GA-10: Dems Rally Around Marlow

Another Democratic candidate has stepped up to compete in the June 19th special election to fill the vacant seat of the late Republican Rep. Charlie Norwood: James Marlow.  From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Political Insider:

Just before 10 a.m., we got a call from James Marlow, the new Democratic candidate for the 10th District congressional race in east Georgia.

He’d just finished breaking the news of his candidacy to the hometowners in Lincolton at the steps of the county courthouse. He counted nearly 60 witnesses, which in a town with four stoplights constitutes a throng.

“I just feel a calling to serve. I know that sounds a little corny,” Marlow said.

He’s a 46-year-old native, whose father served as mayor of Lincolnton. The son rode the Internet. You might remember the younger Marlow as the founder of AnythingSouthern.com, which was to be a way to get information on, well, anything Southern – food, religion, entertainment, the works.

The site was one of the many dot-com bubbles that popped.

Most recently, Marlow was a sales director for Yahoo Inc. He’s now a full-time candidate.

While four other Democrats are currently in the special election pool, Marlow has attracted the backing of local and state Democratic leaders, according to CQ Politics:

Marlow obtained the backing of 13 Democratic county chairmen at a meeting held March 31 in the 10th District city of Clarksville, according to Marlow spokesman Emil Runge.

Although this is the candidate’s first foray into politics, his name is not unknown in local Democratic circles. His father, Buddy Marlow, served as mayor of Lincolnton. The campaign staff Marlow has assembled, including Jeff DiSantis, former executive director of the state Democratic Party, and Runge, former state Democratic Party communications director, likely will bolster his rookie political effort.

As for campaign issues, Marlow told the AJC that he won’t shy away from Iraq on the campaign trail:

He’s eager to talk about health care, education, and the creation of good jobs. “Iraq is obviously an issue,” he said.

As we said yesterday, it’s clear that Democrats think it’s to their advantage to talk about the Middle East in this race.

Marlow says he’s an eager defender of America, but is also a defender of American troops. In the latter category, he places decent treatment for wounded soldiers and armor for those in battle.

It also means – and this may become his catch phrase – “not putting troops in the wrong place, at the wrong time, and in the wrong numbers.” Competency, in other words.

While Bush won this district twice by hefty margins (63% and 65%, in that order), but Clinton was able to win it twice in the ’90s.  And, according to the Marlow, the district has had no trouble voting for Democrats on the state level:

As for those who think the Tenth too Republican to elect him, Marlow points out that Agriculture Commissioner Tommy Irvin, Attorney General Thurbert Baker, and Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond all carried the district. All, of course, were Democrats.

Georgia hasn’t been a bright spot for Democrats recently, but special elections have the habit of producing unpredictable outcomes.  The upcoming race to fill Georgia’s 10th could be worth keeping an eye on.

On the web: Marlow for Georgia

Race Tracker: GA-10

3 thoughts on “GA-10: Dems Rally Around Marlow”

  1. On Iraq:

    I promise to support our troops. That means not putting them in the wrong place at the wrong time in the wrong numbers. It means taking care of them when they return home wounded. It means providing them body armor when in the field and shielding for Humvees.

    I will work everyday to bring our involvement in Iraq to an honorable end as quickly as we can, while also protecting our national interests in the region and the world.

    I support the recommendations of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group. We must establish clear goals for our military involvement in Iraq.

    On Healthcare:

    I believe that every child should have health coverage and that it should not matter how much money you have to obtain quality health care.

    We need to have affordable health care for everyone. It is a requirement to compete in a global economy. The drastic rise in health care cost is a serious business and economic threat to America.

    I believe that we can find a way to make sure that all businesses can provide affordable health care for their employees – no matter how large or small the business.
    I believe that our nation can and should shift to a true health maintenance approach to lifelong health care.
    We should honor Congressman Charlie Norwood by passing his Patient’s Bill of Rights.

    We need to work even harder to cure cancer. Cancer will affect every family in America. We should have leading institutions in our country – like the University of Georgia and the Medical College of Georgia – increasing their investment in cancer research.

    We need to do right by our moms, sisters, aunts and cousins and do radically more research for breast cancer.

    The Environment:

    I believe that we don’t inherit the natural wonders of our planet from our parents; we borrow them from our children. Taking care of the richness of God’s gifts is a responsibility.

    I believe that by making smart investments in the environment, we can strengthen our communities, especially the small towns in the Tenth District like the one I grew up in.

    We have got to protect the North Georgia Mountains and the Georgia Coast. We can’t look back in twenty or thirty years and say, if we had only used a little strategic thinking and a little vision, we wouldn’t be where we are now. We would have a responsibility to our children and grandchildren and only one chance to do this right.

    Sounds very promising…

  2. …I don’t have the highest of hopes, but Athens, GA is an exceptionally nice city and deserves better than to be stuck with a GOP foot soldier as its Rep.

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