The executive committee of the state GOP on Tuesday settled on a political newcomer, David Clark, the brother of state Rep. Josh Clark, R-Buford, to replace the late Michael Brown as a Gwinnett County candidate for House District 98.
The substitution must be reported to Secretary of State Brian Kemp by 4 p.m. today to make the November ballot.
Brown died last week, after winning the May 20 primary – and the seat. There is no Democratic candidate, so the nomination is tantamount to election.
The seven-day process resulted in a fierce tug-of-war over the seat, with tea partyers on one end of the rope and the business community on the other. Among the mentioned candidates: tea partyer David Hancock, who lost the primary to Brown; businessman James Sanford; and former Gwinnett County commissioner Tommy Hughes.
We understand that Sanford was deep-sixed by his vote in the 2008 Democratic presidential primary. His defense, which did him no good: He was taking Rush Limbaugh’s advice and trying to boost Hillary Clinton.
Hughes was backed by state Sen. Renee Unterman, R-Buford, who sent a note to the executive committee that included this:
"His enclosed resume is reflective of his dedication as a public servant. Having served our community and our state for 26 years now, I know the sacrifice and commitment that is required of an elected official. I have no doubt that Tommie Hughes will fulfill every commitment and help the Republican Party in any way possible."
David Clark apparently emerged as a compromise candidate. We do not know much about him, and the GOP’s announcement includes no biography.
But we have one sign that the decision was unexpected. Georgia’s newest legislator needs to work on his Facebook page:
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State Rep. Amy Carter, R-Valdosta, chairman of the House Governmental Affairs Committee, has issued a set of deadlines for the carving up of DeKalb County into cities:
-- DeKalb County cityhood proponents have until November 15 to come to a mutual agreement on city boundary lines and submit the agreed upon map bearing three signatures from the authorized signatories to the House Governmental Affairs Committee.
-- If an agreement cannot be reached by that date, House Governmental Affairs Committee Chair Amy Carter will appoint a panel of five state House members to carry out the task of drawing city boundaries for the proposed cities. The panel's sole charge will be to produce a boundary map no later than December 31 by majority vote of the panel.
-- Either the agreed upon map by cityhood proponents or the map drawn by the legislative panel will be the only acceptable version that the House Governmental Affairs Committee will consider.
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Jody Hice, the likely Republican successor
to U.S. Rep. Paul Broun in the 10th District, continues to attract national attention. But in this case, it's not for an outlandish quote, but for his inaccurate citations of the Founding Fathers.
Buzzfeed breaks it down here, but we'll use the one at left as an example. Says Buzzfeed:
The Thomas Jefferson Foundation said it has "not found this particular statement in his writings" and Henry David Thoreau's Civil Disobedience is the real source of the quotation.
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Georgia Democrats are fast turning Gov. Nathan Deal's board appointments into a campaign rallying cry.
The latest attack focuses on the AJC investigation that found only five of the 51 members of the state's top three boards are women and only one is black.
Deal told us Monday he "appoints people who think the way he thinks" but doesn't sit each down to vet their decisions.
The Democratic Party of Georgia sent over quotes from four Democratic state lawmakers, including this from state Rep. Roger Bruce:
"Governor Deal said he does not appoint anyone he does not know or have confidence in. Based on his record of appointments, one can conclude that he either does not know or does not have confidence in woman or African Americans and for any appointments remaining during his time in office I would be happy to introduce him to both!"
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This Tweeted photo from the account of Georgia Beer Wholesalers, which has since disappeared, sparked a furious reaction from the state's craft brewers:
crafters are complaining that wholesalers have blocked legislation that would permit local breweries to sell their work to consumers on site.
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Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is ratcheting up his opposition to Common Core education standards by suing the federal government. From a press release this morning:
"The lawsuit seeks a declaration that the U.S. Department of Education has violated federal statutes and the Tenth Amendment by requiring, as condition to grant funding under the Race to the Top programs, that states join a consortium of states under federal direction and to adopt Common Core standards and assessment products created by the consortium. The lawsuit also seeks an injunction to enjoin the Department's use of such unlawful conditions in connection with further awards and from disqualifying or penalizing a state that withdraws from a consortium and refuses to further participate in the scheme."
You can read the full statement of candidacy for president lawsuit here. Notice it's Jindal's name at the top and not the state attorney general.
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Politico has named the National Republican Congressional Committee's ad hitting U.S. Rep. John Barrow of Augusta -- and featuring a monkey -- as one of the season's most bizarre political ads. Read on to see which candidates invoked Ebola, alligators and shooting a television.
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