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WASHINGTON — John McCain’s presidential campaign is denying any connection to Jack Abramoff ally Ralph Reed and accusing Barack Obama and Democrats of taking “desperate” measures to link the two men together. “It’s unfortunate that Barack and his allies have sunk to such depths that they are trying to draw connections that don’t exist and everyone knows don’t exist,” McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds told FOXNews.com. Reed, the former executive director of the Christian Coalition whose political career was thwarted last year by links to convicted lobbyist Abramoff, recently sent an e-mail to his friends urging them to attend a McCain...

(CNN) — Barack Obama's campaign is linking John McCain to the infamous Jack Abramoff scandal that ended several Republicans' political careers three years ago in a new campaign ad hitting Georgia airwaves Wednesday. The 30-second spot is the Obama campaign’s second negative ad in the past 24 hours. It attacks the Arizona senator for his association with former Christian Coalition head Ralph Reed, one of the Republicans implicated in the scandal. The ad also seems to suggest McCain didn't call Reed to testify before a Senate panel he chaired in return for political favors. “When the Senate investigated, the senator...

Mitt Romney took his Mormon faith directly to the public Thursday, defining the relationship between religion and public office in a speech in Texas — and many Christian conservatives said they came away impressed with the Republican presidential candidate. The 20-minute address titled "Faith in America" was in large part an attempt by Romney to dispel concerns of evangelical Christians and Southern Baptists who have been skeptical of his religion. --- "He will get a second hearing or a second look from a lot of Southern Baptists," said Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty...

Though he was the nation's most prominent evangelist since Billy Graham, the Rev. Jerry Falwell was best known for preaching a political gospel rather than a biblical one. In that respect, Falwell - who died yesterday at age 73 - accomplished something remarkable: Along with such figures as Pat Robertson and Ralph Reed, he gave powerful political voice to a sizable community, evangelical Christians, who long felt ignored by the national political leadership. To some, this proved a mixed blessing. True, his efforts in mobilizing these voters into a political force lay the groundwork for the election of Ronald Reagan...

I had expected this year’s 34th annual Conservative Political Action Conference to be a low-attendance dud. The conventional wisdom was that conservatives were a spent, divided force in American politics. Well, they are divided, to be sure. But, judging from CPAC, they aren’t finished with us. I’ve been to many CPACs over the years, and this was the most heavily attended and, more significant, the most youthful, and amped-up since Ronald Reagan’s day. To understand why, I’d like to introduce you to the conservative—pro-life, anti-tax, pro-Mexican-fence, pro-“surge”—“director of campus activism” for the Georgia College Republicans. This Georgia Tech business major...

WASHINGTON - Republican activists Grover Norquist and Ralph Reed landed more than 100 meetings inside the Bush White House, according to documents released Wednesday that provide the first official accounting of the access and influence the two presidential allies have enjoyed. The White House released the Secret Service visit records to settle a lawsuit by the Democratic Party and an ethics watchdog group seeking visitors logs for the two GOP strategists and others who emerged as figures in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal. Earlier this month, the White House suggested to the judge in that lawsuit that such records need...

Three disgruntled state affiliates have severed ties with the Christian Coalition of America, one of the nation's most powerful conservative groups during the 1990s but now buffeted by complaints over finances, leadership and its plans to veer into nontraditional policy areas. "It's a very sad day for our people, but a liberating day," said John Giles, president of the coalition's Alabama chapter, which announced Wednesday that it was renaming itself and splitting from the national organization. The Iowa and Ohio chapters took similar steps this year. Giles said he and his Alabama colleagues have "a dozen hard reasons" for the...

Everyone has an opinion about why Ralph Reed lost the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor of Georgia. The most widely publicized theories miss the mark widely, and the best explanations for Reed’s loss are largely ignored. There is one fundamental reason to reject most of the explanations being advanced by the pundits. In a nutshell, most of the rationales offered for Reed’s defeat are self-serving spin.Secular liberals want you to believe that Reed lost because he was simply “too religious.” Christian conservatives want you to believe that Reed lost because he looked “too liberal” in aiding Jack Abramoff’s gambling interests....

