galloway is on vacation. If you’ve got news, pop an e-mail to our political team: editor Susan Abramson at sabramson@ajc.com; staffers Aaron Sheinin at asheinin@ajc.com; James Salzer at jsalzer@ajc.com; Ben Smith at bsmith@ajc.com; and Jim Tharpe at jtharpe@ajc.com.
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McCain, Chambliss lead in Georgia, new poll finds
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A new poll from Atlanta-based Strategic Vision shows that John McCain remains the leader in the presidential race in Georgia and incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss leads all Democratic challengers.
The poll, released Tuesday, shows Republican McCain leading Democrat Barack Obama 51 percent to 43 percent, with Libertarian Bob Barr, the former Georgia congressman, getting 3 percent.
The poll of 800 likely voters has a margin of error of 3 percentage points, meaning the race could be as tight 5 points or as wide as 11.
In the race for the Democratic Senate nomination, the poll found DeKalb County CEO Vernon Jones leading with 25 percent, former WSB television reporter Dale Cardwell at 22 percent, former state lawmaker Jim Martin at 17, Atlanta businessman Rand Knight with 14 percent, retired businessman Josh Lanier at 6 percent and 16 percent were undecided.
In theoretical match-ups with each potential Democratic challenger, Chambliss gets no less than 57 percent.
Click here to get the full results.
— Aaron Gould Sheinin
Jim Galloway is on vacation. If you’ve got news, pop an e-mail to our political team: editor Susan Abramson at sabramson@ajc.com; staffers Aaron Sheinin at asheinin@ajc.com; James Salzer at jsalzer@ajc.com; Ben Smith at bsmith@ajc.com; and Jim Tharpe at jtharpe@ajc.com.
