A state senator from Georgia has entered the contest for a vacant congressional seat.
On Wednesday, Carrollton Republican Mike Dugan filed documents with the Federal Election Commission to begin collecting campaign contributions for the 3rd Congressional District.
Drew Ferguson, the four-term incumbent, stated in December that he would not run for reelection. The district, which is overwhelmingly Republican, hugs the Georgia-Alabama state line as far south as Columbus and includes communities south of Atlanta as far east as Barnesville and Griffin.
Dugan was originally elected to the state Senate in 2012 and announced his resignation on Thursday, triggering a special election for his seat.
“It is time to get back to a government that works for the people, and I would be honored to be the voice that represents Georgia’s 3rd Congressional District,” Dugan stated in an e-mail.
Dugan was elected Senate majority leader in 2019, but he was defeated in a candidacy for president pro tem in 2022. That diminished his power, and Dugan expressed dissatisfaction with how Carroll County was divided in the special redistricting session that finished in December.
Dugan is a former Army Ranger and paratrooper who retired in 2008 as a lieutenant colonel after serving for more than 20 years. He has recently worked as a building contractor.
The Republican field already includes Grantville state Rep. David Jenkins, a farmer and retired Army helicopter pilot; Jim Bennett, a Carroll County party activist who has criticized Ferguson for being insufficiently conservative; and Michael Corbin, who previously ran for Congress in Gwinnett County.
State Sen. Matt Brass of Newnan, former state Rep. Philip Singleton of Sharpsburg, state Sen. Randy Robertson of Cataula, Brian Jack, a former White House political director for President Trump and former aide to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, and Chris West, who lost a bid for southwest Georgia’s 2nd Congressional District in 2022 to longtime Democratic incumbent Sanford Bishop, are among the Republicans who could run. West recently relocated to Newnan from Thomasville.
Rodney Moore, a Democrat, is also running.
The congressional primary is on May 21, and if necessary, a runoff for the Republican candidacy will be held on June 18. The general election occurs on November 5th.