Our AJC colleague Nicholas Fouriezos, traveling with David Perdue, sends this along:
ST. SIMONS -- A sea salt breeze and temperatures climbing to almost 80 degrees greeted Republican U.S. Senate hopeful David Perdue as he returned home today for the odd sensation of voting for himself.
“It is strange to see your name on the ballot, I have to say, having never done this before,” he admitted, minutes after casting his vote at the fire station polling location. He had little time to linger on the coast before zooming off to Waycross for the next stop on his statewide tour.
Much has changed since the Sea Island resident jumped into the Senate race as an underdog self-funder polling in the low single digits more than a year ago, while other things have remained the same. The weather, for instance. It’s like this all the time, Perdue says, but you know it’s fall and spring because the bugs aren’t out yet.
The talking points don't change with the seasons, either.
“The responses we’re getting the last two weeks are the same responses we were getting a year ago,” said Perdue, who has mounted a campaign based on discontent with Washington and concern over the economy. “I’m gratified that I stand here today, five days before the election, and people are still as actively concerned about the crisis that we are in.”
Jim Lowry is one of those supporters who latched onto Perdue early and stayed on, through the GOP primary, through the runoff and now through an impending general election that could also go to overtime if neither Perdue nor Democrat Michelle Nunn gain a majority vote.
“Didn’t know him from a sack of salt (before this year),” Lowry said. “He wants to do it in an intelligent, reasonable way. Now personally I’m a hand-grenade thrower. I’d like to get rid of all of them, but that’s never going to work.”
Oddly enough, the 76-year-old Perdue supporter cited longtime U.S. Senator Sam Nunn, father of Michelle, as a potential role model for his man.
“I worked around Washington for a few years and know that some of the most successful people were people like Sen. Nunn, who could in fact work with people,” Lowry said. “If Perdue can get half of what he thinks is right, he’ll be that kind of person.”
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