John Barrow says 10 years in congress gave him new perspective of state

ALBANY — As a five-term former member of Congress, John Barrow is a self-proclaimed “blue dog Democrat” running to replace outgoing Republican Secretary of State Brian Kemp, who is pitted against Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle in the July 24 GOP gubernatorial primary runoff.

Barrow, who avoided a runoff by securing 51.9 percent of the vote in the Democratic primary over Dee Dawkins-Haigler and Rakeem Hadley, will face the GOP winner of the July 24 runoff between state Rep. Brad Raffensperger and former Alpharetta Mayor David Belle Isle.

Barrow, who holds a law degree from Harvard, is a different kind of candidate. During his tenure in the U.S. House, state Republicans twice redrew his district in an effort to oust him, forcing him to move twice — from Athens to Savannah and from Savannah to Augusta.

The GOP finally got him in 2014.

But he was looking on the bright side Tuesday during a visit to Albany, saying the experience made him a better candidate.

“I have the unique advantage for this job having actually made my homes and served at the grassroots level in more communities in this state than anybody who has every run for statewide office before,” Barrow said. “It was my choice given to me by the gerrymanderers who tried to manipulate the voters with actions meant to dictate the outcome of an election. I was stubborn enough not to let them accomplish that with pure politics, so I accepted the challenge.”

That challenge, Barrow said, changed his perspective on Georgia.

“I accepted that choice, but in so choosing I got to live in and be a part of (several communities). It gives you a unique perspective on the state,” he said. “I had the second- and third-largest cities in the state in my district, yet a lot of my time was spent in areas that look a lot like Albany. And you may not realize it, but Albany is lucky because they have some really good big industry here with good-paying jobs and benefits.

“But you don’t have to go very far to see what is happening to the rural part of the state as a whole, the impact outsourcing of jobs and globalization have had on our part of the country. I’ve lived it and I’ve worked with it, and I walked with people through that more closely than anyone who has run for statewide office. I think that’s an important advantage — to know this stuff.”

Just over a year ago, Barrow’s name was being bandied about by some as a possible candidate for governor. He demurred in favor of eventual Democratic nominee Stacey Abrams.

“I decided secretary of state is an important job, possibly the most important job nobody knows anything about,” Barrow said. “And I figured that, with my particular brand of bipartisan problem-solving, I was ideally suited for the job. “The job calls for a nonpartisan approach to the business community more than any other job in state government. And that just happened to be right in my wheelhouse as the most bipartisan member when I left congress.

“My demonstrated ability to work with folks on both sides of the aisle will allow me to address some of the issues the secretary of state’s office has to deal with.

A native of Athens, Barrow is married to the former Angèle Hawkins of Atlanta. Together they have five children: Charlie, Manette, Alex, James and Ruth.