GA-Gov: Thurbert Baker (D)Will Run

[ccharles000]

http://www.swingstateproject.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=4705

Well, this is something of a surprise:

Twelve-year Attorney General Thurbert Baker will enter the 2010 race for governor, a move that could make the Democratic side of the contest every bit as complicated as the Republican one.
Jeff DiSantis, acting as a spokesman for Baker, said the attorney general has prepared the paperwork necessary to start raising money, and will file official notice shortly after the Legislature adjourns.

"This is not a contingent discussion. This is not based on whoever else is running," DiSantis said. "It doesn't need to be couched."

Baker, an African-American, won more votes than anyone else on the Democratic ticket in 2006, his last statewide election.

His intention is to run a tough-on-crime campaign. More details to come.

Baker has won re-election by impressive margins in the past, and his candidacy would immediately be taken seriously on both sides of the fence. For the Democrats, former Gov. Roy Barnes has been sounding frisky lately, and House Minority Leader DuBose Porter has expressed interest, as well.