Last week, Ralph Reed, once the golden boy of hard-core religious conservatives, was defeated in the Republican primary for lieutenant governor, his first attempt at elective office. Because he rose to prominence as the cherubic face of the Christian Coalition, his political remains have been autopsied by pundits nationwide, some of whom are speculating that the cause of death was the more general demise of America's theocrats. But they're wrong. Reed lost because his hypocrisy on the issue of gambling became too glaring for his ultraconservative constituents to ignore. While he was recruited by disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff to work...

In the end, Ralph Reed couldn't even fill a room. None of the boldface names who'd once embraced him were present, nor was there much sign of his diminished fundamentalist base. Tuesday night, less than three hours after the polls closed and with more than half the precincts still unreported, Reed -- deemed an almost unstoppable force when he declared his candidacy for Georgia lieutenant governor -- stood, flanked by his teary-eyed wife, Jo Anne, and four children, to concede defeat before a half-empty ballroom of downcast loyalists and representatives of the hated media.

ATLANTA - Two of Georgia's most controversial political candidates got a cool reception from the voters, who rejected former Christian Coalition leader Ralph Reed and left U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney facing a runoff. Reed was unable to overcome his ties to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff and conceded defeat to state Sen. Casey Cagle in Tuesday's Republican primary for lieutenant governor. McKinney drew less than 50 percent of the vote in her re-election bid, her first since a highly publicized scuffle with a Capitol Hill police officer. She edged her leading challenger, former county commissioner Hank Johnson, by fewer than 1,500...

Maybe it should have come as no surprise, since first time candidates rarely fare well, but yesterday most likely derailed any presidential prospects a decade or so hence for former Christian Coalition director Ralph Reed. Bad news, too, for U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney. McKinney’s been pinned twice now by more mainstream candidates — first Denise Majette and yesterday by DeKalb Commissioner Hank Johnson, who’s forced her into a runoff. The McKinney magic’s gone, a sign that the era of housing-project vote-the-slate candidates is passing. With the black middle class flocking to South DeKalb, and Rockdale, the 4th District is easily...

Reed loses first election amid Abramoff scandal GREG BLUESTEIN Associated Press ATLANTA - Successful campaign strategist Ralph Reed's famed base of supporters proved more invisible than invincible Tuesday as he lost his first run for public office in his bid for Georgia's No. 2 job. State Sen. Casey Cagle's victory ended, for now, the political career of Reed, the former leader of the Christian Coalition and veteran Republican operative who has helped others win election. And Reed's loss gave national Democrats a political casualty to associate with Republican ethics scandals, as Reed's campaign was hampered by his ties to disgraced...

ATLANTA - Former Christian Coalition leader Ralph Reed, unable to overcome his ties to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, conceded defeat Tuesday in Georgia's Republican race for lieutenant governor. It was a stunning turnaround for Reed, who was making his first bid for elective office after working for years as a behind-the-scenes campaign strategist and leading the Christian Coalition and the state Republican Party

Governor Republican 20% of precincts reporting Votes Percentage Ray McBerry 8,845 13.1% Sonny Perdue 58,868 86.9% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Governor Democrat 20% of precincts reporting Votes Percentage Bill Bolton 1,770 2.6% Cathy Cox 31,514 45.7% Mac McCarley 1,699 2.5% Mark Taylor 33,902 49.2% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lieutenant Governor Republican 20% of precincts reporting Votes Percentage Casey Cagle 36,056 55.1% Ralph Reed 29,433 44.9% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lieutenant Governor Democrat 20% of precincts reporting Votes Percentage Greg K Hecht 23,829 37.9% Griffin Lotson 3,808 6.1% Jim Martin 27,188 43.2% Steen "Newslady" Miles 6,051 9.6% Rufus O. Terrill 2,036 3.2% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Secretary Of State Republican 20% of precincts...

Two local pollsters on Wednesday said a withering series of TV ads has given Casey Cagle a slight lead for the first time over Ralph Reed in the Republican race for lieutenant governor. In a combination of television spots, direct mail and automated phone calls, Cagle has accused the ex-Christian Coalition leader of defending "sweatshops" in the Northern Marianas Islands that coerced children into prostitution and forced women to have abortions. "Preposterous. This is beyond the pale," complained Jared Thomas, manager of the Reed campaign. A tracking poll of 400 likely GOP voters published Wednesday by Insider Advantage, an independent...

