BecominganInformedVoter
James Rhodes
LibertyUniversity
GOVT 220-D07
Introduction
Voting is arightthat all citizens can partake in but, few voters research the candidates or
incumbents. This is the first time that I have done any research into the people that are
representing the interests of the state I live in. If people primarily use the media to make, what
theybelieveis,aninformeddecisiontheywillonlybegettingwhatthemediawantsthemtosee. The
media is one source but, using group ratings and voting records fills in the gaps that the media
leaves in understanding how you are being represented in the federal government.
Beinganinformedvotertakesalittlemoreeffortthanwatchingorreadingthenews.
Taking a few moments away from social media to look at the unbiased information on the
currentlyservingSenatorsandRepresentativeswillpaydividendstowardsyourknowledgeof their
stance on current legislation.This paper is focused on theFirstCongressional District of Georgia
for the House of Representatives and Georgia for the Senate.
PoliticalBackgroundofGeorgia’sFirstDistrict
The First Congressional District of Georgia voters “are solidly conservative on most
issues”(Cohenetal.,2017).Duringthepasttwodecades“thispartofGeorgiavotedfornational
Republicans” (Cohen et al., 2017). Since 2000 there has been a Republican representing this
districtandwitha“CookPartisanVotingIndex:+9”aRepublicanRepresentativeshouldremain in the
House as well as support for a Republican President.
BuddyCarter(R)
RepresentativeCarterwasfirstelected,torepresenttheFirstDistrictofGeorgia,in2014.
Hewonthiselectionagainstafiercecompetitorfromtheteapartywithonly61%ofthevotes. He
continues to support the interest of small towns based on his background as the owner of a
drug store in thetown of Pooler, GA. During his first two terms in theHouse of Representatives
he is currently a member of the committee on Energy and Commerce as well as the following
subcommittees: Consumer Protection & Commerce, Environment & Climate Change, Health
(Energy and Commerce) and Transportation Security. He was previously members of the
HomelandSecurity,andOversightandGovernmentReformcommitteesaswellastheOversight and
Investigations, and the Oversight and Management Efficiency Subcommittees.
Risetopower.BuddyCarterstartedhispoliticalcareerinthetownofPooler,GAwhere he was
elected Mayor in 1996 because of his interests in local business issues.After eight years
astheMayorhemovedtothestateHousein2004andfouryearslatermovedtothestateSenate. While in
the state Senate he rose quickly to deputy whip after he secured his seat in both the
appropriations and health panels. He took advantage of the First District House seat opening
when Rep. Jack Kingston was unsuccessful in his bid for the Senate.
Votingrecord.RepresentativeCarterhasanoverwhelmingconservativevotingrecord.
Hisratingsfor2015areasfollows:“ADA0%,ACU92%andFRC100%” (Cohenetal.,2017).
In2016hisratingswereexpandedtoadditionalgroups,”ACLU5%”,butmaintainedanoverall
conservative rating (Cohen et al., 2017). In a more detailed evaluation of his voting by issue
topic, Buddy Carter is Pro-Life, Pro-Business, Pro-Constitution, Fiscally Conservative,Anti-
Government Waste, Pro-Military, and Socially Conservative. Buddy Carter can be identified
through his biography and his voting record as a conservative Christian. His extremely high
ratings from theACU and FRC identify his political stance and in his biograph he identifies
himself as a Methodist.
PoliticalBackgroundofGeorgia
GeorgiahistoricallyhasbeenaDemocraticstatehowever,overthelasttwodecadesithas gone
heavily to Republican. Democrats are hopeful that they will become more competitive because
in “2016, Hillary Clinton had surprising success peeling away affluent, suburban Republicans”
(Cohenetal.,2017).EventhoughClintonwasabletogaintractioninthenormally Republican state
Trump still received 51% of the votes in the 2016 Presidential Election.
Additionally,the2012PresidentialElectionthevoteswere53%forMittRomneyto45%for Barack
Obama.
SenatorDavidPerdue(R)
Senator David Perdue is the current sitting senior republican representing the State of
Georgia.Hewaselectedtohisfirsttermin2014.SenatorPerduehailsfromWarnerRobbins,GA and he
received both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Georgia Tech. Prior to being elected he
was a businessman. Senator Purdue “served as the CEO of Reebok, Dollar General, and
Pillowtex” (David Perdue, n.d.). He is also the cousin to the former Governor of Georgia Sonny
Perdue.
Risetopower.SenatorPerdue’srisewasprimarilyfrombusinesstopoliticaloffice.He earned
the reputation of being a “turnaround specialist” on Wall Street(David Perdue, n.d.). In 2014,
David Perdue ran to replace the retiring incumbent and successfully defeated Rep. Jack Kingston
for the Republican nomination. He then defeated Michelle Nunn for the seat in the Senate.
Voting record.The ratings of Senator Perdue are similar to those of Representative
Carter. Through 2015 and 2016, theAlmanac ofAmerican Politics 2018, his ratings are as
follows:ADA5%,ACLU11%,ACU92%andFRC100%.Theseratingscoincidewithparty
linesofConservativeRepublicans.Inadditiontotheaboveratings,someoftheexpandedratings
onvotesmart.orgaretheNationalRighttoLifeCommittee100%andPlannedParenthoodAction Fund
0%. These rating identify his as Pro-Life should be evident because he clearly states that
Methodist is his religion. His business background also shows through his voting record with
high percentages in the majority of Business and Consumers ratings at votesmart.org. Senator
Perdue does focus in areas that directly affect his constituents as he is a member of the
Committee onAgriculture, Nutrition and Forestry as well as the Committee onArmed Services.
Georgia does produce large amounts of wood, peanuts, cotton and chicken. There are also two
Army Bases, oneAir Force Base and one Navy Base that provide many employment
opportunities for the state.
Conclusion
Both Buddy Carter and David Perdue identify themselves as Methodists. This shines
through in their voting on issues that involve abortion. They fully support the Pro-Life
movement because of their Christian beliefs.As both were businessmen prior to their political
careers,theyalsohavebecomemembersofcommitteesthatareintheirareasofexpertise.Good
leaderswillleanontheirownexperiencesandsurroundthemselveswithpeoplethatcansupport them in
their weak areas.
ThemajorityofGeorgiaisconservativeandRepublicanbutonlyaslightmajority.
Duringthelasttwopresidentialelectionsthedifferencewaslessthan10%ofthevotes.Recently there has
been a wholistic change in the representation of Georgia in the Federal Government.
OneSenatorretiredandtheothersteppeddownbecauseofhealthreasons.TheFirstDistrict
Representative tried to fill one of the Senate seats and lost in the primaries. The new
representation has similar views and beliefs as their predecessors. This should maintain
Georgia’sstableforthenearfuturebecauseithasmotivatedmetohelpkeeptheminoffice.
