State Sen. Mike Crane, R-Newnan, announced his bid Wednesday for Georgia's 3rd District seat in the U.S. House, but it was who surrounded him that might be more interesting.
Standing with Crane were many of the more conservative lawmakers from the district, including state Sen. Josh McKoon, R-Columbus; state Sen. Marty Harbin, R-Tyrone; and state Rep. David Stover, R-Newnan. All three live in the district, and all three endorsed Crane.
“I drew the short straw,” a joking Crane said.
But McKoon made the point: “Some people around this Capitol were counting on conservatives in this district dividing themselves and canceling themselves out. They don’t get it. We are about advancing the ideas of the conservative movement.”
As soon as U.S. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, a Coweta County Republican, announced that he would not seek re-election, the pieces started to move. Crane's announcement makes clear he wants to occupy the space on the party's right flank.
“The message is we’re tired of vending-machine politics,” Crane said. “You push a button, you get what you want. That ends soon.”
And while Crane is the first to announce, he is unlikely to be the last. Talk in the Capitol before Crane’s event was that the local chamber of commerce was courting a candidate and that former U.S. Rep. Mac Collins of Jackson and former state Rep. Jeff Brown, R-LaGrange, were both considering bids.
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