The Georgia GOP kicked off the separate statewide bus tours for Gov. Nathan Deal and U.S. Senate hopeful David Perdue Friday night at the Cobb GOP headquarters in Marietta with a packed house and an all-star cast.
Deal mounted an extended defense of his economic team took the opportunity to tout a timely Monday announcement of 650 new jobs, which by his count would make 1,800 new Georgia jobs in two weeks.
"All of that doesn't just happen," Deal said. "It means we have to have people who are working together."
Approached after the event, Deal offered no further details about the economic development announcement.
Deal was introduced by Karen Handel -- "bet some of y'all didn't see that coming, did ya?" she quipped about her bitter 2010 runoff foe. Rep. Phil Gingrey, R-Marietta, who introduced Perdue, and attorney Art Gardner also were on hand in a Ghosts of Georgia Senate Race Past moment. Gingrey joked he was like "Don Quixote" running against Perdue.
Perdue gave a version of his stump speech that included these lines on what the GOP should aspire to be:
"We've got to sell hope. It's one thing to sit here and complain because we're in the minority. That's no good anymore. We've got to take the high road and tell people why we have a better way, why we're right on the issues. It's all about hope."
U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, a longtime Cobb County resident, was on hand as well to talk about the importance of the GOP stronghold in keeping the state red. It was telling and not at all surprising that Perdue got his loudest cheer for this line: "If we win the Senate, Johnny Isakson will be the next chairman of our Veterans Affairs Committee."
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Perdue on Friday evening released a new television advertisement with a female narrator and images of Democrat Michelle Nunn and President Barack Obama.
And the National Republican Senatorial Committee is using President Barack Obama's V-103 radio interview in a robocall that started going out tonight. Here's the audio:
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