News from around the State.

It looks like Vernon Jones (D), a former 2008 candidate for the U.S. Senate maybe looking to run again in 2010. But noone knows if its for Secretary of State or maybe Lt. Governor, etc.

State Senator Tim Golden (D) looks like a go for the U.S. Senate in 2010.

Michael Thurmond (D), seems like a sure bet for Lt. Governor, now the rumor is that he may look at the U.S. Senate seat held by Johnny Isakson, or stay on as Labor Commissioner, or run for another statewide seat such as Secretary of State or Agriculture Commissioner.

Lynn Westmoreland (R) it seems is seriously looking at the governor's race. I hope he does run for governor because he is a ultra-conservative that can easily be defined by a democrat in the general election & will turn off independents.

Milledgeville state representative Parham resigns

Longtime Milledgeville area state Rep. Bobby Parham has resigned his seat in the Georgia House of Representatives to join the State Board of Transportation.

A special election will be held to find a new representative for House District 141, which Parham represented for some 35 years. Rusty Kidd has said he will seek Parham’s old seat, and The Milledgeville Union-Recorder reported that Kidd re-confirmed that decision friday.

Parham joins a transportation board beset by problems. Officials say the Georgia Department of Transportation doesn’t have enough money to complete needed road projects, but Gov. Sonny Perdue and others at the Capitol see deeper problems at the department. They passed legislation this session that took away much of the board’s decision-making power, allowing the governor to appoint a planning director that will have a lot to say about what projects do, and don’t, get built.

“I hope I haven’t put the community into too many ups and downs wondering whether I was running or not,” Parham told The Union-Recorder. “But it’s good to keep politics on the mind because changes can come by quite quickly if you’re not watching.”

‘Zero’ chance of a comeback says Cox.

Just a few years back, a lot of in-the-know people thought Bainbridge native Cathy Cox was destined to become Georgia’s first female governor.

The former high-profile Democratic secretary of state, Cox now presides over Young Harris College in Towns County, raising money for the United Methodist-affiliated school and overseeing its ambitious move from a two-year to a four-year institution.

“I think the good Lord had a hand in this, and I have absolutely loved it,” Cox said of her new life. “It’s nice to be out of the meanness and partisanship that permeates everything in state government today.”

Cox lost the 2006 Democratic primary to former Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor. Taylor subsequently was defeated by Republican Gov. Sonny Perdue, who leaves office next year after two terms.

With the 2010 governor’s race looming, supporters still approach Cox about getting back into the political fray. She would be a great governor, some tell her. The race is wide open this cycle, others point out. She politely tells them she has no interest.

“Is there any possibility she might return to the political stage?” Cox is asked repeatedly.

“Zero,” she tells a reporter during a recent interview.

Cox turned 50 this year. She and her lawyer husband, Mark Dehler, have sold their DeKalb County home and wake up these days in a place free of traffic and laced with mountain vistas. They are just a few miles south of the North Carolina border. The nearest grocery store is about 10 miles away. The nearest mall is more than an hour’s drive.

Marshall, Barrow fundraising numbers.

1st Quarter fundraising shows Congressman Jim Marshall (D-Macon) with $354,000 on hand, with $44,000 raised during the 1st quarter

John Barrow (D-Svannah) raised $167,000 for the 1st quarter with $140,000 on hand.

Both are apart of the DCCC'a frontline program, a program geared to help vulnerable democrats against GO

Four-term Jim Marshall in Georgia 8, who probably won’t face a tough challenge until after redistricting, still has some good insurance, with $354,000 on hand.

Great Analysis from the folks at The Insider Advantage Georgia.

A Republican consultant, not currently affiliated in the race, said, “Barnes concerns me. He’s a legitimate, viable contender. Republicans will be coming out of a brutal primary, a brutal runoff. Our nominee is going to be bloodied and broke. If Democrats face the same thing, we’re all in the same boat. But if Democrats are smart, they’d unite behind somebody.”

And the GOP may have handed Barnes the very issues he needs to run on, the GOP operative continued: “Republicans have played into his hands. He can go out and talk about property taxes, improving education, transportation. Meanwhile, Republicans have sent a convoluted message at the end of this session, with no clear message of what we’re for, and the governor’s offered little vision of where we’re going.”

A Democratic consultant had a completely different view. He, too, is unaffiliated so far in the race.

“Barnes is a great candidate, he can raise a lot of money and he’s a force to be reckoned with. But you’re not looking at a governor coming back from a race he barely lost. You’re looking at a governor who was thrown out by 100,000 votes by a candidate he outspent 10-1. That’s not a formula for a successful comeback. You can’t explain his loss away.”

And so far, it will be no cakewalk to the Democratic nomination for Barnes. There are three other candidates in the race, including Attorney General Thurbert Baker, who is an African-American in a primary in which African-American voters likely will constitute a majority of the vote.

While Barnes has strong relations with the African-American community and still is highly regarded for striking the Confederate battle emblem from Georgia’s flag, there are divergent opinions about how he would fare against an African-American candidate.

