WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Tom Graves of Ranger will not run for Senate in 2014.
The news, delivered in an interview with the AJC, is not particularly shocking given the difficulties Graves would have faced against some of his more seasoned U.S. House colleagues, but Graves used the interview to make the point -- unsolicited and repeatedly -- that he still has statewide goals.
“This is just the beginning of a long journey for me in Georgia state politics,” said Graves, who is a boyish-looking 43 years old. Later the self-described "country boy who grew up in a single-wide trailer" added: "The future is limitless for me and there's going to be plenty of opportunities to serve, and we’ll look forward to those in the future."
Graves said he spent a long time mulling the decision, even though many of the Republican politicos in the state thought it was too early for him. Graves also disputed the notion that his decision was because he had a paltry $56,000 in his campaign bank account at year's end, compared to upwards of $2 million for other potential candidates. (Not to mention his own messy financial past with a failed hotel venture in Calhoun.)
"I had four elections in 91 days in 2010 and had a tight race for a leadership position; those campaigns were costly," Graves said, citing the wild special election process to fill Nathan Deal's seat, and a failed internal campaign to lead the conservative Republican Study Committee during which he donated to House colleagues.
“I firmly believe, had I decided to run, the money would have been there, and we would have been very competitive. I raised $1.2 million last cycle, right there with the rest of the pack in Georgia. And our network has rapidly expanded in the last two years, and we plan to aggressively build on that in the days and weeks ahead.”
Graves said he does not plan to endorse in the Republican primary to replace U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss, but he may get his hands dirty down-ballot.
“I expect there’s a role for me to make sure we elect good Republicans out of these Congressional seats, so I will be actively involved to make sure we have conservative Republicans,” he said.
In the House, Graves said he would look to make an impact on the Appropriations Committee and it is “a little early to say” whether he will take a run at Republican leadership. After the failed RSC bid -- which came after a break with the leadership "whip team" -- there are signs that Graves could be charting a different course in the 113th Congress.
A tea party favorite who earned high marks for his votes last year from conservative pressure groups often at odds with GOP leadership such as Americans For Prosperity and Heritage Action, Graves notably tacked away from the hard right of the caucus – including Reps. Phil Gingrey of Marietta, Paul Broun of Athens and Doug Collins of Gainesville – to vote to put off the federal borrowing limit until May.
About Daniel Malloy
Daniel Malloy is the AJC's Washington Correspondent, covering Congress and other federal goings-on that impact Georgia.
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