Monday
Mar012010
« Congressman Linder to retire »
Monday, March 1, 2010 at 10:55AM
In a surprise announcement this weekend, 7th District Congressman John Linder announced that he will not seek re-election this fall. This will end a nearly two decade career in the United States Congress. First and foremost, the Buzz would like to thank Congressman Linder for his solid, conservative representation in Congress for these many years as well as advocacy for the Fair Tax here recently. I have been honored to have lived in his district for the majority of his tenure. Congressman Linder was a reliable voice for conservatism in Washington. When critical hot-button issues occurred and everyone was calling for people to contact their Congressman to support a certain piece of legislation or to vote against the latest liberal big-government agenda, I knew I could count on Congressman Linder to make the right vote. I can only remember one vote on which I disagreed with him; over two decades, that is a pretty fine record. So, thank you, Congressman Linder. You have served Gwinnett and other areas of your district well. You will be missed and hard to replace.
Which leads to the second question. Who will replace Congressman Linder? Congressional races in the 7th District have been largely uninteresting for a long time as no one has really given Linder a credible challenge. However, in a year where we have two Gwinnett Commission races that bear close scrutiny, we now have a Congressional race - at least in the Republican primary - to watch. In the early going, several names have been tossed about to be Linder's successor: Chuck Efstration, chairman of the Gwinnett Republican Party, state Senator Don Balfour, state senator David Shafer, state Representative Clay Cox, and state Representative Tom Rice. Some GOP leaders even mentioned the name of former Atlanta Braves pitcher John Smoltz, though Smoltz has denied interest.
When I heard the news, I wondered if this could impact the Gwinnett County Commission. I have long thought that Commissioner Mike Beaudreau has aspirations for higher office. However, the jump from county commission to Congress is a pretty tall leap. However, with other state representatives and senators being mentioned as potential congressional candidates, could things shake out that would open a seat that would prompt Beaudreau or another commissioner to look at moving to the Georgia General Assembly?
Gwinnett politics in 2010 just got a lot more interesting!
Which leads to the second question. Who will replace Congressman Linder? Congressional races in the 7th District have been largely uninteresting for a long time as no one has really given Linder a credible challenge. However, in a year where we have two Gwinnett Commission races that bear close scrutiny, we now have a Congressional race - at least in the Republican primary - to watch. In the early going, several names have been tossed about to be Linder's successor: Chuck Efstration, chairman of the Gwinnett Republican Party, state Senator Don Balfour, state senator David Shafer, state Representative Clay Cox, and state Representative Tom Rice. Some GOP leaders even mentioned the name of former Atlanta Braves pitcher John Smoltz, though Smoltz has denied interest.
When I heard the news, I wondered if this could impact the Gwinnett County Commission. I have long thought that Commissioner Mike Beaudreau has aspirations for higher office. However, the jump from county commission to Congress is a pretty tall leap. However, with other state representatives and senators being mentioned as potential congressional candidates, could things shake out that would open a seat that would prompt Beaudreau or another commissioner to look at moving to the Georgia General Assembly?
Gwinnett politics in 2010 just got a lot more interesting!
Categories: Gwinnett County Commission, National Politics, State Politics Tags: Chuck Efstration, Clay Cox, David Shafer, Don Balfour, Fair Tax, Georgia General Assembly, Gwinnett County Commission, John Linder, John Smoltz, Mike Beaudreau, Tom Rice, United States Congress, conservative, election, government, politics
Gwinnett County Commission, National Politics, State Politics Tags: Chuck Efstration, Clay Cox, David Shafer, Don Balfour, Fair Tax, Georgia General Assembly, Gwinnett County Commission, John Linder, John Smoltz, Mike Beaudreau, Tom Rice, United States Congress, conservative, election, government, politics
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