Cowan still in race for Congress, but for how long?

Published 10:26 pm Saturday, February 13, 2010

Mike Cowan says he’s still running for the 9th District Congressional seat, which includes Whitfield and Murray counties.

But he’s not saying much about it.

Cowan, a member of the Whitfield County Board of Commissioners, announced his candidacy last May during an event at the Tunnel Hill Barber Shop. There, he unveiled his major talking points (immigration and the economy) and also acknowledged the enormous amount of money needed for a congressional campaign.

“The Republican Party will have to get back to its roots,” Cowan said at the time. “We have to maintain checks and balances in the federal government. We have to get back to real conservatism — that’s what the people in this part of the state are looking for. I’m a conservative’s conservative, and I will be conservative with the people’s money.”

On Friday, Cowan was more nebulous about his plans.

“Well, it’s probably still right now too early to say,” Cowan said.

Asked if he is leaning towards staying in the race or dropping out, Cowan replied, “I am (leaning), but I don’t want to be premature and say anything yet.”

He said there are several factors he’s considering, but wouldn’t say what they are. He will make a decision “whichever way I go” in the “next month or so.”

Current 9th District Rep. Nathan Deal from Gainesville decided last year not to seek re-election and is running for governor. After the news of Deal running broke, several people threw their name into the discussion. The lure of not facing an incumbent — Deal has held the seat since 1992 — led to more than 10 Republican hopefuls. Several have since dropped out.

Cowan is not among seven 9th District candidates listed on the state GOP Web site (www.gagop.org/candidates). The 9th District has the most listed GOP hopefuls of any congressional race in Georgia. There are also seven Republicans listed for state insurance commissioner.

There are no contributions listed for Cowan on the Federal Election Commission Web site.

Cowan has represented District 1 in Whitfield since 1996. His current term ends this year, and he will not be able to run again because of term limits. After the local delegation in the state Legislature decided not to ask that the term limit law be changed last year, Cowan expressed an interest in running for state office. After Deal announced his desire to run for governor, Cowan turned his interest to the U.S. House of Representatives.

Cowan received the National Association of Counties’ County Courthouse Award in 2007, and in January 2008 was named one of the 100 most influential people in the state by Georgia Trend magazine.