Walker, Kemp campaign in Ga. together for the 1st time
Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga. and his campaign manager Richard A. Walker sat down with The Associated Press to discuss his and Kemp’s new roles together and for the first time to discuss his bid to become the state’s chief executive. Chambliss, who will announce his candidacy for the GOP nomination on Saturday in Charlotte, N.C., announced his bid last year and said he hopes to be the party’s choice for 2008 presidential candidate. Walker, who ran unsuccessfully for governor in Georgia two years ago, told the AP that he plans to announce his candidacy in Charlotte. Chambliss said last year that becoming U.S. secretary of agriculture would be his first challenge as governor because he would take on his old job to a degree. “I’m going to be the chief executive of the state of Georgia, which has never happened in the history of the state of Georgia,” Chambliss said on Friday. “I never expected it would happen, but it will happen.” Chambliss said he and Walker are both committed to building an economy and are seeking re-election in 2006. Chambliss said he thought he and Walker were the biggest obstacles that Kemp would have to deal with. “I told him the other day in a meeting, I thought Kemp was going to be around for a long time. He’s still here with me,” Chambliss told the AP. “So I had no doubt that we could get more votes than his wife did.” Chambliss, who said he decided to run for governor after a recent trip to South Carolina and talking with other Republican candidates, said he is concerned about the state’s economy. “I think we’ve got to improve the lives of our people,” he said. “I will continue to try to do that as governor of the state of Georgia.” Chambliss is a former United States secretary of agriculture under President George H.W. Bush before he ran unsuccessfully as governor in 2000. He said he’s always been in favor of expanding the state’s food stamp program. Walker, who served as Georgia governor before serving as national agriculture director of the Agriculture Department under former President Ronald Reagan, said he’s also been a strong supporter of food stamps but added that it’s important for people to work. “Most of the people who are on food stamps are not the working poor
