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Eddie Caldwell
Beau Patton
Peter PociaskIn the Dalton, Ga., area state representative race, restaurateur Kasey Carpenter has emerged as the choice among established Republicans.
As of Oct. 27, Carpenter has raised $17,800, more than double what the other three candidates have received combined. Of his funding, 87 percent comes from the campaign accounts of other state lawmakers.
Carpenter, the owner of Oakwood Cafe and Cherokee Pizza and Brewing, did not return multiple calls seeking comment last week. He will face Republican Eddie Caldwell, Republican Beau Patton and Democrat Peter Pociask on Tuesday. All four are vying for a one-year term to replace retiring state Rep. Bruce Broadrick in District 4.
The election is one of many throughout North Georgia on Tuesday, most of them local races on the county or city levels.
Carpenter previously told the Times Free Press a key goal of his is to lower the state’s personal income tax from 6 percent to 2 or 3 percent. This is his second race for state representative; he earned 45 percent of the vote in a Republican primary against Broadrick in May 2016.
His three opponents, meanwhile, feel confident they can overcome their lack of funding. The candidates are all finding their ideological niches.
Caldwell, 51, is the most reliably to the right.
“I’m the most conservative, the most experienced working for less government, less taxes,” he said.
Caldwell touted his experience campaigning for state Rep. Matt Gurtler, as well as libertarian presidential candidate Ron Paul. Last month, he said he would strictly protect gun rights and oppose abortion rights.
Caldwell has raised $14,000 for his race, though $9,600 of it comes from his own funds. He said he is spreading his message through letters and canvassing door to door. As of Thursday, he said, he had knocked on 1,500 doors. He expects to continue to visit people from 10 a.m. until dark through Monday.
Caldwell also received an endorsement – and $1,000 – from the Georgia Republican Assembly, an organization to the right of the state party. The organization’s platforms include school choice, the gradual elimination of “punitive income taxes” and laws and tax policies that oppose gay marriage.
“The Georgia Republican Assembly believes in Eddie Caldwell because he is the actual Republican in the race that doesn’t just say that he’s Republican, but actually has supported and will support the core Republican principles that almost all Republicans, and the Georgia Republican Assembly (www.GeorgiaRA.com) believe in,” the organizations’ president, Alex Johnson, said in a statement.
Patton, the other Republican in the race, said he is a good split between Carpenter and Caldwell. Receiving money from sitting lawmakers forces you to be loyal to them at times, even if you disagree with their policies, he said. On the other hand, he believes far-right candidates also can be unreasonable.
“I don’t want to lose a deal because I disagree with 20 percent of it,” he said. ” If I’m doing 80 percent good for my district, I’ve done pretty well.”
Patton is in his 20s, but he declined to give the Times Free Press his specific age. He has raised about $2,400 for this campaign.
In a strongly Republican area, Pociask is the lone Democrat. But he thinks the simple act of running for office, putting his views out there, can turn Dalton a little bit purple. With time, he hopes the Democrats here can build a North Georgia variety of liberalism, one that focuses on progressive politics that can appeal to people in Dalton.
“There are three flavors of conservatives there,” he said of Tuesday’s election. “They will appeal to different blocks of Republicans. I am able to pick up moderate votes. At a time when Republicans aren’t polling so well nationally, it doesn’t hurt to go in as a Democrat.”
Pociask, 37, has pushed for expanding state Medicaid funding through the Affordable Care Act, which he said could help low-income Dalton residents. If elected, he also would throw his support behind building a high-speed rail line from Atlanta to Chattanooga.
With Dalton so reliant on the carpet industry, he believes a reliable, fast public transit system would allow people to take jobs in Atlanta and still live in Dalton, he said.
Pociask has raised about $2,000 for this race.