Open season for political campaigns

Now that the General Assembly has left town, the field of statewide candidates for the 2010 election is starting to get crowded.

Already this week, a third Democrat, House Minority Leader DuBose Porter of Dublin, has announced he will run for governor in 2010 and Democratic state Rep. Rob Teilhet of Smyrna became the first candidate to say he’ll run for attorney general.

And more candidates are expected to announce in the coming weeks.

The final gavel of the session Friday night was the starting gun of sorts because lawmakers and elected officials can’t, by law, raise campaign money during legislative sessions.

Three candidates for governor, Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine and Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, both Republicans, along with Democratic former Adjutant General David Poythress, began raising money last year for a race that could cost the top candidates between $10 million and $20 million.

Despite the prohibition against fund-raising during the session, several more candidates jumped into the race this year to replace Gov. Sonny Perdue, who by law can’t run for a third term in 2010.

On the Republican side, Secretary of State Karen Handel filed paperwork to raise money last month. Rep. Austin Scott (R-Tifton) said he would run, too. Attorney General Thurbert Baker, a Democrat, announced last week that he’d run for governor. And Libertarian John Monds joined the race. States Rights Republican Ray McBerry also is running.

Two other potential candidates are still on the horizon for what could be the most crowded governor’s race in at least 20 years. Former Gov. Roy Barnes, a Democrat whom Perdue ousted in 2002, and Republican Cobb County Commission Chairman Sam Olens are considering the race but haven’t announced a decision.

Raising the money they need to run a competitive campaign won’t be easy in a recession.

Barnes raised $20 million in 2002 and lost. Perdue raised about $14 million for his successful 2006 re-election campaign and the Republican Party spent millions more to give him another term.

House Majority Leader Jerry Keen (R-St. Simons Island), who tested the waters but decided against running for governor, said matching those political war chests will be tough.

“A lot of people who have written checks in the past don’t have any money right now,” he said.

The governor’s race is one of several still in search of candidates and money.

So far, no major candidate has yet announced to run against U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) next year.

With Cagle, Handel, Oxendine and Baker in the governor’s race, that opens up four jobs: lieutenant governor, secretary of state, insurance commissioner and attorney general.

Two prominent state senators, David Shafer (R-Duluth) and Eric Johnson (R-Savannah), already have been raising money to run to replace Cagle as lieutenant governor.

Baker’s announcement last week was a surprise, but there are already several names being tossed around to replace him.

Teilhet said he did not know of any other Democrats considering a bid. That is unlikely to be the case on the other side, he said.

“I am assuming that every Republican with a law license is going to be running,” Teilhet said.

Among those said to be considering a bid: state Sens. Seth Harp (R-Midland) and Preston Smith (R-Rome) and state Rep. Ed Lindsey (R-Atlanta).

Another name mentioned in the mix is former Sen. Dan Lee, who has been a Capitol lobbyist the past few years.