JB Powell Receives Republican Endorsement from GOP Ag Commissioner candidate Darwin Carter

In a press conference this afternoon at the Georgia National Fairgrounds, JB Powell, the Democratic Candidate for Commissioner of Agriculture, received an endorsement from Darwin Carter, a 2010 Republican candidate for Commissioner of Agriculture and former Reagan administration official. This is the only cross-party endorsement from a statewide candidate in over a decade in Georgia politics.

“I am honored to receive Darwin Carter’s endorsement today. We need to move past partisan politics and come together as Georgians, and I look forward to working with Darwin Carter to earn the support of Democratic, Republican and Independent voters this November.”

“As a conservative Republican who was appointed by Ronald Reagan to work in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, I know real leadership when I see it, and I believe JB Powell will do a great job of representing conservative principals as Agriculture Commissioner for Georgia” said Darwin Carter. “I felt that in good moral conscience, I could not support the Republican nominee for Agriculture Commissioner because his ties to special interests as a lobbyist will hurt Georgia farmers and Georgia families. I support JB Powell because he has bold ideas that will help grow Georgia’s agricultural economy and help protect our food safety and I encourage all Reagan conservatives like me to vote for JB Powell this November.”

Darwin Carter was appointed to the U.S. Department of Agriculture by President Reagan from 1981 to 1989. From 1981 to 1982 he served as the Georgia State Executive Director for Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service. From 1982 to 1989, Darwin Carter served as the Assistant to the Undersecretary for International Affairs, Commodities and Programs and the Assistant to the Deputy Secretary of Agriculture. In these roles, he oversaw the exportation of 454 million pounds of beef and 120,000 live dairy animals. Darwin Carter ran in the Republican primary for Agriculture Commissioner of Georgia in 2010 and is a lifelong resident of Bacon County.

Now supporters of Gary Black is going to look at this as nothing, but you consider the face that this is rare for a candidate from the opposite party endorsing another candidate from another party in a long, long time. Carter gives Powell instant credibility for the Ag job & proves that Powell is the true conservative candidate in this race.