U.S. Rep. Nathan Deal announced Monday he'll resign from Congress to focus on his campaign for Georgia governor, changing the game for U.S. 9th Congressional District candidates vying to replace him.
"It puts all of us who are running for (the 9th District seat) in a different time frame," said candidate Bert Loftman, R-Jasper.
A special election now must be held to replace Rep. Deal, whose resignation is effective March 8. The replacement will serve out the remainder of Rep. Deal's term until the November 2010 special election.
An election date has not been set, according to Sarah Thompson of the Georgia Secretary of State's elections division.
On Monday, 9th Congressional District candidates already were announcing their intentions to run to replace Rep. Deal in the special election, including Mr. Loftman, Rep. Tom Graves, R-Ranger, and Jeremy Jones, R-Ringgold.
PDF: Nathan Deal's resignation speach NATHAN DEAL* Age: 67* Family: wife, Sandra; four children; six grandchildren.* Education: Mercer University, 1964; Mercer law school, 1966* Profession: Member of Congress since 1992. Elected as a Democrat, joined GOP in 1998.* Church: Gainesville First Baptist Church
Rep. Deal traveled to eight cities Monday to announce his resignation, including a stop at the Dalton Municipal Airport.
"Having entered the campaign to become the next governor of Georgia, I have worked very hard to balance the responsibilities of my current office with the demands of sharing my vision for our state," he said. "These are critical days for Georgia and my experience at the local, state and national level have uniquely prepared me to lead Georgia as we lead the nation out of recession."
Some of Rep. Deal's supporters said he made the right decision.
"His basis is that, in campaigning across a state as big as Georgia with 10 million people, you have to be here to do it," said Sen. Jeff Mullis, R-Chickamauga. "Now is the time, as the gubernatorial race in Georgia is heating up, for him to be here so that the people can meet him and make a better decision."
Plus, Sen. Mullis said, Rep. Deal now is part of a conservative minority in Washington and his votes weren't affecting the outcome of most issues.
Tim Echols, spokesman for Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner John Oxendine, a candidate, said it "is regrettable that Nathan Deal has left Georgia without a voice in Washington during the vital health care debate."
Whitfield County Commission Chairman Mike Babb said he understands that Rep. Deal can't give his full attention to Congress and his campaign at the same time.
"I hate to see him come out of Congress, but I can understand why he needs to do it," he said.
But Mr. Loftman said if Rep. Deal wanted to focus on running for governor, he shouldn't have run for re-election to Congress in the first place.
"I think that when you go into office you have an obligation to finish out your office and that you're leaving your people who elected you a little bit stranded," he said.
Mr. Jones said he has "mixed emotions" about Rep. Deal's resignation. He said, on one hand, he understands that Rep. Deal can't devote the right amount of time to Congress and at the same time run a campaign for Georgia governor, but "the circumstances that are surrounding his resignation were the same six and seven months ago," he said.
"Why he waited until this moment in time is certainly up in the air for speculation," Mr. Jones said.
Candidates for the 9th Congressional District include Republicans Clyde Daniel Benton; Chris Cates; Rep. Graves; B. Lee Hawkins; Mr. Jones; Mr. Loftman; William Stephens; Thomas Stephen Tarvin; Democrat Mike Freeman and independent Edward "Eugene" Moon.
Republican candidates for Georgia governor include Rep. Deal; Ray McBerry; former Secretary of State Karen Handel; state Sen. Eric Johnson, R-Savannah; Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner John Oxendine, and state Rep. Austin Scott, R-Tifton.
House Minority Leader DuBose Porter, D-Dublin; Attorney General Thurbert Baker; former Georgia National Guard Gen. David Poythress and former Gov. Roy Barnes are running on the Democratic side.