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Campaign 2004: Collins exiting from Ga. Senate race?
The Hill ^ | March 23, 2004 | The Hill

Posted on 03/23/2004 1:18:03 PM PST by RepFarmer

Collins exiting from Ga. Senate race? Isakson leads pack; pizza king Cain running strong

A leading Georgia Republican Party official has cast doubt on Rep. Mac Collins’s Senate prospects, raising the possibility that he could drop out of the July Republican Senate primary and run for a seventh term in the House.

“When all is said and done, Isakson and Cain will be the last two standing,” said Kay Godwin, who oversees the state GOP in all Georgia counties with fewer than 80,000 people. Godwin was referring to three-term Rep. Johnny Isakson and pizza magnate Herman Cain, also running in the GOP Senate primary.

Rusty Paul, a former state GOP chairman, said rumors that Collins would drop out have been “circulating since the day he got in. I think there’s a lot of people who would like to keep Mac where he is in the campaign.” He noted that Collins is the only member of the Georgia delegation on the House Ways and Means Committee.

Paul added that he doesn’t know if “the back door is available to” Collins. “There is already a heated race for his House seat,” he said.

A spokeswoman for Collins’s campaign dismissed suggestions that Collins might get out of the Senate race. “Mac Collins thinks he and Senator Saxby Chambliss [R] would make a great team in Washington,” Carolyn Hern said.

Representatives of conservative groups in Washington are voicing concerns over Collins, whom they generally prefer to Isakson.


TOPICS: Government; Politics/Elections; US: Georgia
KEYWORDS: 2004; blackrepublican; cain; collins; election; electionussenate; government; hermancain; isakson; johnnyisakson; maccollins; miller; primary; republican; senate; senaterace; zell
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It would be nice to keep Mac in DC on Ways & Means helping GA . . .
1 posted on 03/23/2004 1:18:10 PM PST by RepFarmer
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To: RepFarmer
Go Herman Cain!!
2 posted on 03/23/2004 1:21:28 PM PST by TheBigB (Allah can kiss my @ss.)
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To: RepFarmer
If Collins drops out before the runoff, it's possible Isakson could win outright. That would be a disaster for the Senate and for Georgia. I know I wouldn't vote at all in that election.
3 posted on 03/23/2004 1:28:35 PM PST by madprof98
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To: madprof98
Why would you say that? I know you may not like him...but please...remember my tagline...
4 posted on 03/23/2004 2:12:12 PM PST by Keith (IT'S ABOUT THE JUDGES)
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To: Keith
It's not really a question of liking or disliking him. I'm afraid of him. He's an Arlen Specter character, a RINO who made support for abortion the CENTERPIECE of his last Senate campaign. The Atlanta papers love him. I just couldn't support anyone like that.
5 posted on 03/23/2004 2:19:03 PM PST by madprof98
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To: TheBigB
Go Cain! It would be fantastic to see Cain, then later, J.C. Watts and maybe Condi Rice as the ONLY black U.S. senators in Washington---wouldn't that stick in the craw of the Dems?

BTW, if there is a Bush blowout in Nov., I'm predicting right now that Harold Ford switches parties.

6 posted on 03/23/2004 4:53:46 PM PST by LS (CNN is the Amtrack of news.)
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To: JohnnyZ; LdSentinal; AuH2ORepublican; Clintonfatigued; Impy
Ping!
7 posted on 03/23/2004 7:28:35 PM PST by Kuksool
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To: LS
BTW, if there is a Bush blowout in Nov., I'm predicting right now that Harold Ford switches parties.

Harold Ford is a leftist. Don't buy the hype.

8 posted on 03/23/2004 8:29:38 PM PST by JohnnyZ (Browse CAMPAIGN CENTRAL for election 2004 threads)
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To: JohnnyZ
"Harold Ford is a leftist. Don't buy the hype."


I agree that Ford is a leftist, and that he would never switch. But he's been very smart in voting as if he were a conservative on several key issues (a la Clinton) in order to try to make him appear to be a "moderate." I hope Tennesseans don't fall for his act and keep him out of the U.S. Senate. And if he runs for VP in 2008, I hope the American people keep that in mind as well.

The one black Democrat Congressman who could (and should) switch to the GOP is Sanford Bishop of Georgia, who is for the most part pro-life, pro-gun and pro-business. And his rural district gave Bush 50% of the vote in 2000, so he could certainly get reelected as a Republican.
9 posted on 03/24/2004 6:06:29 AM PST by AuH2ORepublican (Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice, moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.)
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To: madprof98; Kuksool; JohnnyZ; ForOurFuture; NewLand; zbigreddogz
"If Collins drops out before the runoff, it's possible Isakson could win outright."


Great point. Conservatives need to make sure that the pro-abortion Isakson does not get to 50% in the first round of the primary in July so that Herman Cain (or Collins, if he finishes ahead of Cain) can beat Isakson one-on-one in the run-off in August. I'm in favor of anything that improves Cain's chances of being elected to the Senate from Georgia, but not if it could result in Isakson sneaking past the finish line in the RINO-infested July primary.

