U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson is planting his re-election flag on Monday, as no obvious challenger has presented him or herself.
Some forces on the right would like one.
The Club For Growth, a well-funded Washington group that stokes primary challenges to insufficiently fiscally conservative Republicans, on Wednesday endorsed six incumbent senators for re-election in 2016.
Isakson was not on the Club's list, leaving the door open that it could support a challenger. The second-term Georgian notched 59 percent on the Club's 2013 scorecard, and has a lifetime score of 76 percent.
The gang endorsed Wednesday -- Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, Tim Scott, Pat Toomey, Mike Lee and Ron Johnson -- has an average lifetime score of 95.5 percent.
The Club did not weigh in on this year's U.S. Senate race, but it did drop $387,000 in an unsuccessful effort to prop up surgeon Bob Johnson in the First Congressional District. Johnson lost a Republican runoff to Rep.-elect Buddy Carter of Pooler.
A more overt attack on Isakson arrived Wednesday from the Conservative Review, a newly formed entity by arch-conservative activists. The site gives Isakson a failing 46 percent "Liberty Score."
Conservative Review, in an email, pointed to Isakson's support for TARP and votes for debt ceiling increases, among other things. Said the group's Daniel Horowitz:
"Sen. Isakson is not a conservative. Like many in Congress who campaign on conservative talking points, or make politically expedient statements, there are things Isakson may point to in an effort to say that he is conservative, but his record tell a drastically different story."
Meanwhile, Politico is already out with 10 states that could decide the Senate in 2016. Georgia is not on the list.
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As House Speaker John Boehner looks ready to cruise to re-election in a closed-door leadership vote today, two of Georgia's freshmen are softening their campaign trail rhetoric about their all-but-certain leader.
During a heated GOP primary, Rep.-elect Barry Loudermilk's spokesman told us flatly that Loudermilk would not support Boehner. Here's what Loudermilk, of Cassville, said Wednesday when asked if he would vote for Boehner:
"Well, you know we're going to go in there and make that decision. I don't know if anybody else is running. That's the only one I know that's running at this time, and whoever comes out of that conference we're going to be behind."
During his primary runoff, Rep.-elect Jody Hice said he would support "new leadership with a backbone." Here's what Hice, of Monroe, said about Boehner on Wednesday:
"That really comes down to trying to get the best that we can. I really don't know now who all's going to be running, what it's going to be looking like, so we'll deal with that as it comes."
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On today's front page, we have a look at how the Georgia delegation is jockeying for position as 71.5 years of seniority walk out the door.
One of the departing members is U.S. Rep. Phil Gingrey, a Marietta Republican who hosted the meetings of Georgia's House Republicans, known as the G-9. (With Rick Allen's victory, it will be the G-10 next year.)
We put the question to Rep. Lynn Westmoreland as to who would take over the meetings and he said: "We’ll see who draws the short straw." Since the primary function of the G-10 chief is to purchase the snacks for the meeting, Westmoreland added: "Graves’ stuff has been pretty good lately."
That would be Rep. Tom Graves of Ranger, who hosted the kiss-and-make-up session for the delegation and David Perdue after Perdue beat half of them in the U.S. Senate primary.
Update: It appears Westmoreland was playing coy. The torch was officially passed from Gingrey to Graves over the summer.
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The Senate is looking to clear the rest of Georgia's pending judicial nominees in the lame duck session -- except controversial Michael Boggs. The Huffington Post got Isakson to weigh in on whether President Barack Obama would nominate the Georgia Court of Appeals judge again next year:
"I don't know whether he would or not," he said. "I would be supportive of him doing that, but I don't know whether he would."
The Georgia Republican gave no indication that he is prepared to fight to bring Boggs back. At one point, he even said he was fine with Obama moving ahead with a different nominee. It was unclear if he misspoke.
"I would be supportive of him not moving the nomination forward again," Isakson said. After a pause, he added, "I supported Mr. Boggs before and I would support him again ... But that's up to the president."
Update: An Isakson spokeswoman said the senator was misquoted above, and that he wants Boggs confirmed. If it takes a renomination to do that, Isakson will support a renomination.
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A special election to replace state Rep. Lynne Riley, R-Johns Creek, who's about to become Gov. Nathan Deal's new revenue commissioner, will be held Jan. 6. Qualifying runs Nov. 19-21.
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All of Georgia's votes are now in, and November turnout was 50 percent across the state -- down a bit from 52 percent in 2010. Our AJC colleague Kristina Torres has more on the premium site.
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Our AJC colleague Janel Davis passes along the following:
"University System of Georgia Chancellor Hank Huckaby announced that longtime USG and Board of Regents lobbyist Tom Daniel will be retiring June 30, 2015. Upon his retirement, Huckaby will be combining the communications and lobbying departments, and has named Charlie Sutlive as the new chief. Sutlive, who replaced longtime USG spokesman John Millsaps earlier this fall, takes over the combined department on July 1."
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The town of Rossville in Walker County, up near Tennessee, has voted to ban abortion clinics from its premises. Call it a contraceptive measure, as there are no abortion clinics in Rossville.
From the Chattanooga Times Free Press:
"We want to be a peaceful city," Harris said. "We don't want to have any protesters."
There is no abortion clinic in Rossville, and the ordinance does allow for abortions to occur within the city if they occur at a hospital by a licensed physician, are deemed by that doctor to be necessary to save the woman's life, and the doctor can certify that the baby would not survive out of the womb.
Rossville also voted to ban "pill mills" before they can sneak into town.
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