The same week Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue set the date for the election to fill the 10th Congressional District seat, the field to replace Charlie Norwood in Congress grew by four names.
The election will be June 19, which is the next special election date set forth in Georgia law that would also allow for county-wide, municipal, and/or SPLOST elections on the same day.
Secretary of State Karen Handel has agreed to set the qualifying date to be after the General Assembly session concludes, allowing any state legislators who may run to fulfill their duties in the General Assembly while giving candidates an adequate amount of time to campaign. If there is a runoff following the June 19 election, it would occur four weeks later, on July 17th.
Meanwhile, an Athens physician, an Augusta businesswoman, a Braselton politico and an Augusta physician and real estate professional made their intentions to run known.
Constitutional Republican Paul Broun Jr., a family practice physician in Athens, is the son of Paul Broun, late Democratic state senator who served in the General Assembly for 38 years.
Jackie Poteet said she is running because her 35 years in business have given her the experience and know-how to get things done.
"We have so many things broken in federal government, and we need to fix them," she said.
Mrs. Poteet started Apartment Finders in Augusta in 1973 and Marjac Publications in 1979 before branching out to publish apartment guides in the Macon-Warner Robins area and Savannah. She sold her companies to a national concern in 2001.
Bill Greene is founder and president of RightMarch.com, an online conservative organization formed as a "rapid response force" to enable its members to take effective action against activities by online liberal groups like MoveOn.org, according to a press release.
He heads up the RightMarch.com PAC as well, which targets federal races where they can support staunch movement conservatives against liberal Republicans and Democrats. Mr. Greene, who attends Grace Bible Family Fellowship, resides in Braselton, with his wife Nancy of seventeen years and their two children.
Julian Hutchins, Sr., an Augusta physician and real estate professional, announced his candidacy for the seat Monday night. Living in the district for nearly the entirety of his professional life, Dr. Hutchins' experience in a variety of business and healthcare arenas combine with traditional values that mirror the majority of the 10th district to make him a viable candidate for election, according to a press release.
Dr. Hutchins' background in grassroots politics and community leadership, including a close run for the Republican nomination for the then 9th congressional district in 1988, have allowed him to serve and know the people of Georgia firsthand.
Hutchins graduated from the Medical College of Georgia, served in the United States Air Force in the 347th TFW, helped to found and chaired Augusta's Character City Coalition, has held Emergency Medicine positions at a number of hospitals in the district, and in addition is currently an associate broker with Keller Williams Realty Augusta Partners. Dr. Hutchins and his wife, Lane, have three grown children and are active members of Kiokee Baptist Church in Appling.
Other candidates who have previously said they were in the race to fulfill the unexpired term of Mr. Norwood include Republican state Sens. Jim Whitehead and Ralph Hudgens, Democrat Terry Holley, and former NFL player and Athens native Willie Green.
