N. Georgia key battleground in Senate GOP primary – The Washington Post

GAINESVILLE, Ga. — At the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains sits one of the most Republican congressional districts in the country that is home to Georgia’s governor, lieutenant governor and speaker of the House.

The 9th Congressional District and the nearby 14th district are considered the heart of the GOP in Georgia and will be key battlegrounds in a fiercely contested Republican primary next year for an open U.S. Senate seat, a race that will be watched nationally as Democrats look to thwart efforts by Republicans to take control of the Senate.

While not as populous or packed with deep-pocket donors as metro Atlanta, the two districts in north Georgia offer a strong and reliable base of fiscal and social conservatives and are largely up for grabs considering no major candidate has a direct link to the area.

“The candidate that can best go up there and make their case to voters that they should be worthy of their support will be the Republican nominee,” said Chip Lake, a metro Atlanta-based political consultant who worked on the 2012 campaign of Rep. Doug Collins in the 9th District.

When U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss, a Republican from Moultrie, announced earlier this year that he would retire at the end of his term, it set off an avalanche of interest as Georgia party members look to solidify support while state Democrats work to rebound after losing every statewide office in 2010. The crowded GOP field includes three popular congressmen, a former secretary of state who narrowly lost the 2010 gubernatorial primary, and a well-connected businessman willing to spend some of his own money on the race.

The two districts spread across the northern part of the state. The 9th district is known for its poultry plants in Hall County and lakeside vacation and retirement communities, while the 14th district has a manufacturing core anchored by the carpet industry in Dalton. Both have a sizeable tea party contingent, are largely white and supported Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney with a much wider margin than the state as a whole.

All told, the two districts comprise about 20 percent of the state’s Republican voters, according to Lake.

via N. Georgia key battleground in Senate GOP primary – The Washington Post.