The 2014 United States Senate election in Georgia was held on November 4, 2014, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Georgia, concurrently with the election of the governor of Georgia, to the U.S. Senate in other states, to the United States House of Representatives, and to various other state and local offices.
Incumbent Republican senator Saxby Chambliss announced on January 25, 2013, that he would not run for re-election, making it an open-seat race. After a close and contentious primary campaign, businessman David Perdue and U.S. Representative Jack Kingston advanced to a runoff for the Republican nomination, which was narrowly won by Perdue. The Democratic primary was decisively won by Points of Light CEO Michelle Nunn, the daughter of former U.S. senator Sam Nunn. Also running was Libertarian nominee Amanda Swafford, a former Flowery Branch City Councilwoman.
If no candidate had received a majority of the vote, a runoff would have been held between the top two finishers on January 6, 2015, after the 114th Congress would have been sworn in, but in the end, David Perdue defeated Michelle Nunn by a margin of 7.7%.
Perdue's victory was part of a series of Republican victories across the nation. Nunn failed to improve on Obama's losing percentages in the state from two years earlier and any changes in the state's demographics were not enough for Democrats to prevail. Nevertheless, Nunn took credit for making the party competitive in the otherwise inhospitable South: "We put Georgia in play. We have reminded people what a two-party system looks like." Nunn's efforts to appeal to white voters were largely unsuccessful, with her not achieving 25% of the white vote, with conventional wisdom at the time stating that a Democrat needed 30% of the white vote to win.
Republican primary Chambliss announces retirement Incumbent Senator Saxby Chambliss, first elected in 2002, went into the 2014 election cycle facing significant ire from conservatives. Chambliss had infuriated conservatives during the 2011 United States debt-ceiling crisis, having been a member of the bipartisan Gang of Six that proposed a compromise solution to the crisis that was heavily criticised by right-wing groups. Chambliss had posted weak fundraising numbers heading into the 2014 cycle, and this combination meant he was widely considered vulnerable to a primary challenge.
Chambliss announced his retirement in January of 2013. U.S. Representatives Tom Price and Paul Broun had already openly been considering primary campaigns against the incumbent, and following his announcement The Atlantic opined that they, U.S. Representatives Tom Graves and Phil Gingrey, and former Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel were likely candidates for the seat.
Early stages In the early stages of the Republican primary campaign, the field was deemed a "clown car" by The Hill due to the prominence of far-right candidates within it. Prominent Tea Party supporter and U.S. Representative Paul Broun was the early frontrunner for the Republican nomination, with Public Policy Polling showing him with a double-digit lead over his fellow candidates. During September 2013 several prominent Republicans considered buying ads against Broun's campaign, as he was seen as unelectable due to his support for Young Earth creationism and the contention that medical schools taught "lies from the pits of hell." Broun also had a history of proposing controversial congressional amendments, most prominently a proposal to defund and privatise the Transportation Security Administration, which were considered by Republican strategists to be anathema to the wider electorate.
National spending As the campaign drew on, businessman David Perdue and U.S. Representative Jack Kingston began to dominate the media with extensive spending, and Perdue in particular developed a lead in the polls. In order to counter the two men's spending advantage Handel relied on support from figures popular amongst the Tea Party such as Sarah Palin, but a lack of national financial support remained a consistent issue for her campaign.
