The battle lines are now complete in the 3rd Congressional District Republican runoff.

Jim Pace, the Peachtree City businessman who finished a close third in the May 24 primary, has endorsed former West Point Mayor Drew Ferguson for the July runoff against state Sen. Mike Crane.

The move means that all five candidates who failed to make the final contest are now backing Ferguson.

“Drew Ferguson is the real conservative I want to see representing Georgia’s Third District in Washington,” Pace said in a statement. “He is a jobs conservative who has a track record of keeping taxes and regulations low and jobs creation enthusiasm high. Caring about our communities and finding ways to help people succeed and live their American Dream without government breathing down their necks, telling them what to do, is the conservative way.”

Ferguson's campaign pointed out that his supporters and those of the five vanquished foes who have now endorsed him make up 73 percent of the votes cast in the primary. Ferguson alone got 27 percent. He finished about 100 votes behind Crane.

Crane responded to Pace’s endorsement of Ferguson by calling it “no surprise that the establishment is circling the wagons to protect crony capitalism in Washington.”

“The more political insiders and business elites scramble to stop our campaign, the more the voters see the true choice in this election,” Crane said. “When I’m elected to Congress, we’ll stop the crony capitalism and put an end to the political and business elites’ scheme to mortgage the future of our country to line their pockets.”

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