Boyd out as Republican candidate for governor

The Georgia Republican Party has denied Ray Boyd's attempt to run for governor as a GOP candidate after the political newcomer refused Monday to sign its loyalty oath.

In a polite but tense showdown at the state Capitol, party attorney Anne Lewis told Boyd that since he refused to sign the oath, "we're unable to qualify you." Boyd said he will immediately begin preparations to run as an independent.

Boyd, a commercial real estate broker from Morgan County, burst onto the state's political scene in March when he created a campaign committee funded entirely by $2 million of his own money. He said he intended to run for governor as a Republican and said the other seven candidates already running were too ethically challenged to serve.

Boyd said he objected to the loyalty oath, which says the signer pledges allegiance to the GOP, because the party is far from perfect and he wouldn't swear to always support the party's actions. He offered a compromise oath that declared his independence from party dogma when appropriate. But the party refused.

State GOP chairwoman Sue Everhart said Boyd is "grandstanding" by refusing to sign an oath that more than 150 candidates signed Monday, the first day of qualifying for candidates. Qualifying ends at noon Friday.

"Our party has rules," Everhart said. "I can't break the rules. I don't want to change the rules."

To run as an independent, Boyd must collect more than 51,000 signatures from registered voters by July 13.