Past and present Senate candidates from Georgia: on Government Reform


Jim Barksdale: Repeal Citizens United and ban Super PACs

On issue after issue, from the pharmaceutical giveaways, bailouts to bad actors on Wall Street, bad foreign trade deals that harm wages and job opportunities in Georgia and across America, to the Washington crowd's inability to pass comprehensive immigration reform, our elected leaders in Washington are doing the bidding of the special interests and their lobbyists rather than listening to people.

Campaign finance reform: Our broken campaign finance system rewards elected leaders to put the interests and campaign contributions of the special interests and their lobbyists ahead of the people and good governance. Jim supports repealing the disastrous Citizens United decision through a constitutional amendment that bans Super PACs and also takes large anonymous donations out of our electoral system. Jim believes it's time to elect new leaders that will hold Washington accountable and that is why he's running for U.S. Senate.

Source: 2016 Georgia Senate campaign website JimBarksdale.com Aug 8, 2016

Allen Buckley: Our country faces excessive debt, entitlements, & regulation

Buckley lost bids for the Senate in 2004 & 2008, and lieutenant governor in 2006. Buckley said this time around he thinks he can "possibly" win the election on a campaign of cutting the size of federal government and reining in programs. "My campaign will emphasize the real issues and provide solutions to the significant problems our country faces, including excessive debt, entitlements, regulation and foreign intervention," Buckley said. "I do not believe any opponent I will face shall do the same."
Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution on 2016 Georgia Senate race Oct 7, 2015

Amanda Swafford: Photo ID for voting

Question topic: People should be able to vote without photo identification.

Swafford: Disagree

Source: Faith2Action iVoterGuide on 2014 Georgia Senate race Sep 30, 2014

David Perdue: Absolute power corrupts; support check and balance system

Question topic: What in the nature of mankind caused America's Founders to carefully define, separate, and limit powers within the Constitution?

Perdue: The Founders saw firsthand that danger of entrusting too much authority in any one individual. They recognized that absolute power corrupts. Therefore, they drafted a Constitution that delineated specific duties and powers between the three branches of government so that there was a check and balance system preventing one person or branch from amassing absolute power.

Source: Faith2Action iVoterGuide on 2014 Georgia Senate race Sep 30, 2014

David Perdue: Photo ID for voting

Question topic: People should be able to vote without photo identification.

Perdue: Strongly Disagree

Source: Faith2Action iVoterGuide on 2014 Georgia Senate race Sep 30, 2014

Rick Allen: Enact congressional term limits

Q: What in the nature of mankind caused America's Founders to carefully define, separate, and limit powers within the Constitution?

Allen: The Founders secured our rights by establishing three branches of government, as the government itself is an entity from which the citizens need protecting. In the vein of checking government power, I want to enact term limits on those serving so that we can stop sending politicians that think they are above the law to Congress and replace them with ordinary people who have served their communities and want to go to Washington to secure every citizen's natural rights and make a difference.

Source: Faith2Action iVoterGuide on 2014 Georgia Senate race Sep 30, 2014

Rick Allen: Require photo ID to vote

Q: The founders established pure democracy in the Constitution because they believed that it is the best form of government to ensure the safety and equitable treatment of all citizens?

Allen: Strongly Agree

Q: People should be able to vote without photo identification?

Allen: Disagree

Source: Faith2Action iVoterGuide on 2014 Georgia Senate race Sep 30, 2014

Michelle Nunn: Amendment to overturn the Citizens United decision

By instilling common-sense, good government reforms, we can stop the revolving door between Congress and lobbyists, and blunt the power of deep-pocketed special interests:
  1. Lifetime Ban On Members of Congress Becoming Lobbyists: I pledge to never become a lobbyist whether or not my proposal becomes law.
  2. No Budget, No Pay: If Congress can't do its job and pass a budget, it shouldn't get paid. And neither should the President.
  3. Get A Price Tag For Every Bill: Congress shouldn't introduce bills without knowing how much they'll cost taxpayers.
  4. End Secret, Unlimited Special Interest Spending In Elections: I would support an amendment to overturn the Supreme Court's decision that allows a few special interest billionaires to secretly spend millions to sway an election.
  5. Pledge To Meet With Every Senator In First Year and Bring Legislators Together: In the Senate, I will work to bring both sides together by meeting one-on-one with every Senator.
    Source: 2014 Georgia Senate campaign website, MichelleNunn.com Jul 2, 2014

    Paul Broun: Photo ID for voting

    Question topic: People should be able to vote without photo identification.

    Broun: Strongly Disagree

    Source: Faith2Action iVoterGuide on 2014 Georgia Senate race Jul 2, 2014

    Michelle Nunn: AdWatch: Michelle helps organizations make changes

    Georgia Senate candidate Michelle Nunn (D) is facing her first attack ad, a sign Republicans are increasingly nervous she has a real chance to win her race. The Ending Spending Action Fund, a GOP-affiliated super-PAC, is launching an ad attacking her for her support of ObamaCare and accusing her of supporting higher taxes, calling her "the last thing Georgia taxpayers need."

    Nunn's campaign fired back. "These ads are exactly the type of dishonest attacks Georgians have come to expect from our broken political system," said a Nunn spokesman. "There's no better contrast to these attacks from deep-pocketed special interests than Michelle's own story of working with businesses, charities and religious organizations to make change."