WASHINGTON - A Texas Indian tribe filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday alleging that ex-lobbyist Jack Abramoff, former Christian Coalition leader Ralph Reed and their associates engaged in fraud and racketeering to shut down the tribe's casino. The Alabama-Coushatta tribe of Livingston, Texas, alleged the defendants defrauded the tribe, the people of Texas and the Legislature to benefit another of Abramoff's clients — the Louisiana Coushatta tribe — and "line their pockets with money." "Ultimately, the defendants' greed and corruption led to the Alabama-Coushatta tribe permanently shutting its casino. The funding for economic programs evaporated, over 300 jobs were lost in...

When academics relay their understanding of religion to the rest of us, they offer interpretations that the religiously observant may find a tad bizarre. “Religion has a certain kind of legitimacy among many people and in many parts of the world that secular life simply doesn’t have,” philosophy professor Roger S. Gottlieb explained in an interview with Jennifer Howard that appeared in the June 23rd issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education. “In Madagascar, where the fishermen were dynamiting to get fish and destroying the coral reef and fish stock, when the government said, ‘Don’t do it,’ they kept doing...

WASHINGTON - In Jack Abramoff's world, prominent Washington tax-cut advocate Grover Norquist was a godsend. Moving money from a casino-operating Indian tribe to Ralph Reed, the Christian Coalition founder and professed gambling opponent, was a problem. Lobbyist Abramoff turned to his longtime friend Norquist, apparently to provide a buffer for Reed. The result, according to evidence gathered by the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, was that Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform became a conduit for more than a million dollars from the Mississippi Choctaw to Reed's operation, while Norquist, a close White House ally, took a cut. Without citing any specific...

ATLANTA - Rudolph Giuliani, the former New York mayor considered a potential 2008 candidate for president, headlined a fundraiser Thursday for former Christian Coalition leader Ralph Reed in his run for Georgia lieutenant governor. The two politicians were effusive in their praise for one another as they entered the Atlanta fundraiser just before noon. "I just want to say I believe Rudy Giuliani is one of the finest leaders in not only the Republican Party but in either party," Reed said. Giuliani responded: "We're here to get you elected. It would be a great thing for Georgia." Reed's campaign was...

Just days after a religious conservative questioned Rudolph Giuliani's views, ex-Christian Coalition leader Ralph Reed said the former New York City mayor will headline a fund-raiser for him next month. Reed is running for lieutenant governor in Georgia. His campaign has been undercut by his ties to disgraced former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who is facing prison time after pleading guilty to charges of conspiracy, tax evasion and fraud. The Reed campaign trumpeted the appearance with Giuliani, distributing an invitation on Tuesday which featured a smiling photo of the two men together. Giuliani, a potential 2008 presidential candidate, was widely praised...

The Casey Cagle for Lt. Governor campaign announced today that it raised over $100,000 on Friday, March 31st despite having only a single day to raise funds. The $100,000 Cagle raised came solely in response to phone calls and emails during the day on Friday. Friday was the last day of the upcoming reporting period, and the only day in that period where Cagle was allowed to raise money following the conclusion of the legislative session. By contrast, Cagle's opponent - Ralph Reed -- is a lobbyist who is not elected to any office and has therefore been allowed to...

A Texas prosecutor on Monday announced he would not pursue misdemeanor criminal charges against Ralph Reed, a Republican candidate for lieutenant governor in Georgia, for violation of Texas lobbying laws. Travis County District Attorney David Escamilla said Reed's activities raised "legitimate" concerns, but a two-year statute of limitations prevented him engaging in a formal investigation. Travis County includes the state capital of Austin. "There's smoke," said Escamilla. "But all of the smoke relates to a period I can't do anything about."

ST. SIMONS ISLAND — Because the Saturday meeting between Ralph Reed and Casey Cagle was being broadcast on local radio, the leader of the local GOP begged the audience to play nice. "Please don't ask candidates if they beat their mothers," urged Kevin Gough, chairman of the Glynn County Republican Party. He needn't have worried about the audience. Most of the mud was slung from center stage. The two men seeking to become Georgia' first Republican lieutenant governor needled each other on the issues of trust and experience. They fleshed out their positions on immigration and eminent domain. Reed drew...

