Guess it runs in the family.
Former President Jimmy Carter’s grandson, Jason Carter, plans to make a run for the Georgia governor’s mansion, he announced Wednesday. Carter will face Republican incumbent Gov. Nathan Deal.
In an exclusive interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Carter said: “We want a Georgia that’s at its best. And Georgia at its best invests in education, it doesn’t cut billions out of the classrooms, it has an economy that works for the middle class and it always has an honest government.” The education comment is a direct hit against his opponent, who has vowed to overhaul and restructure Georgia’s public education funding formula if re-elected.
Though Deal is facing two primary challengers in his quest for re-election, the history and the numbers may be in his favor. The governor’s mansion has been occupied by a Republican for the past 12 years. Georgia also voted decisively for Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election and Deal’s approval ratings stand at a solid 49%, according to AJC polling.
Still, Carter is confident he can win. “I wouldn’t be getting in this race if I didn’t think I was going to win,” he said.
Ali Vitali is MS NOW's senior congressional correspondent and the host of "Way Too Early." She is the author of "Electable: Why America Hasn’t Put a Woman in the White House … Yet."