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Republicans Rush Kingston’s House Seat #GA01 | The Field

Kingston is running for Senate. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)
Kingston is running for Senate. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Georgia Rep. Jack Kingston’s entrance into the Senate Republican primary means there will be at least three GOP-held, open-seat House races in the Peach State in 2014.

Unfortunately for Democrats, who are looking for avenues to the majority next year, all of the seats are in Republican-leaning districts. That includes Kingston’s 1st District, which covers Georgia’s entire Atlantic coastline, stretching from Savannah south to Brunswick and the Florida state line.

The 11-term incumbent’s official announcement tour Thursday finally opened the door for ambitious Republicans from populous Savannah in search of a ladder to Congress. The list of candidates already running or mentioned as possible candidates include:

  • State Sen. Buddy Carter, who already filed candidacy papers with the Federal Election Commission and will announce his candidacy Monday, according to his consultant.
  • David Schwarz, lobbyist and former Kingston staffer
  • State Rep. Jeff Chapman
  • John McCallum, a former Newt Gingrich aide
  • Darwin Carter, frequent candidate
  • Stephen Meeks, former Sen. Saxby Chambliss staffer

As many as five of the Peach State’s 14 congressional districts could be open in 2014 thanks to Chambliss’ retirement. GOP Rep. Tom Price is seriously considering running for Senate and is likely to announce his decision this month. And Democratic Rep. John Barrow is also contemplating a bid.

The Field is a reoccurring series that examines the political landscape in a specific congressional race. Want to read about the field for a particular district or state? We take requests: Tweet @rollcall with #thefield or 
email us at politics@cqrollcall.com.

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