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Georgia
Senate
| GEORGIA |
Nov. 4,
2014
Senate |
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Plurality: 224,277 votes (7.68 percentage points) GA
Secretary of State
Notes: This seat was open due to the retirement of Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R), who announced on Jan. 25, 2013 that he would not seek a third term. Seven candidates crowded the ballot in the very competitive May 20 Republican primary. The Republican Party of Georgia sponsored seven debates, so voters had ample opportunity to learn about the candidates. Business executive David Perdue, first cousin of former Gov. Sonny Perdue, finished atop the field with 30.64%, followed by U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston (CD-1, SE Georgia) at 25.80%; they advanced to the July 22 runoff. Former Secretary of State Karen Handel, who had sought the Republican nomination for governor in 2010, finished third at 21.96%. U.S. Rep. Phil Gingrey (CD-11, NW suburbs of Atlanta) obtained 10.03% and U.S. Rep. Paul Broun (CD-10, Athens) 9.63%. In the runoff (>), Perdue eked out a win, defeating Kingston by 245,951 votes (50.88%) to 237,448 votes (49.12%). On the Democratic side Michelle Nunn, nonprofit executive and daughter of former U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn, handily won the May 20 primary, garnering almost 75% of the vote. The third candidate in the race, Libertarian Amanda Swafford, was the only one with experience in elected office, having won a term on the Flowery Branch City Council in 2010. There was some talk among pundits that if the race were close she might force a runoff. The Nunn campaign made news for the wrong reasons when National Review published a 144-page draft of its campaign plan on July 28. The two major candidates and their campaigns and allies engaged in abundant back and forth attacks. A frequent theme for Purdue was to portray Nunn as a rubber stamp for President Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Nunn highlighted Purdue's record of outsourcing. Nunn and Perdue participated in a Georgia Chamber candidates forum in Macon on Aug. 21 (>). Nunn, Perdue and Swafford debated at the Georgia National Fairgrounds in Perry hosted by WMAZ-13 on Oct. 7 (>); in Georgia Public Broadcasting Studios on Oct. 26 (>); and in WSB-TV studios in Atlanta on Nov. 2 (>). According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the Georgia Senate race was the fifth most expensive of the 2014 cycle, with spending by the campaigns and outside groups totaling $76.4 million (>). The campaigns spent $45.4 million including $16.1 million by the Nunn campaign and $13.8 million by the Perdue campaign; outside groups spent $31.0 million. Campaign Managers: David Perdue: Derrick Dickey Principal at Dickey Strategic Relations from Nov. 2006. Director of communications on Perdue for A New Georgia, Apr.-Nov. 2006. Deputy director of communications to Gov. Sonny Perdue, Jan. 2003-Apr. 2006. Press secretary on Perdue for A New Georgia, Apr. 2002-Jan. 2003. Bachelor's degree in political science from Kennesaw State University, 2005. Michelle Nunn: Jeff DeSantis (Oct. 2013) A longtime political consultant in Georgia and the South; he worked for Roy Barnes and served as executive director of the Georgia Democratic Party. J.D. from Emory University School of Law, 1994; A.B in political science from The University of Georgia, 1991. See also: Manu Raju and John Bresnahan. "Perdue: 'I spent most of my career' outsourcing." Oct. 3, 2014. Eliana Johnson. "Michelle Nunn's Campaign Plan." National Review, July 28, 2014. Alex Altman. "Michelle Nunn's Leaked Memos Offer Rare Glimpse of Campaign Calculation." Time, July 28, 2014. |
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