Gingrey’s In, Announces U.S. Senate Bid!

Rep. Phil Gingrey (GA-R-11) announced he will run for U.S. Senate today. The 70-year old congressman made the announcement in his home-town of Augusta, before heading to Atlanta to speak at Georgia Tech. As a physician, Gingrey opposes Obamacare and stands as a fiscal conservative. At this early stage, he joins the race with only Rep. Paul Broun, also a physician and of the same conservative ilk. In January, current Senator Saxby Chambliss announced he will not run for reelection and plans to retire at the end of the year. In the wake of the announcement, speculation swarmed with names to fill the seat, names such as Rep. Tom Price and Karen Handel. Handel, though, seems to be playing chess with her decision whether to enter the race or not.

Sources say Handel is weathering the storm, waiting to see if Price makes a bid for the seat. According to the source, a Price-run would mean Handel is out. If Price balks, though, Handel may very well throw her hat in the ring. During a visit to Poole’s BBQ in Gilmer County last week, Handel sidestepped the issue, saying only that she’s still looking into it and there will be plenty of time to get into “the nuts and bolts of things” if she decides to run.

Another name in the mix is radio personality Martha Zoller, who last year ran against Rep. Doug Collins for the new ninth district congressional seat, where Collins won in a run-off. Yesterday, Zoller sent out an email saying she will make an important announcement April third regarding her future in Georgia politics. So far, she’s been silent on the announcement.