Former U.S. Rep. Bob Barr is expected to declare his candidacy later today for the Republican nomination for Georgia’s 11th congressional district seat currently held by right-wing Congressman Phil Gingrey (R-Marietta).
Barr’s hat tossing, which will occur this morning at Adventure Outdoors, a popular firearms and sporting goods store in the Atlanta suburb of Smyrna, follows closely on the heels of Gingrey’s announcement yesterday that he is actively seeking the U.S. Senate seat of retiring Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss next year.
Barr, who attracted more than 523,000 votes as the Libertarian candidate for president in 2008, served in the U.S. House from Georgia’s 7th congressional district from 1995 to 2003. Local Republican officials don’t expect his brief dalliance with the Libertarian Party — a party seen by some as a refuge for washed up Republican politicians in recent presidential elections — to be a major hindrance in seeking the GOP’s congressional nomination.
A senior member of the House Judiciary Committee, Barr was the original sponsor of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), preventing the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages — legislation he later said should be repealed — but is perhaps best known for leading the impeachment battle against President Bill Clinton in 1998.
Incredibly, the highly-partisan Georgia lawmaker had called for Clinton’s impeachment even before the Monica Lewinsky scandal and then a few years later, in what has been described as “an amusing — and astonishing — display of chutzpah,” filed a $30 million lawsuit against the former President and several others, including Democratic consultant James Carville and Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt, for allegedly causing him “emotional distress” during the impeachment proceedings.
In his comeback bid, the 64-year-old Barr, who publicly endorsed Newt Gingrich’s presidential candidacy last year, is expected to face serious competition for the Republican nomination from a growing list of other potential candidates, including Tricia Pridemore, the executive director of the Governor’s Office of Workforce Development; House Majority Whip Edward Lindsey, a five-term state legislator from Atlanta; and state Sen. Barry Loudermilk of Cassville.
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