Some of the nation's leading conservative thinkers and strategists are seeking, through Schwarzenegger's initiatives, to alter the balance of power between the right and left wings of California politics. Their hope is to turn California red in '08 and pioneer a new gospel that can spread across the country. The grandest Republican architect is Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform... Norquist is behind Proposition 75. It's a Trojan horse whose larger purpose is to tilt the balance of power in politics by limiting union support for Democrats without cutting corporate sources of Republican funding. Texas Rep. Tom DeLay...

ATLANTA — For once, Ralph Reed’s timing is off. So often in his 44 years, he has been in the right place at the right time. In 1989, when Pat Robertson was looking for a sharp, telegenic young operative to build a powerful national political organization for Christian conservatives, Reed was there – and the Christian Coalition of America was born. In 1997, with the coalition in the cross hairs of multiple federal investigations and beginning a long decline toward insolvency, Reed was out the door. In 2002, as chairman of the Georgia Republican Party, he got credit for a...

Ralph Reed took the Republican fight for lieutenant governor to his rival's home ground, accusing state Sen. Casey Cagle of neglecting a vote to rein in the use of eminent domain by local governments. "Casey Cagle claims he is a strong supporter of private property rights, but his record shows the opposite," said Reed campaign manager Jared Thomas in a Monday news release. Cagle defended his record on property rights and called the accusation — which centers on a vote last March — a distortion based on ignorance of the legislative process. The Reed assault came on the heels of...

Enron, meet Jack Abramoff. Jack Abramoff, meet Enron. One year before the energy firm went belly up, paid adviser Ralph Reed urged Enron officials to hire Abramoff, then a rising Washington lobbyist, as a "kitchen cabinet" consultant. The e-mailed endorsement resulted in clubby lunches in which Abramoff and Enron reps, future icons of scandal in Washington and on Wall Street, sat across the table from each other. It's well-known that Reed worked for both Enron and Abramoff. That he helped them cross paths is not. The e-mail has never been published before. Reed's plug for his old friend serves as...

On Friday, 21 of Georgia's 34 Republican state senators — all Cagle supporters — signed a letter urging Reed to withdraw from the race, saying his involvement in the Abramoff scandal "threatens to impact the entire Republican ticket."

Ralph's Reed's campaign for lieutenant governor is losing momentum, a statewide poll released Wednesday shows. Reed's lead over State Sen. Casey Cagle for the Republican nomination has eroded. And, for the first time, more GOP voters view Reed unfavorably than favorably. The survey by Strategic Vision LLC of Atlanta was taken Jan. 20-22 in the aftermath of corruption-related guilty pleas by lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

LAWRENCEVILLE — A half dozen Gwinnett County political and business leaders have jumped Ralph Reed’s ship to hop on Casey Cagle’s bandwagon. In a letter to Reed, the former members of the statewide steering committee in the Duluth Republican’s bid for lieutenant governor said they’ve decided that Cagle, a state senator from Gainesville, is the better candidate for the GOP nomination. “Please know that our decision to support Senator Casey Cagle’s campaign is in no way an attempt to undermine or criticize you,’’ said the letter, released by the Cagle campaign on Friday. “Rather, we believe that Casey’s combination of...

Printed from http://www.texasobserver.org © Texas Democracy Foundation Return to site Thin Reed Will Abramoff’s Deep Throat Swallow God’s Mouthpiece? by Andrew Wheat Evidence is mounting that former Christian Coalition leader Ralph Reed Jr., along with a former leader of the Texas Christian Coalition, may have illegally lobbied Texas state officials on behalf of crooked federal lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his clients. Three Austin-based reform groups—Common Cause Texas, Public Citizen Texas, and Texans For Public Justice, the latter of which employs the author of this article—urged Travis County prosecutors last December to investigate whether Reed violated Texas’ lobby-registration laws four years...

I'd like to do a mathematical analysis ...

DAWSONVILLE, Ga. -- Ralph Reed, candidate for lieutenant governor, had just finished his opening statement to the Dawson County Republican Party when retired pulp paper executive Gary Pichon sprang from his seat with a question that cut to the chase: "Did you accept any gifts, commissions or other payments of any kind from Mr. Abramoff, and are you likely to be a party in the unfolding investigation?" Silence enveloped the 60 or so Republicans in the auditorium, and Reed's cheerful manner turned tense. "No," he replied. "No to all these." As everyone knew, Pichon was referring to Jack Abramoff, whose...

