Tea partyers pulled one out of the fire in Mississippi on Tuesday. From the Associated Press:
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At the Strand Theater on the Marietta Square this morning, U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston will receive the endorsement of his GOP congressional colleague Phil Gingrey for the U.S. Senate runoff.
In an interview with Martha Zoller and Tim Bryant on WGAU (1340AM) this morning, runoff rival David Perdue took the news well:
"We're very comfortable with what's going on. We're not surprised, actually. Nor should anybody be. But, yeah, I think it solidifies our position as the outsider."
Nor is Perdue troubled by those – including Karen Handel – who point to Kingston’s congressional experience as a deal-breaker. Said the former Dollar General CEO:
"If I were to ask you both to name 10 U.S. senators, I promise you that two-thirds of them would be first- or second-term senators. There's a growing group of people up there trying to do the right thing, even if it means they don't get re-elected. That's the kind of senator I want to be."
And about his demand that Kingston release his tax returns:
"Congressman Kingston, actually committed to do that in the primary, and yet we went all the way through and never saw it…I think the people of Georgia deserve to see 10 years of his tax returns. He's been living off taxpayers for the last 22 years. I think putting up 10 years of tax returns is the least he could do."
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Gov. Nathan Deal has spent part of this spring restocking his campaign coffers, and he got major help on Tuesday.
Jeb Bush, Florida's ex-governor and a potential 2016 presidential contender, headlined a fundraiser for Deal that we're told raised well in the six-figure range for his re-election bid.
Bush, for his part, added a second endorsement from his Twitter account later in the day:
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Earlier this week, former state Sen. Barry Loudermilk, who carried Cobb County by 27 votes in the primary, won the endorsement of Marietta Mayor Steve "Thunder" Tumlin in the GOP runoff for the 11th District congressional race.
Which caused former congressman Bob Barr, his runoff rival, to pull a mayoral endorsement out of his pocket on Tuesday. Or rather, an endorsement from a former Marietta mayor – Bill Dunaway.
“I have known Bob for many years, and he has consistently been a champion for Marietta and Cobb County,” sayeth Dunaway, via press release.
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The Clayton News-Daily reports that Fulton County prosecutors have dropped a 2011 DUI case against former Clayton County Commissioner Wole Ralph, who now works for the city of Atlanta:
According to records obtained by Clayton News Daily, Ralph pleaded guilty in Fulton State Court to failure to maintain lane. The rest of the charges were dropped.
He was sentenced to 12 months' probation, with credit for one day served at the time of his arrest. Ralph was also ordered to undergo alcohol and drug evaluation and treatment, and pay a $1,000 fine.
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