Posted on 08/11/2003 5:34:22 PM PDT by Amish
Pizza tycoon hopes to toss up Georgia Senate race
Web posted Sunday, August 10, 2003 | Associated Press ATLANTA -- For a multimillionaire with Washington connections, Herman Cain makes an unusual underdog for Georgia's U.S. Senate race.
But Cain is a black Republican who's little known in his home state, taking on two sitting U.S. congressmen for the GOP nomination.
So he's got some hustling to do. But for Cain, a 57-year-old who rose from poverty in Atlanta to the owner of the Godfather's Pizza chain, hard work is nothing new.
Cain grew up poor in a segregated Atlanta but went into a white-dominated business world and became a corporate vice president at the age of 34. Then Cain dumped that career to flip burgers - a career change that ultimately led to his $40 million takeover of Nebraska-based Godfather's Pizza and its 10,000 employees.
Cain also has an impressive political resume, having served two GOP presidential candidates as campaign chairman. Jack Kemp and Steve Forbes both consider Cain a friend and plan to endorse him in the open Senate seat left by the retirement of Democrat Zell Miller nest year.
But can the pizza tycoon overcome the name recognition of two of his opponents - U.S. Reps. Johnny Isakson and Mac Collins? Or persuade black voters to get involved in the GOP primary?
"The experts say everything about my candidacy is an uphill battle," Cain told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "My response, quite simply, is: My whole life has been an uphill battle. So tell me something I'm not used to."
Georgia political experts say Cain faces more than an uphill battle to win the nominations. They say he barely stands a chance.
"He's a long shot," said Merle Black, a political scientist at Emory University. "But his rDesumDe is terrific. He's the kind of candidate Republicans would really like to get into a general election: a conservative African-American."
Cain is a graduate of Atlanta's Archer High School and Morehouse College, but spent several years in the Midwest before moving back to Georgia two years ago. He and his wife of 35 years now live in McDonough.
Cain's father came from a sharecropping family and worked three jobs: barber, chauffeur and janitor. His mother was a maid. Cain went from college into the Navy and then to Purdue University for a master's degree in computer science in 1971. What followed was a climb up the corporate food chain.
In 1977, Cain joined Pillsbury Co. and eventually was named vice president of corporate systems and services. He resigned and moved to Pillsbury's Burger King division.
In 1986, Pillsbury appointed Cain to the presidency of the financially troubled Godfather's Pizza chain, based in Omaha, Neb. Two years later, Cain organized a buyout.
A first-time candidate, Cain is unfamiliar with many of the traditional rules of behavior for politicians and thinks others aren't worth keeping. "I'm not a crafted candidate," he said.
Cain might have not have deep roots among Georgia Republicans, but he has paid his dues on a national level. In addition to his work for Kemp and Forbes, Cain was president of the National Restaurant Association and even considered a run for the White House.
In Georgia, he plans to campaign on his social conservatism and his plan to fix Social Security. Cain advocates switching to personal savings accounts. Political analysts told him to stay away from the topic, fearing it would turn off black and elderly voters.
But Cain says he'll push ahead on the platform because he thinks it will be better for both groups in the long run. And like he's done many times before, Cain says he'll keep working until his plan works.
"Because of my background in business, I'm conditioned to face up to a problem," Cain said.
--From the Monday, August 11, 2003 online edition of the Augusta Chronicle
There are a bunch of threads about him, do an FR search for Cain. He sounds pretty good to me, although I won't be able to vote for him.
I don't think you mess with Barbecue when you run for office in the South.
If you want on (or off) of my black conservative ping list, please let me know via FREEPmail. (And no, you don't have to be black to be on the list!)
Extra warning: this is a high-volume ping list.
There's still one in Merrillville (69th & Broadway).
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.