Graves won’t seek reelection next year
Local politicos are speculating on who might replace the Ranger Republican in Congress.
Word that U.S. Rep. Tom Graves won’t be running for reelection next year caught both political parties by surprise in the Northwest Georgia region he represents.
The Ranger Republican announced Thursday he won’t seek another two-year term in the seat he’s held since 2010. Graves said in a statement that he wants to spend more time with his wife, Julie, who is nearing retirement and his children, who are now adults.
“As we all do, I’m entering a new season in life. An exciting season. So, the time has come for me to pass the baton,” he said. “Now it’s my turn to cheer, support and sacrifice for those who have done the same for me over the last two decades.”
Luke Martin, who chairs the Floyd County Republican Party, said Graves has been a leading conservative voice in Congress and they are proud of the job he has done. The question of Graves’ successor was also on his mind.
“We must take this opportunity to make sure our next 14th District representative comes from Floyd County,” Martin said. “The Floyd County GOP will do its part to elect a Floyd County Republican to represent Northwest Georgia in Congress.”
Floyd County Democrats also were looking to the future Thursday. Party Chair Ruth Demeter called it “great news for our region” to learn there will be no incumbent on the ballot in 2020.
“We have been working on candidate recruitment for a few months. There will definitely be increased interest in this race with this news,” Demeter said.
The 14th District leans solidly Republican. Trump easily carried the district in 2016, and Graves won reelection last year with more than 76% of the vote. His Democratic opponent spent much of the campaign jailed for a drunken-driving conviction. It was Graves’ first contested election since 2012.
Graves had two Republican challengers in the 2016 primary: Mickey Tuck of Silver Creek and Allan Levine, who does not live in the district.
Tuck, who’s now the vice chair of the Floyd GOP, said he expects a healthy competition in the May 19, 2020, primary. Candidates qualify in the first week of March.
“I anticipate there will probably be numerous candidates. It’s not often an open seat for Congress becomes available,” he said. “We will see how it all shakes out and get behind the candidate that wins in the primary.”
Before he ran for Congress, Graves, 49, served seven years in the Georgia legislature. Speculation Thursday was centering around local lawmakers, including Sen. Chuck Hufstetler, RRome, and Reps. Katie Dempsey, RRome, and Eddie Lumsden, R-Armuchee.
Hufstetler and Dempsey could not be reached for comment and Lumsden was noncommittal.
“I just saw the announcement. I did not expect this,” Lumsden said when asked if he might run for Graves’ seat. “I am very happy doing what I’m doing, but I would not rule out the possibility.”
The 14th District covers Dade, Walker, Catoosa, Whitfield, Murray, Chattooga, Gordon, Floyd, Polk, Haralson and Paulding counties, as well as a section of Pickens County.
State Sen. Jeff Mullis, R-Chickamauga, and Rep. Trey Kelley, R-Cedartown, also are among the potential candidates.
Graves is the 21st House Republican to announce his retirement, and the third Capitol Hill lawmaker from Georgia who won’t seek reelection in 2020.
Health problems are prompting Republican Sen. Johnny Iskason to step down at the end of December. GOP Rep. Rob Woodall, narrowly reelected last year in a diversifying district outside Atlanta, will exit at the end of next year.
U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson issued a call for bipartisanship to his Senate colleagues Tuesday, Dec. 3, as he said farewell to Congress after 15 years in Washington.
“There’s something missing in this place,” Isakson, R-Ga., who is retiring at the end of this year due to health problems, said on the Senate floor. “I am a bipartisan person. I never saw people get things done by not agreeing with each other. … You have to find common ground.”
Isakson drew praise from his fellow senators during a luncheon Tuesday before his farewell speech not only for his spirit of bipartisanship – an increasingly rare attribute in Washington – but for his friendly nature.
“If the Senate were to hold a secret-ballot popularity contest, Johnny Isakson would win in a bipartisan landslide,” said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. “He commands bipartisan respect and affection to a degree that