Loren Collins for Congress

This past Friday was the final day for candidates to qualify to be on the Georgia primary ballot in July. Four persons registered to run for the Fourth District Congressional seat.

Three were Democrats. The first, naturally, was incumbent Cynthia McKinney. The second was Hank Johnson, a lawyer and DeKalb County Commissioner. The third was architect John Coyne.

Only one Republican registered, thus making the Republican primary an unopposed nomination. That nominee will be Catherine Davis, who you may recall was the Republican nominee for the seat two years ago. Jerry Wyatt did not register to run.

Given these candidates, I believe it is fair to predict that, between the two parties, the Democrat will win. And the battle for that nomination will be between Cynthia McKinney and Hank Johnson.

Two years ago, McKinney had five Democratic challengers, and managed not only to win, but to pull 51% of the ballots cast. More than her five opponents combined. She then faced Republican Catherine Davis, who was also unopposed in the Republican primary in 2004.

McKinney did virtually no campaigning after the primary that I can recall, yet she raised over ten times the money that Davis did, and she eventually defeated Davis in a landslide of 64% to 36%.

This was a non-incumbent McKinney who already had her fair share of controversy. And although her recent behavior has undoubtedly lost her some number of supporters, I hesitate to believe that anything she's done could cause a third of her voters to cast their ballots for the Republican in the race.

Thus, as far as the two major parties are concerned, the Fourth Congressional District's representative will be chosen in July, not November. It is the Democratic primary that will determine whether Cynthia McKinney or Hank Johnson will be the Fourth District's representative in Congress.

Given my somewhat fatalistic outlook on this election, some may wonder why I have thrown myself into the race. I trust that my next post will answer those questions.

Welcome to the official blog of Loren Collins' campaign for Georgia's Fourth Congressional District.

Unlike many political and campaign blogs, this one is not handled by a staffer or campaign worker. When you see 'Loren' below a post, it means that that message came straight from my fingertips to your eyes. Does this mean I might make a mistake from time to time? Of course. I'm not infallible. But a blog is a means for personal expression, and it's not personal if someone else is always writing on my behalf.

This blog serves several purposes. For me, it's a vehicle to speak on news and issues that aren't addressed on the campaign site itself. It will also serve as a journal for my campaign experience, and a place to comment on my esteemed opposition. For you, the reader, it's a means of responding to my opinions, and an environment for discussion. If a good question is presented to me in an e-mail or a comment, I will endeavor to answer it in a separate post.

Without an existant major party platform to lean on, this blog will help to explain to you, the voting public, exactly what my political philosophies and beliefs are. In what ways do I lean conservative? In what ways am I more liberal? And when do I take a traditional libertarian stance? This way, you can better understand who I am, beyond the Bull Moose label or the bigger planks of my platform.

And if I do my job right, I'll win over your vote by November.