The Race for House District 171: Powell vs Timmons

Another race that I pegged as a race to watch in Georgia is the democratic-lean seat of HD 171 in November down in South Georgia where Incumbent Jay Powell (R-Camilla) faces his first challenger since running for the seat that was vacated by longtime Democrat Richard Royal of Camilla, who switch parties in 2006, becoing a republican.

He faces James "R.C". Timmons (D-Camilla), a minister for the contested seat in november. As of yet, no one has heard a peep out of Timmons, no statements, no website, no facebook profile, no nothing! There is no mention of where he stands on issues ranging from education to job creation.

As for Powell, the day he qualified to run for the seat in which Royal didn't notify anyone but powell that he wssn't going to run for re-election, he was personally escorted by disgraced House Speaker Glen Richardson to the qualifying table to run in place of Royal, as a republican.

Previously Powell was the mayor of Camilla, where he lost in a upset to Mary Jo Norwood, who was a member of the Mitchell County BOE. That lost cost Powell his chairmanship as head of the Georgia Municipal Association.

House District 171 is 40% African American, with the City of Camilla being 68% African- American, Pelham 54% African- American, & over in Colquitt Co, Moultrie is 48% African-American, 47% White & the city of Doerun population consisting of 42% African-American.

Those percentages alone makes this seat very winnable for the democrats in November, but if Timmons doesn't get the ball rolling down there soon, it'll be a lost opportunity for democrats to re-take the democratic lean district.