Georgia's former governor has become the guy in charge of bringing the French fry back to school cafeterias. From the Washington Post:
Speaking at Catoctin Elementary School in Leesburg, Va., on Monday with Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) and Patricia Montague of the School Nutrition Association, Perdue announced that his department would be slowing the implementation of aggressive standards on sodium, whole grains and sweetened milks that passed under the Obama administration.
Neither the Georgia School Nutrition Association nor Georgia Organics, which is behind the "farm to school" movement, were immediately available for comment. Nor was the Georgia Department of Education. But the announcement that states will be allowed to exempt schools from serving grain in everything will likely appease schools that find piles of uneaten food in the trash bins while rankling those who link school food to declining student health.
The rate of obesity among children has more than tripled over the past four decades, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
But Perdue's influence over school lunches is small stuff. Given the importance of rural America to President Donald Trump's political future, the former governor could quickly become an essential figure in the administration. We've already told you of the role Perdue played in Trump's decision to hold off on abandoning the free trade pact that links Mexico, Canada and the U.S.
Former Insider Tom Baxter, over at the Saporta Report, goes one better and suggests that the former Georgia governor could turn Trump's head on immigration:
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The Washington Post points out two signs that Sixth District Republicans are "less than fully united" behind Karen Handel in her bid for the Sixth District congressional seat. From the story:
Dan Moody, a former Georgia state senator who ran fourth in the primary, has pointedly declined to endorse her. And the Club for Growth, which is on the air in some swing districts to bolster support for repealing the Affordable Care Act, is absent after running negative ads against Handel in the first round. One ad attacked the Republican as a "big-spending career politician we can't trust with our money" — a message now in sync with that of the Democrats.
Moody has, indeed, gone silent since his disappointing finish in last month's vote. Club for Growth's absence is less surprising: We're told that Handel should count herself lucky that it doesn't continue running attack ads against her.
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Shot fired: State Sen. Michael Williams, R-Cumming, isn't in the governor's race yet, but he's already shown he's ready to brawl with the presumed GOP frontrunner, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle.
In a quick Twitter assault, Williams criticized Cagle's tax cut plan as too modest -- and accused him of blocking another tax-cut proposal besides:
Williams is all but guaranteed to enter the race. Cagle, who formally launched his campaign over the weekend, hasn't responded to Williams' tweets. At least, not yet.
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In a sit-down with the Gainesville Times, Republican candidate for governor Brian Kemp, currently the secretary of state, struck a populist tone, with one exception:
"I think we've got to continue to be innovative — and also have those local communities buying in to what they're doing," Kemp said. "People in Atlanta clearly will pay for congestion relief, but I'm not so sure that people outside of Atlanta will."
He noted that congestion is clearly a problem in metropolitan areas, but not in most areas of the state. In general, Kemp talked much more about encouraging private sector innovation than public cash for infrastructure.
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Also this morning, the Kemp campaign released a list of endorsements from 50 county officials across the state. Take a gander:
Commissioner Kenneth Ashworth, Elbert
Commissioner Dennis Bell, Stephens
Commissioner Theresa Bettis, Madison
Former Chairman Hunter Bicknell, Jackson
Commissioner Danny Blackmon, Quitman
Commissioner Jason Boone, Telfair
Commissioner Lee Bradford, Walton
Commissioner Ronnie Cowan, Newton
Commissioner Tony Crowe, Paulding
Chairman Mark Daniel, Terrell
Chairman John Daniell, Oconee
Former Chairman Melvin Davis, Oconee
Commissioner Randy Davison, Brantley
Commissioner Mick Denham, Turner
Commissioner Keri Denney, Heard
Commissioner Brent Dubois, Twiggs
Commissioner Myra Exum, Brooks
Commissioner Scott Gibbs, Hall
Commissioner Terry Goodger, White
Commissioner Luke Gowen, Charlton
Commissioner Robert Griner, Berrien
Former Commissioner Tommy Gutherie, Atkinson
Commissioner Jim Hayes, Quitman
Former Chairman Wayne Hill, Gwinnett
Commissioner Herschell Hires, Wayne
Commissioner Randy Howard, Sumter
Chairman Terrell Hudson, Dooly
Chairman Andy Hutto, Bacon
Commissioner David Kinsey, Quitman
Commissioner Jimmy Kitchens, Coffee
Commissioner Carvel Lewis, Quitman
Chairman Kevin Little, Walton
Chairman Sam McCard, Turner
Commissioner Tom McMichael, Houston
Chairman Walker Norman, Lincoln
Chairman Billy Pittard, Oglethorpe
Chairman Allen Poole, Haralson
Former Chairman Dale Provenzano, Glynn
Chairman Mike Riddle, Long
Chairman Ted Rumley, Dade
Commissioner Marty Seagraves, Jackson
Commissioner Grady Smith, Richmond
Chairman Marty Smith, Carroll
Commissioner Neal Stanley, Telfair
Commissioner Tripp Strickland, Madison
Commissioner Mark Thomas, Oconee
Chairman Gary Usry, Greene
Commissioner Lee Vaughn, Elbert
Commissioner John Westmoreland, Baldwin
Commissioner Bubber Wilkes, Oconee
Commissioner Shag Wright, Wayne
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With Casey Cagle in the governor's race, expect the battle for the state's No. 2 job to heat up.
The only candidate so far in the race is state Rep. Geoff Duncan, R-Cumming, who is said to have locked up the support of GOP mega-donor Rick Jackson.
Senate President pro tem David Shafer, R-Buford, also appears likely to take the plunge. Other GOP senators who have ruminated about a run haven't yet stepped forward. With Butch Miller of Gainesville and Brandon Beach of Alpharetta apparently opting out of the contest, other names have surfaced, including those of Steve Gooch of Dahlonega and John Kennedy of Macon.
As for Democrats, we are picking up word that former state senator Doug Stoner is eyeing a run.
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