Forty-six current and potential lawmakers signed a pledge to support a cap on lobbyist gifts to legislators, including a late surprise endorsement from a top member of the state Senate.
The signatures came as qualifying for 2012 elections closed at noon Friday. All 236 seats in the General Assembly, 14 congressional seats, two Public Service Commission seats and a handful of top judicial posts are up for election this year, beginning with July 31 primaries.
Political observers watched the process carefully for signs the tea party fulfilled its promise of recruiting candidates to challenge incumbent Republicans the activists see as soft on conservative action.
The results appear mixed. Vows of a challenge to House Speaker David Ralston, R-Blue Ridge, never materialized, and no member of the House GOP leadership will face a July primary. While seven House committee chairmen face opponents in primaries, it's not immediately clear that more than one of the challengers is a tea party candidate. In the Senate, Majority Leader Chip Rogers, R-Woodstock, and Majority Whip Cecil Staton, R-Macon, both have primary opponents, but neither challenger is clearly aligned with the tea party.
Still, Atlanta Tea Party Patriots organizer Julianne Thompson said she believes the movement showed its strength. Her group is part of the bipartisan alliance that created the lobbyist gift pledge.
Thompson said the goal was never "primarying every single incumbent out there."
"There are challenges in quite a few races across the state," she said. "The tea party has many goals, and ultimately our goals are good government and achieving our core principles through good government and political activism. I feel like we did very well."
Kerwin Swint, a Kennesaw State University political scientist and former GOP consultant, said the campaign needs to get up and running before the impact of the tea party is clear. Still, Swint said, the absence of challengers to Ralston and other top House members was telling.
"They may have had some success," he said, "but it seems like some big gaping holes, also."
Some air escaped from the tea party's balloon when Senate Rules Committee Chairman Don Balfour decided to sign the pledge to support a cap on how much lobbyists can spend on legislators at $100. Balfour, a Snellville Republican, was seen as the tea party's biggest target. Members of the movement blame him for blocking ethics reform this year. Tea party leaders have also filed ethics complaints against Balfour that accuse him of improperly filing for reimbursement for travel and expenses.
“You can debate whether the $100 [cap amount] is the right amount,” Balfour said about signing the gift pledge. “When the [Senate] president pro tem signs on, we are probably going to get something done.”
Senate President Pro Tem Tommie Williams, a Lyons Republican and the top member of the Senate, was another surprise addition to the pledge on Wednesday.
William Perry, executive director of Common Cause Georgia, said he was pleased Balfour signed on.
“He has been one of the largest takers of lobbyists gifts to legislators, so it comes as a big surprise, but I think it is recognition of the change of tide on this issue," Perry said.
Balfour faces two opponents in the primary, including tea party favorite Steve Ramey of Lilburn. Tea party activist Debbie Dooley had considered challenging Balfour but said a variety of reasons, including Ramey's candidacy, persuaded her not to run. Dooley and others had tried to recruit former state Rep. Clay Cox, R-Lilburn, to run, too, but he decided against it.
Voters in both parties will get a say on the gift cap as well. The Republican and Democratic primary ballots will include a nonbinding referendum asking voters whether they believe the practice of unlimited gifts to lawmakers should end.
Competition for seats in the Georgia General Assembly overall is down compared with 2010. Of the 236 seats in the General Assembly, 179 will feature no major party competition in November, up from 156 in 2010. The number of competitive primaries has remained the same: 79 in 2010 and 79 in 2012.
Nearly a dozen former lawmakers are seeking a return to the Legislature, including Vernon Jones, a former DeKalb County CEO and candidate for the U.S. Senate. Jones is one of five Democrats running for the open District 94 seat.
Former state Sens. Jeff Chapman, R-Brunswick, and Lee Hawkins, R-Gainesville, are running for the House after losing primary races for higher office in 2010.
One surprise candidate for a state House seat was Johnnie L. Caldwell Jr. of Thomaston. Caldwell, 65, resigned as a Superior Court judge in April 2010 facing investigation by the state’s judicial watchdog agency.
Susan M. Brown, a Peachtree City attorney who practiced before Caldwell in the Griffin Judicial Circuit, accused Caldwell of harassing her with sexually explicit comments. Brown declined to comment Friday, and efforts to reach Caldwell were unsuccessful. Caldwell will run against Ryan Christopher, who owns a masonry and concrete business in Barnesville.
Staff writers James Salzer, Bill Rankin and Daniel Malloy contributed to this article.
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