Fresh Loaf

EJ and a pretty lady

Proving himself to be a man of character — 136 of them, to be precise — state Sen. Eric Johnson, R-Savannah, announced his candidacy for governor moments ago by way of Twitter. Johnson had been running for guv lite, but those plans were upended when that job’s current occupant, Casey Cagle, abandoned his own campaign for governor a couple of weeks back.

Here’s Eric’s full text:

I have decided to run for Governor. Leadership is about trust. I hope to earn the trust of the people of Georgia. Keep me in your prayers.

He came in four under par and still managed to get in a religious reference. Nice.

Anyway, the senator’s news isn’t a big surprise. He’d put himself in a bit of an awkward place by resigning his position of Senate President Pro Tem before the beginning of the 2009 General Assembly, saying he wanted to devote his time to running for lieutenant governor.

From all appearances, the move backfired: Johnson’s visibility dropped and potential rivals found it easier to undercut his effectiveness. His school voucher bill — the vehicle on which he hoped to ride into the Governor’s Mansion — went nowhere.

(more…)

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The 2009 General Assembly doesn’t start until next week, but already the infighting has begun. This time, it isn’t the lop-sided Richardson/Ralston showdown-that-wasn’t. It’s a smashmouth tussle between state senators Eric Johnson and David Shafer, who both plan to run for lieutenant governor in 2010. Ho hum.

Here’s the story – yawn – so far: Johnson stepped down as senate president pro-tem in November to devote himself to running for guv lite. Over this past weekend, Shafer told a crowd of Cobb Republicans that he, too, is seeking the post, and added that he has never given money to Democratic state Rep. Alicia Thomas Morgan – something that Johnson has done, leading to much controversy within the GOP.

Johnson – zzzzz – responded by taking offense and releasing a statement that essentially called Shafer a poopybutt:

“I am saddened by such early, petty comments. I am afraid that this is what Republicans will have to hear from my opponent for the next 18 months.”

Shafer has most recently released a list of 100 supporters, including a goodly number of Republican state legislators.

If the two carry their catfight over into next week’s legislative session, I may need to scream. The election is a year-and-a-half away, for Christ’s sake and it’s for lieutenant governor! Moreover, by the time the winner – assuming, for argument’s sake, that it even is one of them – is positioned to run for governor, Georgia might well have flipped back to being a blue state.

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