The hottest Georgia primary in 2024 won’t be the presidential race – Donald Trump will win that one going away – but rather the Republican primary in west Georgia’s newly redrawn 3rd Congressional District, where four-term U.S. Rep. Drew Ferguson recently announced he would not seek reelection.
The Third District didn’t see its map change much through the recent redistricting process, and remains deeply conservative. It includes a wide swathe of the western part of the state, including Carrollton and Newnan.
Ferguson’s surprise announcement kicked off a scramble amongst local Republicans, forced to build campaigns and gather support quickly for a race that will be in full gear by the end of the month ahead of the May 21st primary date. State Rep. David Jenkins, R-Grantville, was the first candidate to enter the race. No stranger to winning high-profile elections, Jenkins knocked off former Georgia House Minority Leader Bob Trammell in 2020 in what was a major win for state Republicans. He was joined yesterday by state Sen. Mike Dugan, R-Carrollton, who figures to be among the early frontrunners.
Dugan, a former Georgia senate majority leader, said Wednesday that, “I have been driven to serve throughout my entire life, and now, more than ever, I am determined to restore civic responsibility in our federal government.”
Other influential legislators mulling bids include state Sen. Matt Brass, R-Newnan, and Sen. Randy Robertson, R-Cataula. Former state Rep. Philip Singleton, currently an aide U.S. Rep. Rich McCormick is expected to join the race, and rumors continue to swirl around Brian Jack, a former Trump administration official who could potentially draw the former president into the race as he campaigns in his own primary.