The GOP primary to replace Mac Collins in the House is quite competitive, and Dylan Glenn, a young black conservative with a brilliant future, has a chance of picking up the seat. So it is possible that if Collins drops out of the Senate race and runs for reelection to the House it will sink the candidacy of two outstanding black conservatives in Cain and Glenn. What could have been a breakthrough election for the GOP in the South (and perhaps nationally), with a realignment of 30% of black voters to the GOP (and if the GOP gets 30% of the black vote, Democrats would be unable to win any statewide races in the South and could only win black-majority congressional races---and many of those would be competitive), would become a lost opportunity. If the end result is replacing conservative Democrat Zell Miller with the pro-abortion Johnny Isakson, I don't see how we'd be better off. And I'm still crossing my fingers so that no competent Democrat enters the Senate race, because a moderate Democrat could defeat Isakson by winning majorities in South Georgia (which is what Barnes and Cleland did in their statewide wins and failed to do in their 2002 loss).

The filing deadline in Georgia is April 30. I hope that if Mac Collins decides to drop out of the Senate race it convinces another Republican (hopefully from the Atlanta area) to enter the race and make sure that Isakson doesn't get to 50%. And in any event, I hope Mac Collins endorses Herman Cain and campaigns strongly for him so that a true conservative can win the Senate primary. Mac Collins is a good man and a solid conservative, and I hope his decision does not have the unintentional effect of making the U.S. Senate less pro-life than it is now.

GO, HERMAN, GO!
10 posted on 03/24/2004 6:26:21 AM PST by AuH2ORepublican (Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice, moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.)
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To: AuH2ORepublican
Good analysis. But I wonder if Collins really would endorse Cain. I'm afraid he might endorse Isakson instead.
11 posted on 03/24/2004 6:28:53 AM PST by madprof98
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To: AuH2ORepublican
Sounds to me like the debate is academic. I don't think Collins will drop out.
12 posted on 03/24/2004 6:51:33 AM PST by JohnnyZ (Browse CAMPAIGN CENTRAL for election 2004 threads)
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To: JohnnyZ
He's to the right of many RINOS, and I suspect at least some of his positions are out of a need to "hang" with the Dems. It would be interesting to see how he would vote as a Republican.
13 posted on 03/24/2004 7:52:42 AM PST by LS (CNN is the Amtrack of news.)
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To: LS
He's to the right of many RINOS,

His lifetime ACU rating is 20. (It was higher this year because he voted against Medicare -- I'm sure he wanted to spend MORE.) That's lower than any Republican.

He's a socialist by conviction -- the only times he votes conservative are to keep alive his hopes of winning statewide and pretend to be a moderate.

14 posted on 03/24/2004 8:02:14 AM PST by JohnnyZ (Browse CAMPAIGN CENTRAL for election 2004 threads)
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To: madprof98
I don't see that happening. What's the poll numbers right now? I'm sure most of Collins support would go to Cain. I think it might improve Cain's chances of winning outright.


15 posted on 03/24/2004 11:30:12 AM PST by zbigreddogz
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To: madprof98
Here is the best thing to do:

1. Vote with anybody with an R next to their name.
2. Sort out the bodies later.

Challenge RINO's in the primary if it is necessary, but the worst RINO is better then the best D. (Minus Zell, and perhaps 2 or 3 others in the WHOLE COUNTRY.)

16 posted on 03/24/2004 11:31:52 AM PST by zbigreddogz
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To: RepFarmer; AuH2ORepublican; Veritas_est; King Prout; mhking; dixierose; Pan_Yans Wife; ...
((((( THE OFFICIAL HERMAN CAIN PING LIST )))))

FReepMail me if you want to be ON or OFF this list

Go Herman Go!

Click Here for the Herman Cain for US Senate Web Site

17 posted on 03/24/2004 4:42:37 PM PST by NewLand (The Bush Campaign has their high value target surrounded.)
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To: NewLand
Pizza king coming on strong!

WOO-HOO!


Herman Cain, he's the man.


18 posted on 03/24/2004 5:00:01 PM PST by onyx (Kerry' s a Veteran, but so were Lee Harvey Oswald, Timothy McVeigh and Benedict Arnold.)
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To: RepFarmer
Mac Collins is a good Congressman. But in the Senate race, he's everybody's second choice.
19 posted on 03/24/2004 5:10:39 PM PST by Clintonfatigued
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To: RepFarmer
Mac Collins has done a lot of good for Georgia in Congress, but he will do a lot more in the Senate. His replacement will be a solid conservative, and he has the experience in business and politics to be an excellent senator. This man has worked hard and long for Georgians as a conservative, day in and day out. It's exciting to see Herman Cain take a stand also, and I wish him well, but I really think conservatives need to get behind Collins. I think Collins is more likely to win in the run-off, and that assures conservative representation in the Senate.
20 posted on 04/02/2004 4:46:31 PM PST by legacy
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