On Wednesday, the outsider made nice with the insiders.
Republican businessman David Perdue, fresh off securing his party’s U.S. Senate nomination by running against the records of his GOP foes while in elected office, made the rounds on Capitol Hill in a step toward healing the wounds of a long, bruising primary season.
Georgia Republican U.S. Sens. Saxby Chambliss, the man he would replace, and Johnny Isakson, the man with whom he’d work closely on a host of issues, escorted Perdue to meetings with GOP senators and a handful of Georgia’s Republican members of the U.S. House.
“Today is all about moving forward,” Perdue said. “There’s no hurt feelings about anything. … These are professionals. I have a lot of respect for ‘em. We ran against them hard and I ended up the nominee, so right now we’re in the fight.”
Perdue’s day included a meeting featuring at least five of Georgia’s U.S. House Republicans. Perdue beat two of them, Jack Kingston of Savannah and Phil Gingrey of Marietta. (U.S. Rep. Paul Broun did not attend.) Most endorsed Kingston in the runoff.
The wounds are still raw from the runoff season that ended with Perdue’s narrow July 22 victory over Kingston, but the delegation appeared ready to get behind him in the general election against Democrat Michelle Nunn.
“We’re a united party,” Isakson said.
Perdue also met with key lobbyists, attended a fundraiser at the National Republican Senatorial Committee and sat down with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. Perdue has said he would not vote for McConnell to remain the Republican leader, saying there is a need for new blood.
Chambliss said Perdue and McConnell discussed the issue, but the meeting was cordial.
“They were very forthright and David made it very plain he’s going to support the Republican leadership, and that’s not an issue and we’re moving on,” Chambliss said. He added that Perdue “was very clear with the leader that he’s going to be a team player.”
McConnell is in a closely watched re-election fight against Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes, but no challenger has emerged to his leadership position.
Chambliss, of Moultrie, hoped to impress upon Perdue the importance of agriculture and military policy to the state. Perdue, who lives on Sea Island but worked on a family farm as a youth near the military-heavy area of Warner Robins, gets it. He hinted that he would seek committee assignments in those two areas.
Agriculture is “51 percent of our (state) economy,” Perdue said. “I grew up working on a farm, and I realize the military complexes are really important for the state.”
Chambliss said Perdue was a “good listener.”
“David handles himself very well, is very knowledgeable of the issues and I’ve been very impressed,” Chambliss said. “He’s fully aware that he has a very uphill battle, but he’s committed to working hard and to winning this race.”
Nunn has been no stranger to Washington, either. She mostly grew up in the area as her father, Sam Nunn, served in the U.S. Senate. She has visited the nation’s capital several times during the campaign to raise money and meet with Washington leaders. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., praised Nunn as a top recruit the day before she jumped into the race.
Perdue’s visit to Washington came amid a flurry of activity as Congress prepares to leave town for August, including a failed vote in the Senate on a bill that would have prevented companies from deducting from their taxes expenses related to moving operations overseas. Republicans blocked the bill, calling it an election-year gimmick.
Georgia Democrats jumped at the chance to link Perdue to the vote.
“Georgians shouldn’t be surprised David Perdue is fundraising with national party leaders on the same day they voted to outsource American jobs — a practice Perdue himself has lots of experience with,” Georgia Democratic Party spokesman Michael Smith said in an emailed statement, a reference to the movement of some jobs from the U.S. to Mexico when Perdue worked for Haggar Clothing Co. in the 1990s.
Perdue said he was not familiar with the Senate bill, but he would tackle the issue by overhauling the tax code and reducing federal regulations.
“Rather than penalizing people for going offshore, we’ve got to make ourselves more competitive,” Perdue said. “And that means that we’ve got to get our tax code looked at. Our regulatory environment needs to be reformed so our people can be as competitive as we can be to keep those jobs here.”
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