Libertarian Chuck Donovan Featured at Macon.Com

Libertarian candidate for US Senate Chuck Donovan has an outstanding interview with AP writer Errin Haines up at  Macon.Com.   

The readership is encouraged to check it out and then head over to Donovan for Senate and show the man some support.

Here's the article:

Donovan to voters: 'Put me into the runoff'

Read more: http://www.macon.com/2010/10/13/1300937/donovan-to-voters-put-me-into.html#ixzz12H0KEMLP

ATLANTA -- Chuck Donovan entered the race for U.S. Senate hoping to raise the profile of the Libertarian Party and bring attention to the issue of ballot access in Georgia.

Less than a month before the general election, the first-time candidate thinks he has a shot at going to Washington and is asking voters for help: "Put me into the runoff."

• LINK:http://www.donovanforsenate.com

"People are coming up to me and saying, 'I'm afraid to waste my vote with you,'" Donovan told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. "I tell them there's most likely going to be a runoff, so you can vote your conscience on November 2. Make me second."

His candidacy has attracted the attention of the national Libertarian Party. Whether Donovan wins or loses, he could force the race to a rematch on Nov. 30, said Executive Director Wes Benedict.

"It sounds possible," Benedict said. "It sends a louder and clearer signal that voters are upset with the two parties. We're real proud of the effort he's putting forth. Donovan has been a real good candidate."

Donovan, a 53-year-old pilot, is challenging GOP incumbent Sen. Johnny Isakson next month, along with three-time Georgia Labor Commissioner Mike Thurmond, the Democratic nominee. University of Georgia political science professor Charles Bullock said Donovan faces particularly long odds against two popular opponents who have both been elected statewide.

"I don't think he can force a runoff, and I don't think he can be in it," Bullock said.

As of the latest quarterly campaign disclosures, Donovan had raised less than $5,000. In comparison, Isakson has raised nearly $8 million and Thurmond has raised about $117,000.

A graduate of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla., Donovan served as a fighter pilot in the Marines from 1980 to 1986 and has been an airline pilot for 24 years. The Dorchester, Mass., native has lived in Georgia for 14 years with his wife, Claudia. The family lives in Mableton and Donovan has a son and two daughters.

Donovan joined the Libertarian party in 2005 and voted for Bob Barr when he ran as the Libertarian nominee for president in 2008. Donovan said he was prompted to get into the race this year because he said the country is facing a "fiscal tsunami" from Medicaid and Social Security costs.

"It's not a conspiracy theory, but I don't think the people we've put in office understand the economics of what they're doing," Donovan said. "If you vote the same way, it's going to turn out the same way. It won't be different this time unless you vote differently."

If he is elected, Donovan said his priorities in Congress would be to control spending, to safely end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and bring home American troops as soon as possible, and reduce regulations. His objectives are similar to those promoted by Isakson, but Donovan claimed his opponent's stances are just election-year posturing.

"With (President Barack) Obama in place, suddenly Republican Senator Isakson has found fiscal discipline," Donovan said. "I'm pretty sure he's more of a political weathervane than a fiscally responsible senator."

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Online:

Chuck Donovan: http://www.donovanforsenate.com