LifeSiteNews.com) - One of the key figures in the social conservative political revival in the U.S., and in the election and re-election of President George W. Bush, brought his formula for success to Canada recently, in the hopes that some of his accomplishments south of the border would rub off in this country. Ralph Reed, the former head of the influential Christian Coalition who has worked on seven U.S. presidential campaigns, spoke during the Canadian Values Conference, staged by the nascent Institute for Canadian Values at Canada Christian College in Toronto Nov. 29 – Dec. 1. Reed served as a...

Ralph Reed walked into Sen. Casey Cagle's office at the state Capitol last January for an awkward talk. "Our paths may cross over the lieutenant governor's race," Cagle remembers being told by Reed, former national Christian Coalition leader and a fellow Republican. "I need you to know that God has called me to do this." Reed remembers the conversation slightly differently. He remembers telling Cagle that he had prayed about what to do and felt led to run. Regardless, the not-so-subtle message of the visit: Reed didn't want any competition. "That's fine," Cagle remembers telling Reed. "But not only has...

Okay listen up. Ralph is running for LIEUTENANT Governor. The good news is that he's running for political office. The bad news is that Lt. Gov. is 2 steps awat from the White House, not one. Sonny Perdue owes Ralph this one for the good of the GOP AND the country. The religious factor may be too much for him to get elected but just think of how the Dems will react!

Hecht running against Reed By William John Hagan Houston Home Journal 08/27/2005 A potential Democratic nominee in the upcoming Lieutenant Governor’s race, Greg Hecht, visited Warner Robins as part of his campaign to challenge the likely Republican nominee Ralph Reed, the former executive director of the Christian Coalition. Hecht, a former State Senator, Representative, and Assistant District Attorney was in Warner Robins to speak with the members of the Houston County Democratic Committee. Prior to his campaign stop at Ted Wright Park in Warner Robins, Hecht granted an exclusive interview to the Houston Home Journal regarding two issues which he...

REED REPORT MAKES HISTORY, SHOWS OVERWHELMING GRASSROOTS SUPPORT FROM EVERY CORNER OF GEORGIA $1.4 Million Breaks Previous Record for Lt. Governor race for Republicans and Democrats, Including Inumbents Duluth, Georgia – Ralph Reed, Republican candidate for Lt. Governor, Friday released fundraising numbers that shattered the previous record by a Lt. Gubernatorial candidate of either party in Georgia history,including incumbent officeholders. Preliminary figures show that the campaign raised more than $1.4 million. Contributions come from over 1,500 Republicans, Democrats and Independents and from every region of Georgia. Georgia’s Secretary of State’s office requires candidates for state-wide offices to file a July...

A Decade of Reed From the June 27, 2005 issue: One Republican's long, lucrative march through the institutions. by Matthew Continetti 06/27/2005, Volume 010, Issue 39 Money is like water down the side of the mountain. It will find a way to get around the trees. --Ralph Reed IT WAS JUNE 4, a Saturday, a little after 9 A.M., at the Golden Corral restaurant in Lawrenceville, Georgia, about 20 miles north of downtown Atlanta, and Phyllys Ransom--red hair, white skin, blue eyes; a walking, talking American flag--was explaining why she supports Ralph Reed. "Integrity is something people talk a lot...

ATLANTA (AP) — For two decades, Ralph Reed made his mark as a squeaky-clean political operator and a driving force behind the Christian right. Now he's trying to get himself into elected office amid allegations he raked in money from the same gambling interests he once called "a cancer on the American body politic." The former organizer for the Christian Coalition and adviser to presidential campaigns is seeking to become Georgia's first Republican lieutenant governor since Reconstruction, a largely powerless post that could serve as a stepping stone to higher office. The election is still more than a year away,...

Advertise NewsletterStoreContactAbout UsServicesSite Map Voter Services Login email: Password:     Remember me Register  |  Forgot password?  |  Change Password  |  Update Email A Decade of Reed From the June 27, 2005 issue: Ralph Reed's long march through the institutions.by Matthew Continetti 06/27/2005, Volume 010, Issue 39     Email a Friend   Respond to this article Money is like water down the side of the mountain. It will find a way to get around the trees. --Ralph Reed IT WAS JUNE 4, a Saturday, a little after 9 a.m., at the Golden Corral restaurant in Lawrenceville, Georgia, about 20 miles north of downtown Atlanta,...