    The ad has a small $150,000 buy behind it, according to a source tracking the buy.

    Source: AdWatch by The Hill weblog on 2014 Georgia Senate race Apr 1, 2014

    Derrick Grayson: Keep Georgians engaged; keep government transparent

    On the issues, Grayson maintains a common-sense approach to applying classic constitutionalism to the legislative process. An important component of his Senatorial style would include keeping Georgians engaged, he says. "When legislation comes across the floor, if I've got to pay somebody out of my own pocket, we will go through that legislation and we will disseminate what's in it to the American people," he states. "Because when you tell people what's really going on in D.C., they tend to do things a little bit differently."

    "That transparency that Obama was talking about?" Grayson adds. "We didn't get that." Cutting spending, preserving Second amendment rights, and encouraging devolution in the education system hover at the top of Grayson's policy to-do list, which focuses on restoring individual freedoms across the board. "I will not compromise on the liberties and freedoms of the American people. Period," he says. "That's not debatable. It's not optional. It's a job requirement."

    Source: CommDigiNews.com on 2016 Georgia Senate race Mar 24, 2014

    Derrick Grayson: PACs have agendas; don't take their money

    A strong constitutional conservative with the ironclad principles to prove it, Grayson declines to take cash from organizations that would compel him to return the favor down the line. "[PACs] have agendas that they want to see pushed, and I don't want their money," he says. "You want to give, fine. But the only thing I owe you is 100% of the Constitution. That's all I'll owe anybody who donates to this campaign."
    Source: CommDigiNews.com on 2016 Georgia Senate race Mar 24, 2014

    Michelle Nunn: If Congress doesn't pass a budget they don't get paid

    Q. One point of your "5 Ways to Fix Washington" is if Congress doesn't pass a budget they don't get paid, you realize Dems didn't pass a budget for four of the last five years in order to protect ObamaCare, right?

    A: There's blame on both asides of the equation for the failure of getting things done in Washington.

    Q. So are you equally happy to run against Democratic dysfunction as you are Republican dysfunction?

    A: I'm running against dysfunction in Washington and I'm running against the polarization and I'm running for a spirit of focus on common ground and problem solving, which I think would be helped by sending more people to Washington with those commitments also with a lens that's outside of Washington and brings a new perspective.

    Source: Time Magazine interview on 2014 Georgia Senate race Mar 6, 2014

    Michelle Nunn: Bar members of Congress from becoming lobbyists

    Q. One point one of your "5 Ways to Fix Washington" bars members from becoming lobbyists. You realize, that most former members who lobby aren't technically lobbyists, right?

    A: I'm not saying that I don't want people in Congress to not continue to influence things for the public good. I think what I'm pointing out is that we should not have congressmen and women use the privilege that they have through their service and apply it parochial or special interests.

    Source: Time Magazine interview on 2014 Georgia Senate race Mar 6, 2014

    • The above quotations are from Winners and Losers
      Senate candidates from Georgia.
    • Click here for definitions & background information on Government Reform.
    • Click here for other issues (main summary page).
    Candidates and political leaders on Government Reform:

    Retired Senate as of Jan. 2015:
    GA:Chambliss(R)
    IA:Harkin(D)
    MI:Levin(D)
    MT:Baucus(D)
    NE:Johanns(R)
    OK:Coburn(R)
    SD:Johnson(D)
    WV:Rockefeller(D)

    Resigned from 113th House:
    AL-1:Jo Bonner(R)
    FL-19:Trey Radel(R)
    LA-5:Rod Alexander(R)
    MA-5:Ed Markey(D)
    MO-9:Jo Ann Emerson(R)
    NC-12:Melvin Watt(D)
    SC-1:Tim Scott(R)     		Retired House to run for Senate or Governor:
    AR-4:Tom Cotton(R)
    GA-1:Jack Kingston(R)
    GA-10:Paul Broun(R)
    GA-11:Phil Gingrey(R)
    HI-1:Colleen Hanabusa(D)
    IA-1:Bruce Braley(D)
    LA-6:Bill Cassidy(R)
    ME-2:Mike Michaud(D)
    MI-14:Gary Peters(D)
    MT-0:Steve Daines(R)
    OK-5:James Lankford(R)
    PA-13:Allyson Schwartz(D)
    TX-36:Steve Stockman(R)
    WV-2:Shelley Capito(R)     		Retired House as of Jan. 2015:
    AL-6:Spencer Bachus(R)
    AR-2:Tim Griffin(R)
    CA-11:George Miller(D)
    CA-25:Howard McKeon(R)
    CA-33:Henry Waxman(D)
    CA-45:John Campbell(R)
    IA-3:Tom Latham(R)
    MN-6:Michele Bachmann(R)
    NC-6:Howard Coble(R)
    NC-7:Mike McIntyre(D)
    NJ-3:Jon Runyan(R)
    NY-4:Carolyn McCarthy(D)
    NY-21:Bill Owens(D)
    PA-6:Jim Gerlach(R)
    UT-4:Jim Matheson(D)
    VA-8:Jim Moran(D)
    VA-10:Frank Wolf(R)
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    Page last updated: Feb 22, 2019