“That’s going to be the grand test in a post-Obama world,” said the Democratic consultant. “What does a qualified, competent, well-known African-American candidate do in a gubernatorial race? The answer is, nobody knows because we’ve never really seen it, not even when Andy Young ran (in 1990), because it was a completely different party. You’re now looking at a party in which 50 percent of the vote is black.”

Others, including an African-American leader, contend that Baker has problems among African-American voters because of stands he has taken on law enforcement issues, including the Genarlow Wilson case.

“He (Baker) isn’t reading the tea-leaves right,” the African-American leader said.

The Democratic consultant disagreed. “One of the great myths is that African-Americans are liberal on crime. The truth is, the most conservative attitudes on crime are found among African-American voters. The only time they will turn on you if you’re tough on crime is if they think you’re using it as a racial weapon.”

Barnes, meanwhile, is said to believe he can win the race if he decides to enter it, but that it still will be a hard fight. The calls he’s received from the business community have been instructive, but not necessarily determinative. Cagle’s withdrawal from the race doesn’t change his timetable for making a decision, but Barnes is said to believe that could make the general election race somewhat easier.

Towery added: “Roy Barnes is the toughest politician I have ever witnessed in statewide politics. Absent a true professional as his adversary, my guess is that he could easily roll over a GOP nominee leaving nothing but scorched earth behind him ... Let me warn everyone of this: I would rather have two root canals and open heart surgery than run against Roy Barnes for Governor."

In 2010, Barnes will have been out of office for eight years. But there are many who are anxious to see him run again, believing that, after eight years, the public will have had enough of Perdue’s vaunted “New Day in Georgia.”

This got me thinking, if Barnes does enter the race & it looks more & more likely he will, what will that do to Thurbert Baker & DuBose Porter? I agree that the GOP have given not only Barnes, but other democratic candidates issues to run on in 2010.

More & More I'm starting to get emails from folks hoping that Barnes runs because they think that he is the best candidate to put up against the GOP. I think very highly of Porter & Baker. I don't Poythress that well because he hasn't run statewide since 1998, so the jury is still out on him, but I would also like to see a unified democratic field.

DuBose Porter has waited for this moment for a long time & the only way I see him dropping out of the governor's race & running for Lt. Governor is if he feels it's in the best interest for the party. With the likelyhood of Tim Golden (D) running for Lt. Gov, beoming more & more of a reality, I don't see Porter running against for Lt. Gov at all.

Now I have various scenarios for a possible democratic slate of candidates:

DuBose Porter, Governor

Thurbert Baker Lt. Governor

Shyam Reddy or Darryl Hicks, Secretary of State

Rob Teilhet, Attorney General

Terry Coleman or Alan Powell, Agriculture Commissioner

Michael Thurmond, Labor Commissioner.

Or:

Roy Barnes, Governor

Michael Thurmond, Lt. Governor

Rob Teilhet, Attorney General

Darryl Hicks, Secretary of State

Mary Squires, Insurance Commissioner

DuBose Porter, Agriculture Commissioner

Thurbert Baker, U.S. Senate.

But if I had to say right now on what the slate would look like it probably would be this:

Thurbert Baker, Governor

Tim Golden, Lt. Governor

Rob Teilhet, Attorney General

Mary Squires, Insurance Commissioner

Darryl Hicks, Secretary of State

Terry Coleman, Agriculture Commissioner

Michael Thurmond, Labor Commissioner

Michael Meyer von Bremen (could run for mayor of Albany in 2010) or Jim Butler, U.S. Senate.

You cannot tell me Barnes isn't going to run.

One of the more important political events in south Georgia last week was the 22nd annual Law Enforcement Appreciation Cookout down in Glennville, south of I-16 - not far from the coast.

Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle was to be the featured speaker. His decision to cancel his appearance at the Thursday barbecue was one of the first hints that he would withdraw from the race for governor.

But look who did show up. These photos were posted on DeWayne and Lori Grice’s blog down in Statesboro:

DeWayne Grice, a Democrat, said Roy and Marie Barnes also showed up at the dedication of the new courthouse in nearby Reidsville earlier that day. Where Cagle was also to appear, but did not.

Thurbert Baker has Finance Director.

Ely Abbott director of the law school's fundraising effort will become Thurbert Baker Finance Director for his gubernatorial bid for governor in 2010.

Here's an email sent out by Steven Kaminshine, dean & professor of law at Georgia State University:

Ely Abbott has advised me that he has decided to accept a special opportunity to become Finance Director of Attorney General Thurbert Baker’s gubernatorial campaign. Ely is an old political fund-raising junkie, having served in this arena previously on two congressional campaigns. He found the opportunity to run a potentially historic state-wide gubernatorial campaign too irresistible to pass up. Ely will need to join the Baker campaign and depart the COL by May 1. Until then, Ely will help launch our alumni giving effort through the final three months of the annual fund year, working closely with me and our Senior Director of Development, John Harrison.

Those of you who have worked with Ely over the past two years know what a gem the Baker campaign is getting. Ely is a class act, an incredibly hard worker, and the ultimate team player. He recognizes each day that a successful alumni program is all about relationships, and he has applied his talents to great success to advance the College of Law’s’ alumni program forward in so many important directions.