Libertarian Andrew Hunt's campaign for governor is set to receive the endorsement of former Dalton Mayor David Pennington, who tried to rally tea party supporters to his side in a failed GOP primary challenge against Gov. Nathan Deal in May.
Pennington plans to announce his support for Hunt at a press conference scheduled Friday in a move that could bolster the third-party candidate’s plan to play spoiler in this year’s race for governor. Hunt told my AJC colleague Nicholas Fouriezos that Pennington came to his aid because he believes in "cost effective government."
"When he was mayor, he was able to cut taxes in the budget every year and still provide as good or better service," said Hunt, adding:"It's an honor to have someone like that want to endorse me."
Polls routinely give Hunt between three and seven points of support, which could be enough to deprive Deal and Democrat Jason Carter of a majority and force the governor's race into a December runoff. Both major party campaigns are quietly confident that Hunt’s support will wane as attention focuses on the race.
Pennington earned about 17 percent of the vote in May with a message that Deal has betrayed conservatives by failing to cut taxes and spending quickly enough. He championed himself as the true conservative in the race, which also featured Superintendent John Barge, and after his loss he began publishing a newsletter that criticized Deal's fiscal policy.
Pennington told us he was backing Hunt because he was the “only limited government conservative in the race.”
The campaigns of Deal and Carter have largely ignored Hunt, though he will get statewide attention during debates scheduled later this month. The Libertarian Party of Georgia will also run an ad touting their candidate in the two weeks before election day, only the third time the state party has sprung for television time.
Hunt and Pennington plan to appeal to other Republicans who are yet undecided on the governor’s race.
"That's our message out there: We need to have limited government with more freedom," Hunt said. "I think there are a lot of disillusioned Republicans and Democrats."
Joe McCutchen, a tea party organizer from Ellijay who backed Pennington’s campaign, said he was one of them. He plans to split his ticket in November: Republican David Perdue for Senate and Hunt for governor.
“There are a lot of Republicans that told me they’ll be voting for Andrew,” said McCutchen. “That’s going to be real interesting.”
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