A special election for state senate on Jan. 8 in Georgia brings another opportunity to give voters a choice for much less government. Libertarian candidate James Camp will face off in District 30 against Republican Mike Dugan in a two-way race. Incumbent Bill Hamrick had resigned from the senate in September to accept a judicial appointment.
Camp’s call to end the state income tax is a major centerpiece of his campaign.
"Several states neighboring Georgia have no income tax," Camp wrote on his campaign website. "These states are putting Georgia to shame by attracting businesses that would have otherwise called Georgia home." He says that eliminating income taxes would attract new businesses and jobs to the state, while jump-starting economic growth and putting more money in the pockets of Georgians.
The field of Republican primary candidates took an unexpected turn in November. Bill Hembree, a former state representative who gave up his seat in the House to run for the vacated Senate position, won 48 percent of the vote on Election Day, much higher than his challengers. But he came short of the 50 percent vote total required to win the office. Instead, this triggered a Dec. 4 run-off vote that Dugan, a building contractor without a prior political career, handily won in a low-turnout election decided by just 6% of the voters.
James Camp would bring much lower taxes and new accountability to the state legislature, with a focus on eliminating regulatory burdens that choke off economic growth. His practical free-market solutions stand in stark contrast to a state Senate that spends more and more every year, despite being controlled by Republicans who only pay lip service to smaller government.
Camp points out that another Republican win in this race could give that party a Senate supermajority, granting it even more latitude to expand the state government.
"While Republicans held a large majority for the past few sessions, we saw an increase in the state budget for FY 2013 greater than the rate of inflation and population growth," said Doug Harman, chairman of the Libertarian Party of Georgia, in a press release. "That certainly is not the limited government spending promised by Republican candidates on the campaign trail in 2010."
James Camp for Senate website: VoteJamesCamp.com
