Albany Herald

Photo by Laura Williams

ALBANY, Ga. -- Democratic Georgia attorney general candidate Ken Hodges made an impassioned appeal for support to the Albany Rotary Club Thursday at Doublegate Country Club.

"I am not running to be the Democratic attorney general of the state of Georgia," Hodges said to the packed house. "I am running to be the attorney general of the state of Georgia.

"I need your support. I need your vote, and I also need for you to tell your friends all over the state that you know who I am and that they should support me."

Hodges, who was Dougherty County's district attorney for 12 years, is locked in a tight race with Republican Sam Olens and is stressing his prosecutorial roots.

"I am a prosecutor, not a politician," Hodges said. "During the primaries, the voters soundly rejected a politician versus a prosecutor. I am not running as a national Democrat. I am running as a Georgian."

Sensing that the "D" beside his name could be a liability this fall in the heavily Republican state, Hodges attempted to hammer home his nonpartisanship.

"My campaign transcends party lines," he said. "I have gotten support from both sides of the aisle. The reason they are supporting me is the reason you all know about.

"I am a fiscal conservative and tried to make Albany a better place in which to live, because this is my home."

Hodges stressed to the crowd that he needs the people in south Georgia who know him to help win the election this November. He drew comparisons to his campaign and former Sen. Sam Nunn's election in 1972.

"Sam Nunn was raised in Perry and relied on the people of south Georgia to win that election," Hodges said. "I need for folks who know me to talk to their friends all over the state. Spread the word across the state -- get our message out in Gainesville and north Georgia.

"Y'all will be my ambassadors."

Hodges closed by pointing out that his campaign will hold a fundraiser at 6 p.m. on Sept. 30 at Oakland plantation.

"I don't like asking for money," Hodges said. "But I know we need it to win. We need the money to spread our message."