This is the third in an occasional series analyzing Georgia’s five competitive congressional primary races ahead of the May 20 vote, as the state’s delegation to Washington is set to go through a historic shift.
The emails about the Republican race for Georgia’s 11th Congressional District came in a flurry last month, landing in reporters’ in-boxes within hours of each other. Each featured former Congressman Bob Barr, a fiery partisan seeking a political comeback.
First, former state Sen. Barry Loudermilk’s campaign issued a press release, saying his internal polling showed he was in a dead heat with Barr. Less than five hours later, state Rep. Ed Lindsey’s aides issued an announcement, saying his polling showed him in second place behind Barr.
Barr has emerged as the man to beat in the six-way race. He is well known in the Atlanta-area district for helping lead impeachment proceedings against President Bill Clinton and for his unsuccessful campaign for president in 2008 as a Libertarian.
But the former federal prosecutor is facing some seasoned candidates. Among them: Lindsey, a state Capitol insider; Loudermilk, a tea party-friendly candidate; and Tricia Pridemore, an entrepreneur and close ally to Republican Gov. Nathan Deal. Completing the field are Allan Levene and Larry Mrozinski. Loudermilk raised the most in campaign contributions during the first quarter of this year, hauling in $114,910. Political observers expect the race will go into extra innings after the May 20 Republican primary.
“I haven’t talked to anybody who doesn’t think it is heading to a runoff between the top two vote-getters,” said Scott Johnson, the chairman of the Georgia Republican Party’s 11th District. “Obviously, there may be some candidates who are stronger than others, but I wouldn’t count any out.”
On the campaign trail Barr and his opponents are repeating much of the same themes critical of the Obama administration. And with not many major policy differences between them, they are focusing on their experience in politics, business and the military.
The candidates are vying to replace Republican U.S. Rep. Phil Gingrey, who is running for Saxby Chambliss’ U.S. Senate seat. The 11th District — enveloping all of Bartow and Cherokee counties and covering a large chunk of Cobb County and a smaller slice of Fulton County — picked Republican Mitt Romney over Barack Obama in the 2012 presidential election by a more than 2-to-1 margin.
No Democrats have qualified to get on the ballot for Gingrey’s seat, so the GOP primary will decide the winner. Republicans cheered when Johnson highlighted that fact this month at a candidates forum. More than 600 people streamed into the cavernous Cobb Galleria Centre for the event.
Among those who attended were Ashford Schwall of Atlanta and his wife, Claire. They both agree with Barr’s relentless criticism of Obama as a liberal ideologue who supports big government and big spending. Ashford Schwall, a Republican who has an accounting job for a computer company, listed a series of reasons why he wants Obama out of the White House, including his administration’s multibillion-dollar federal stimulus spending.
“I think Obama should be perp-walked out in handcuffs,” Schwall said.
Barr drew media attention in January when he talked about impeaching Obama during an interview on Alex Jones’ “Infowars,” an Internet radio show and website that fights things like fluoride in drinking water and claims the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks were an inside job. Barr has since said the Obama administration has acted illegally in postponing mandates in the federal health care law and through softening enforcement of federal immigration laws. Barr’s opponents have taken aim at him for associating himself with Jones and for endorsing Eric Holder for attorney general in 2009, though Barr called for Holder’s resignation last year.
Barr didn’t mention impeaching Obama during the debate at the Cobb Galleria Centre, though he threw a lot of other red meat to the Republican audience.
“The enemy is in Washington,” he said, eliciting cheers and applause. “The enemy is those who we know: (Senate Majority Leader) Harry Reid, (House Minority Leader) Nancy Pelosi, Barack Obama. They are the enemy, along with faceless bureaucrats all across this country. And we must do everything within our power to stop them in their tracks.”
Barr added the House could hold Obama accountable by blocking spending for White House initiatives. He also described the race as a contest between the “want-to-dos” and the “have-dones,” mentioning his four terms in Congress. His mantra: shrink the size, scope, cost and power of the government.
Lindsey is stumping on his 10 years of experience serving in Georgia’s House, including three terms as the majority whip. He highlights how he has pushed for a federal balanced budget amendment, opposed the federal health care law, and co-sponsored legislation to expand gun rights and crack down on illegal immigration in Georgia. He wants to eliminate the Internal Revenue Service and institute a national sales tax.
“I have developed a solid reputation as a Georgia conservative who gets the job done,” he said at the candidates forum in Cobb. “And, folks, that is exactly what we need to send to Washington.”
Loudermilk started a small computer technology company and co-owns a flight-training business. He also founded Firm Reliance, which teaches about constitutional principles. Loudermilk has picked up endorsements from several tea party groups, including FreedomWorks, a Washington-based organization that recruits and trains tea party activists. Like Lindsey, Loudermilk wants to shut down the IRS and revamp the tax system. He also says he will fight to protect gun rights, shrink the federal government and reduce the national debt.
“I saw recently someone campaigning for office said, ‘Washington is out of control,’ ” he said. “And I disagree because they control our health care. They control our guns. They control our education. They control virtually every aspect of our lives. But they can’t even seem to control their own checkbook. So what we need is less — less Washington, less government.”
Highlighting her entrepreneurial experience, Pridemore often mentions how she started a software business with her husband out of a spare bedroom in their Marietta home. In 2011, Deal appointed her executive director of the state’s Workforce Development Office. She trumpets her efforts to put unemployed Georgians back to work and says she wants to repeal the federal health care law, simplify the federal tax code and “restore fiscal sanity in Washington.”
“Good ideas to lead our country — they don’t have to come from inside of a dome, whether it be in Atlanta or Washington, D.C.,” she said. “Good ideas can come from boardrooms, cubicles, kitchen tables.”
Also running is Levene, a British-born naturalized U.S. citizen who is pushing to scrap federal corporate taxes and eliminate pensions for Washington lawmakers who stay in office too long. He stole the show at this month’s forum in Cobb when he was asked about federal spending. “The problem in Washington is they are insane,” he said to laughter.
Rounding out the list of the candidates is Mrozinski, a retired U.S. Army colonel who emphasizes supporting service members and veterans and backs congressional term limits. His slogan: “Help is on the way.”
Barr said his internal polling shows he has a double-digit percentage-point lead over his opponents. Still, the former CIA analyst said he is anticipating a runoff after the May 20 primary.
“We have money set aside for a runoff,” he said during a recent interview at his campaign office in the Cumberland area of Cobb County. “With six candidates in the race, a runoff is more likely than not. I don’t view it as inevitable. But we are ready for it.”
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