Candidates Paul Broun, U.S. representative and candidate in 1996 Art Gardner, patent attorney Phil Gingrey, U.S. representative Derrick E. Grayson, conservative political activist Karen Handel, former secretary of state of Georgia, former Susan G. Komen executive and candidate for governor in 2010 Jack Kingston, U.S. representative David Perdue, Georgia Ports Authority board member, former CEO of Dollar General and Reebok and cousin of former Governor Sonny Perdue
Withdrew Eugene Yu, businessman, president of the Federation of Korean Associations and former deputy sheriff of Richmond County (ran for GA-12)
Declined Casey Cagle, lieutenant governor of Georgia Herman Cain, former CEO of the National Restaurant Association, former chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City and candidate for president in 2012 Saxby Chambliss, incumbent U.S. senator Doug Collins, U.S. representative Erick Erickson, blogger, radio host and former member of the Macon City Council Newt Gingrich, former speaker of the House of Representatives and candidate for president in 2012 Tom Graves, U.S. representative Brian Kemp, secretary of state of Georgia Ed Lindsey, majority whip of the Georgia House of Representatives (ran for GA-11) Kelly Loeffler, co-owner of the Women's National Basketball Association team Atlanta Dream Barry Loudermilk, state senator (ran for GA-11) Sam Olens, attorney general of Georgia Sonny Perdue, former governor of Georgia Tom Price, U.S. representative David Ralston, speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives Austin Scott, U.S. representative Eric Tanenblatt, chief of staff to former governor Sonny Perdue Ross Tolleson, state senator Allen West, former U.S. representative from FL-22 Lynn Westmoreland, U.S. representative Rob Woodall, U.S. representative
Endorsements
Polling Harper PollingHarper Polling February 11–12, 2013 ? ±? 19% — — 18% — — — 13% — 17% 2% — 30%PPPPPP February 15–18, 2013 366 ±5.1% 11% 13% — 12% 3% — 15% 15% — 10% — — 20% 14% — — 22% — — 21% 18% — — — — 24% 15% — — 24% — — — 18% — 14% — — 28%Landmark/RosettaLandmark/Rosetta February 15–18, 2013 483 ±4.5% 10% 17% — 15% — — — 12% — 11% 2% — 33%Landmark/RosettaLandmark/Rosetta March 28, 2013 570 ±4.1% 16% — — 22% — — 14% 8% 1% — 2% — 39%Insider AdvantageInsider Advantage April 1, 2013 573 ±4% 15% — — 15% — — 9% 14% 5% — — — 37%20/20 Insight20/20 Insight May 7–9, 2013 ? ± ? 13% — — 19% — — 16% 18% — — — — 34%GaPunditGaPundit May 16, 2013 1,351 ±2.66% 14.14% — — 15.98% — — 15.81% 17.61% 5.77% — — — 30.69%Landmark/RosettaLandmark/Rosetta June 2013 450 ±4.6% 15% — — 17% — — 14% 7% — — — — 44%PPPPPP August 2–4, 2013 260 ±6.1% 19% — — 25% — 3% 13% 15% 5% — — 0% 20%TPCTPC January 31 – February 1, 2014 600 ±3.9% 13% — — 19% — 1% 14% 11% 8% — — 2% 32%HEG/APHEG/AP February 13–16, 2014 923 ±3.25% 10.9% — 0.8% 10.4% — 0.5% 10.2% 10.9% 12.7% — — 0.9% 42.7%PPPPPP March 5–6, 2014 324 ±? 27% — — 14% — 3% 9% 13% 12% — — — 23%SurveyUSASurveyUSA March 16–18, 2014 508 ±4.2% 11% — 1% 12% — 4% 10% 19% 29% — — — 15%Landmark/RosettaLandmark/Rosetta March 23–24, 2014 600 ±4% 15% — — 13% — — 10% 15% 21% — — — 26%InsiderAdvantageInsiderAdvantage March 23–24, 2014 893 ±3.26% 10% — — 8% — — 5% 15% 17% — — — 45%InsiderAdvantage April 13–15, 2014 804 ±3.4% 11% — 0.5% 9% — 0.5% 13% 15% 19% — — — 32%SurveyUSASurveyUSA April 24–27, 2014 501 ± 4.5% 13% — 1% 6% — 5% 15% 20% 26% — — — 13%InsiderAdvantageInsiderAdvantage April 27–29, 2014 737 ±3.5% 14% — 1% 12% — 2% 21% 17% 22% — — — 11%McLaughlin & Associates*McLaughlin* April 28–29, 2014 400 ±4.9% 8% — — 13% — — 14% 20% 17% — — — 28%NBC News/MaristNBC News/Marist April 30 – May 5, 2014 533 ±4.2% 11% — <1% 11% — 1% 14% 18% 23% — — — 23%Saint LeoSaint Leo May 5–6, 2014 689 ±4% 13% — — 8% — 1% 15% 16% 26% — — — 21%Landmark/Rosetta^Landmark/Rosetta^ May 6, 2014 729 ±3.6% 8.6% — — 8.5% — — 21% 15.1% 23.1% — — — 20.1%InsiderAdvantageInsiderAdvantage May 7, 2014 531 ±4.2% 12% — 1% 11% — 2% 18% 17% 26% — — — 13%SurveyUSASurveyUSA May 8–12, 2014 634 ±4% 10% — 1% 10% — 3% 16% 19% 27% — — — 14%GAPunditGAPundit May 12–13, 2014 1,006 ±3.1% 11% — 2.1% 12.1% — 2.4% 20.1% 20.5% 20.1% — — — 11.7%InsiderAdvantageInsiderAdvantage May 12–14, 2014 1,182 ±2.9% 10% — — 9% — — 17% 19% 27% — — — 18%InsiderAdvantageInsiderAdvantage May 18, 2014 852 ±3.36% 9.8% — 0.3% 11.1% — 0.7% 17.4% 16.7% 26% — — — 18.1%
^ Internal poll for Karen Handel campaign * Internal poll for Jack Kingston campaign
Poll source SaxbyChambliss PaulBroun HermanCain ErickErickson KarenHandel TomPrice AllenWest conservative Other UndecidedPublic Policy PollingPublic Policy Polling November 30 – December 2, 2012 389 ±5% 23% 6% 36% 3% 4% 4% 8% — 5% 10% 57% 14% — — — — — — — 29% 36% — 50% — — — — — — 13% 51% — — 22% — — — — — 26% 52% — — — 23% — — — — 26% 52% — — — — 22% — — — 28% 47% — — — — — 26% — — 28% 38% — — — — — — 43% — 19%
Results The primary was held on May 20, 2014. No candidate won more than 50% of the vote, so a runoff was held between the top two candidates, businessman David Perdue and U.S. Representative Jack Kingston. The 30.6 percent won by Perdue was the lowest ever for a first-place finisher in a Georgia U.S. Senate primary by either party in state history.
While Perdue advancing to the runoff was expected, Kingston beating out Handel to the second spot was something of a surprise. Kingston's strong performance was attributed by journalist Tom Crawford to his dominance in the regions of Coastal Georgia around the city of Savannah and Southeast Georgia around the city of Valdosta, where he achieved absolute majorities of the vote in many counties. Handel performed strongly in metropolitan Atlanta, but these areas suffered from relatively low turnout when compared to Kingston's base.
Runoff Kingston and Perdue advancing to the runoff was welcome news to establishment Republicans, as both men were relatively socially moderate and were not considered to be at risk of squandering the Senate seat with controversial comments. Kingston, widely considered the more conservative of the two men, immediately moved to secure right-wing support, declaring that he was the last conservative in the race against the "moderate" Perdue. Kingston quickly secured support from much of Georgia's Republican congressional delegation, but this had the unintentional effect of allowing Perdue to portray himself as an outsider.
The nine-week runoff was defined by negative campaigning, with both Perdue and Kingston running many attack ads. Kingston's main line of attack was that Perdue was an elitist who had presided over job losses while serving as a corporate executive, and that he had outsourced these jobs to Asia. Perdue in turn attacked Kingston as a Washington insider who had allowed the national debt to proliferate. Of particular note were the large amount of advertisements, run by both campaigns, that focused around comparing their opponent to a baby. The runoff was held on July 22, 2014, which Perdue won with 50.9% of the vote. Perdue's victory was attributed to strong support from business-friendly voters residing in the Atlanta suburbs.
Endorsements
Polling