Georgia School Superintendent John Barge mounts gubernatorial campaign
‘I believe in something has to change’
- Georgia Department of Education
After months of swirling rumors, Georgia School Superintendent John Barge today announced that he’ll run to become Georgia’s next governor.
Barge joins Dalton Mayor David Pennington as a challenger to Gov. Nathan Deal in the 2014 gubernatorial election. He says he’ll run a grassroots campaign against an incumbent with more than $1 million in his campaign war chest.
“I believe in something has to change,” he told WSB-TV. “I think Georgia needs a leader who will govern and not play politics.”
Barge also says his platform will focus on economic development and public education, which he thinks hasn’t received enough funding over the past three years. In addition, he claims that Deal has never truly stood behind teachers (both officials, as we noted this week, have backed away entirely from Common Core).
“I don’t know that they’ve seen any support out of that office for several years,” he said. “No raises, furlough days, shortened school calendars.”
According to Peach Pundit, Barge is expected to make an “official” announcement in Smyrna on Tuesday.