ATLANTA (AP) – A third Georgia Democrat jumped into the race to challenge Republican Sen. David Perdue on Tuesday for a seat that could help dictate the fate of the Senate in 2020.
Business executive and 2018 candidate for Georgia lieutenant governor Sarah Riggs Amico announced her candidacy with a campaign video taking aim at Perdue’s close ties to President Donald Trump.
“Senator David Perdue and Republican leaders in Washington have failed Georgia families and communities: from farmers suffering under the GOP-led trade war, to the families at risk of losing their healthcare as Republicans try to dismantle the Affordable Care Act,” Amico said in a statement.
Perdue, a former business executive, has emerged as a close ally of President Donald Trump since his election in 2014 and has been closely aligned with the administration on issues ranging from immigration to trade.
Amico’s announcement comes just weeks after the auto transportation company she is executive chairwoman of filed for bankruptcy, citing unsustainable labor costs compared to its non-unionized competitors. She said the experience spurred her to run and to make fighting for workers a core tenant of her campaign.