Add Another GOP Heavy-Hitter to Georgia's 9th

By Rachel Kapochunas | July 31, 2009 1:15 PM | | Comments (2)

Experienced Republicans continue to emerge in the race to succeed Republican Rep. Nathan Deal. The latest is Republican state Sen. Lee Hawkins, who told The Gainesville Times Thursday he hopes to add his voice to health care reform from his seat in Congress.

CQ Photo
Lee Hawkins

"I'm used to taking care of people, and this health care debate has just been going in the totally wrong direction," Hawkins, a dentist, told the newspaper. "... I feel a responsibility to work on this issue along with other issues, like our lake issue, so I've announced to run for Congress."

CQ Politics confirmed with Hawkins' office that the lawmaker is preparing his candidacy for Georgia's 9th District. The Times reported he will make an official announcement Aug. 4.

He joins a field of experienced Republicans angling for the rare open seat. Deal is running for governor in 2010.

Republicans currently running include: Mike Evans, former state transportation board chairman; State Rep. Tom Graves; former state Sen. Bill Stephens; Mike Cowan, Whitfield County District Commissioner; and businessman Jeremy Jones.

Some candidates have already begun raising money for the race. Evans reported raising $151,000 through June 30 and was left with $143,000 on hand. Graves raised $117,000 and reported $116,000 on hand. Stephens raised $40,000 and Jones reported $1,500 raised, a portion of which was in the form of loans.

The district is solidly Republican. Voters in the northern Georgia district favored Republican John McCain for president last fall with an overwhelming 75 percent of the vote

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Categories: Georgia, House

    Comments

  1. http://www.leehawkinsforcongress.com/documents/Hawkins_ReleaseNo_101509-01.pdf

    Posted by: tmj99 Author Profile Page | October 21, 2009 10:41 AM

  2. Senator Hawkins’ personal financial commitment is impressive! The fact that he
    is willing to contribute his own finances to his campaign is a huge demonstration of personal focus and investment and shows his strong belief in the direction he wants his community and country to go in. The average individual donation to the Hawkins campaign may not have been as large as some of his opponent’s individual contributors however the amount of donors to the Hawkins campaign and the total financial outcome of the donations exceeded Evan’s donations by over $10,000 and exceeded Grave’s donations by almost $40,000.

    http://www.leehawkinsforcongress.com/documents/Hawkins_ReleaseNo_101509-01.pdf

    Posted by: tmj99 Author Profile Page | October 23, 2009 3:07 PM

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