“I have no illusions of winning, but I’m sure going to try,” Camp said Friday as he was traveling down Rome Street in Carrollton, making last-minute visits to business owners and their customers. “There needs to be some diversity in state government. We have to get away from the two-party ‘duopoly.’ People have no voice. It’s the party bosses who run things.”
Camp faces Mike Dugan, a Carrollton building contractor and retired military officer and a political newcomer. Dugan defeated former state Rep. Bill Hembree in the Dec. 4 runoff to win the Republican slot on the ballot.
Dugan was also on the road Friday afternoon, asking that voters turn out one more time to cast ballots.
“It’s not done yet,” Dugan said. “This election is as important as the past two and we need to get back out again.”
He said his campaign message continues to be the same as it’s been since the campaign process started last September.
“You’re hiring someone to represent your wishes and concerns in Atlanta,” he said. “It’s important that this person represents the people of District 30.”
Dugan said he’s a conservative Republican, with the same core values shared by most of the people in the district.
“I’m still pushing for term limits and caps on contributions,” he said. “I pledge to hold town hall meetings once a month, in different parts of the district.”
The winner of Tuesday’s special election will be sworn in before the 2013 Georgia General Assembly convenes on Jan. 14.
Camp, a Temple IT technician, was directing his final weekend campaigning toward reaching what he termed the “super voters,” those who cast ballots in every primary, general and special election and every runoff.
“I’m asking them to come out and vote and ask their friends and family members to vote,” he said. “I’m telling them this election could come down to whether the Republicans will get a super majority in the Senate. With a super majority (two-thirds), they can pass any agenda they want and get it through without opposition. That takes away the will of the people and puts it in the hands of the party bosses.”
Dugan said he will also be campaigning “up until 6:59 p.m. on Tuesday.”
“I think my chances are good, but I’m not so comfortable that I’ve stopped campaigning,” he said. “If I’m fortunate enough to win, that’s when the real work begins.”
Turnout could be extremely low Tuesday, based on the 517 Carroll County voters who cast early ballots during the three-day advance voting period. That’s less than 1 percent of the county’s 52,412 registered voters, according to county Election Supervisor Becky Deese. That compares with about 1.8 percent who voted early in the Dec. 4 runoff election. The turnout for the entire Dec. 4 voting was only 6.9 percent.
Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday in all Carroll County precincts, except Fairfield, Hulett, Lowell and Whitesburg, which are not part of District 30.
Six precincts in Douglas County and four precincts in Paulding County are also in District 30.
Deese said all registered voters in Senate District 30 are eligible to vote, regardless of whether they voted in the past District 30 elections. The deadline for registering to vote in this election was Dec. 10.
Voters will need to have a photo ID to vote. Acceptable photo IDs include: any valid state or federal government issued photo ID, including a free voter ID card issued by the county registrar’s office; Georgia driver’s license, even if expired; valid employee photo ID from any federal, state, city, county or municipal agency; valid U.S. passport; valid military photo ID; or valid tribal photo ID.
The long path to the state Senate seat began with a Nov. 6 special Republican primary, with four candidates seeking the seat being vacated by Republican Bill Hamrick, who resigned in September to accept a Coweta District Superior Court judgeship. Hembree was the top vote getter in that election, with 48.3 percent of the vote, but lost to Dugan in the Dec. 4 runoff.
As a third-party candidate, Camp qualified early for the Jan. 8 special general ballot and did not have to participate in the earlier Republican contests.
The differences in participation rates between the 6 NOV 12 general election and the results of the republican run off are staggering. Going from a 70% general election participation rate to a 6.9% run off participation rate really helps illustrate how valuable a vote becomes in the rare and exotic land of run offs. A vote on 8 JAN 2013 is worth 10 votes from 6 NOV 2012. A great return for tapping a touch screen.
If you're one of the 19,000 Douglas county citizens, the 10,000 Carroll county citizens or one of the 15,000 Paulding county citizens that voted for either Libertarian Brad Ploeger or Libertarian David Staples for PSC last November then you really should consider hitting the polls and voting for Libertarian James Camp in the special election. Not all of those guys and gals will get to vote in this special election, but if only 3.5% of them take the time and make the effort, that spells victory for James Camp.
Deny the Georgia republican party a super-majority at the Gold Dome. Cast your ballot for liberty! Vote for Libertarian James Camp!