Could strategist join governor’s race?

The rumors started flying weeks ago: Could Republican strategist Nick Ayers, a top adviser to Vice President Mike Pence and an architect of the Perdue political dynasty, join the race for governor?

At first, it seemed a long shot. Ayers, a 34-year-old strategist with no elected experience, had his hands full in Washington while a growing group of past and current officeholders and outsiders considered the race. Besides, top allies to the Perdues — Sen. David Perdue and former Gov. Sonny Perdue — were known to be trying to recruit other Republicans to enter the contest.

Ayers declined to comment then, and those close to him described it as a dim possibility.

But since then, as the first round of candidates formally join or openly flirt with a run, it doesn’t seem as farfetched.

Ayers still won’t say anything about a potential candidacy, but the rumbling about him jumping in the wideopen race never really died down. And Politico reported Wednesday that people close These are some of the many items readers could find this past week in the Political Insider blog on AJC.com. Look there for breaking news and to gain insight about Georgia’s political scene. to the Trump administration are already discussing the impact of an Ayers run.

His supporters say he’ll be a fundraising force, able to tap not only the Perdue network in Georgia but also out-of-state behemoths from his time working with Pence and other national politicians. And he would likely bring an outsider’s flair to the race backed by his ties to the Trump administration.

“I am aware that Nick is certainly being encouraged by a lot of people to run for governor,” said Rayna Casey, the Atlanta businesswoman who was chairwoman of Trump’s Georgia campaign.

Ayers started as a teenage “body man” to Sonny Perdue during the Republican state senator’s underdog bid for governor in 2002. Four years later, Perdue tapped him as his campaign manager for a re-election battle against Democrat Mark Taylor.

He next led the Republican Governors Association, dramatically increasing the GOP grip on statehouses, before a stint with then-Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s ill-fated 2012 presidential campaign.

He then worked as a strategist for Sen. David Perdue and Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner before landing a gig as the main consultant on Pence’s Indiana re-election campaign.

When Pence got the vice presidential nod, he made sure Ayers came along with him. After the election, he was considered a top contender to lead the Republican National Committee.

A run for governor would be a new ball game. Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, who hasn’t formally announced, is considered the presumptive Republican front-runner. Secretary of State Brian Kemp has already joined the race and has spent years crisscrossing the state and earning IOUs. A handful of other candidates could jump in by the summer.

Report: Bannon following Ga. race

WASHINGTON — We’ve written pretty much nonstop about how Georgia’s 6th District congressional race has become a nationalized freefor-all, complete with appearances from Han Solo, elephants donning pearls and the lady from the 1990s television hit “Charmed.”

But this nugget from the newest issue of New York magazine shows just how closely watched this contest truly is:

And so Republicans are watching, including rather powerful ones. “Ossoff running smart campaign,” Steve Bannon, the president’s chief strategist, told me in a text. A White House official close to him said he’s preoccupied with what’s happening some 600 miles south of Pennsylvania Avenue.

The race, of course, is being viewed as an early referendum on Donald Trump’s young presidency, so it makes sense that the White House is paying attention.

The administration is formally staying out of the race for now.