U.S. Rep. Tom Graves of Ranger is interested in statewide office, just not right now.
In an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Graves announced he will not run for the seat being vacated by U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss in 2014. But the Republican added, “this is just the beginning of a long journey for me in Georgia state politics.”
So far U.S. Rep. Paul Broun of Athens is the only declared candidate in what figures to be a crowded GOP primary. U.S. Reps. Jack Kingston of Savannah and Phil Gingrey of Marietta are almost certainly joining him soon, while U.S. Rep. Tom Price of Roswell has delayed a decision until May. Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, former Secretary of State Karen Handel and others could be in the mix as well.
Graves, 43, is the youngest and least experienced of the group, having arrived in Congress in a 2010 special election. He said he has spent the weeks since Chambliss’ Jan. 25 retirement announcement weighing a run, but ultimately decided against it to focus on his House service.
Graves noted that he could become one of the most senior Republicans in the Georgia delegation if a handful of members forego re-election to run for Senate. He serves on the coveted Appropriations Committee, where Kingston is a leader.
He has been a tea party favorite, including high marks from groups such as Americans For Prosperity, which awarded him a perfect 100 percent rating for his 2012 votes.
Graves said he would look to make an impact on Appropriations and it is “a little early to say” whether he will take a run at House leadership. A bid to lead the Republican Study Committee, the conservative wing of the House GOP caucus, failed last year.
In addition to being the least experienced of the congressmen pondering a Senate run, Graves also had the least campaign cash. He had $56,000 in his campaign bank account at year’s end, a small fraction of potential rivals’ stash.
In addition his personal financial woes might have played a role in a Senate bid: A deal with former state Sen. Chip Rogers to rehabilitate a Calhoun hotel went bad during the recession, and in 2011 the pair signed a deal to modify the debt from more than $2 million to $1.2 million.
But Graves insisted that he could have raised enough money and won had he chosen to run.
“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 primary, runoff, special election and general election process to fill Nathan Deal’s seat, and the RSC race 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.”
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