It's no big surprise Perdue won't run for U.S. Senate seat
We were not surprised Tuesday when former Gov. Sonny Perdue announced he will not seek the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Saxby Chambliss in 2014.You recall Chambliss announced last week he would not seek reelection in two years. That announcement caused a flurry of activity and speculation as to who might run to replace Chambliss, who will be finishing two terms in the U.S. Senate.
Soon after Chambliss’ announcement, pollsters got busy gauging the strengths of potential candidates. One poll released Monday showed Perdue, the first Georgia Republican governor in modern history, as the front-runner.
Perdue was quick to let Georgians know he will not be a candidate.
Perdue’s statement makes sense. He is a family man and a successful businessman with many irons in the fire on both of those fronts. He also does not strike us as having the fire in the belly to run another intense statewide political campaign.
Whether Perdue ran for the office or not, the Republican field of candidates will almost certainly be crowded. A poll today may show Perdue as the front-runner because of statewide name recognition, but we are not sure Perdue would win a statewide Senate race in two years.
Expect one or more strong candidates to emerge from the current Georgia GOP U.S. House delegation, plus current and former state constitutional officers who have run statewide campaigns may toss their hats in the ring. Don’t be surprised to see a half-dozen Republican enter the race.
And what about the Democrats? That may be harder to predict. Don’t be surprised if three or more Democrats run in the primary election and get some statewide exposure before having to face a strong Republican candidate in November 2014.
