Deal will face tea-party tinged challenge in ’14 | ajc.com

Dalton Mayor David Pennington wants to add his name to the list of tea party-flavored candidates who have knocked off powerful Republican incumbents. The conservative mayor is mounting a primary challenge against Gov. Nathan Deal with the message that the state’s economy has lagged under Deal’s watch.

Pennington faces difficult odds against Deal, who has $1.1 million in his campaign treasury and has made inroads with tea party leaders. But the mayor’s entry forces Deal to defend his record against a challenge from the right while balancing a general election run against an expected Democratic rival.

“Our leadership is failing us,” Pennington said Tuesday in a statement. “We need ethical leadership that will focus on job creation, not scoring political points. We need a proven, job-creating businessman to take the reins.”

Deal’s campaign, which has questioned whether the mayor was living in a “fantasy-land,” said it welcomed the chance to debate the governor’s economic policy. Deal told a Sandy Springs luncheon on Tuesday that 177,000 new jobs were created in Georgia since he took office, including 69,000 positions that came to Georgia with the help of state officials.

“I look forward to running on my record,” he said. “I believe it’s a record that shows I have provided the kind of leadership that most Georgians want.”

“There is no doubt in my mind that the next governor will be a Democrat,” said state Sen. Jason Carter, an Atlanta Democrat often mentioned as a candidate. “Whether it’s in 2014 or 2018 I don’t know. But I think Deal is vulnerable, and it’s because he’s done a poor job in managing his coalition. He’ll definitely see a Democratic challenger.”

He added: “There needs to be a genuine debate about the fact that the state is adrift.”

via Deal will face tea-party tinged challenge in ’14.