Microsoft is ending its relationship with choirboy-lobbyist Ralph Reed, but the company's ties to others in the seemingly infinite loop of the Republican lobbying scandal are deep—in D.C. and Seattle.When it was recently revealed that Microsoft had employed religious conservative Ralph Reed as a political consultant, it was logical to wonder if his $20,000 monthly retainer was somehow related to the company's temporary refusal to support a gay-rights bill in Olympia, which failed. Maybe the fiercely antigay crusader with the choirboy looks would be there to guide Bill Gates through a nationwide boycott of software products, as threatened by Eastside...

SEATTLE, April 26 - Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, has indicated he may reconsider his company's decision not to support a Washington State gay rights bill amid the growing firestorm inside and outside the company that exploded after the recent disclosure that Microsoft had changed its position on the bill. In an interview with The Seattle Times on Monday, Mr. Gates, who rarely grants interviews and declined through a spokesman Tuesday to grant one to The New York Times, indicated that he was surprised by the backlash to the company's turnaround on the legislation. He also suggested that Microsoft,...

April 26, 2005, 12:35 PM PDT Microsoft has Ralph Reed on retainer? Last week, Seattle newspapers reported that Microsoft withdrew its support of a key gay and lesbian rights bill in the state legislature after being pressured by a local conservative pastor, who threatened a boycott of the company's products. Today, blogs are reporting that Microsoft has former Christian Coalition head and Bush campaign strategist Ralph Reed on retainer as a lobbyist. Reed was initially hired by Microsoft years ago, and the company has used the lobbying firm's service since that time, a company spokesperson said. The news is likely...

Ralph Reed's Zeal for Lobbying Has Shaken His Christian Base By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK and PHILIP SHENON ATLANTA - In 30 years of culture wars, few conservative Christian standard bearers have traveled further in American politics than Ralph Reed. The former head of the Christian Coalition has been a high-priced communications consultant, a top Bush campaign adviser, chairman of Georgia's Republican Party and now a candidate for lieutenant governor here. Campaigning in early April at a Republican district meeting outside Atlanta, Mr. Reed talked of his small-town roots in northeast Georgia. "I'm not going to forget where I came from,"...

Some say Jack Abramoff is just doing his job, but a probe is putting heat on him — and DeLay WASHINGTON - House Majority Leader Tom DeLay finds himself in political controversy partly because of his close relationship with Jack Abramoff, a former action movie producer turned superstar lobbyist who is now the target of a federal grand jury investigation. Abramoff, whose alliance with DeLay has been rooted in religious values and conservative politics, has been accused of bilking Indian tribes of tens of millions of dollars. His alleged exploitation of Texas' Tigua Indians and other tribes is at the...

ATLANTA (AP) -- The first man in the 2006 lieutenant governor’s race is now the first man out of it. State Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine, a Republican who said last May he’d seek the state’s No. 2 job, announced Friday that he’ll run for his current post instead. In a letter to Gov. Sonny Perdue, Oxendine said he’d rather remain insurance and fire commissioner because the lieutenant governor’s job has become “ineffectual.” But the commissioner also may have been sizing up his chances. Two other Republicans—state Sen. Casey Cagle and well-known activist Ralph Reed—have since joined the race. Oxendine insisted...

ATLANTA (AP) -- Ralph Reed, former Christian Coalition director, announced Thursday he will run for lieutenant governor in 2006. Reed, 43, filed the necessary paperwork earlier this month to begin raising money for the race. In his announcement, he pledged to "work tirelessly" for Republican Gov. Sonny Perdue and other party leaders. "It is long past time for Gov. Perdue and Republicans in the General Assembly to have a lieutenant governor who is a partner in governance and a philosophical ally," he said. The current lieutenant governor, Democrat Mark Taylor, is expected to challenge Perdue for re-election next year. From...

ATLANTA — Ralph Reed, former Christian Coalition director, announced Thursday he will run for lieutenant governor in 2006. Reed, 43, filed the necessary paperwork earlier this month to begin raising money for the race. In his announcement, he pledged to "work tirelessly" for Republican Gov. Sonny Perdue (search) and other party leaders. "It is long past time for Gov. Perdue and Republicans in the General Assembly to have a lieutenant governor who is a partner in governance and a philosophical ally," he said. The current lieutenant governor, Democrat Mark Taylor (search), is expected to challenge Perdue for re-election next year.