Congressional candidate Martha Zoller received an endorsement Friday from another major Republican figure when former presidential candidate Rick Santorum announced he is supporting her campaign for Georgia's new 9th District seat.

A former radio talk show host from Gainesville, Zoller had already collected endorsements from former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and former presidential candidate Herman Cain. Santorum also announced Friday that Patriot Voices, a nonprofit organization he is leading to defeat President Barack Obama, is also supporting Zoller.

"Martha is an outspoken advocate for the principles of faith, family, freedom, and opportunity that we at Patriot Voices strive to advance," Santorum said in a prepared statement. "Martha shares our commitment to the value of each and every life, that economic success is found in free markets, and that our government must be limited and accountable to the people.

Zoller's opponent in the Aug. 21 GOP primary runoff, state Rep. Doug Collins, took aim at the endorsements she has received from out-of-state Republicans, including Palin.

"Over the next 19 days, we have to come together and show once again that we are the 9th District — not governors from Alaska and media celebrities from D.C.," he said in a news release Wednesday.

Collins, also from Gainesville, has collected endorsements from former U.S. Sen. Zell Miller, also a former governor, and Georgia House Speaker David Ralston.

In her own news release Thursday, Zoller called Collins an "establishment-backed" candidate who had "all the money, all the advantages, and all the powerful insiders behind him."

About the Author

Keep Reading

With the closure of the labor and delivery unit in St. Mary’s Sacred Heart Hospital in Lavonia, expectant mothers will instead be directed to deliver at St. Mary’s Hospital in Athens, about 45 miles away.  (Photo Illustration / Getty Images)

Credit: Getty Images

Featured

Julian Conley listens during opening statements in his trial at Fulton County Superior Court in Atlanta on Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. The 25-year-old is accused of fatally shooting 8-year-old Secoriea Turner in July 2020. (Abbey Cutrer/AJC)

Credit: abbey.cutrer@ajc.com