In the first TV ad of his campaign for governor of Georgia, former Rep. Nathan Deal (R) is promising to use local cops to deport illegal immigrants — and daring the federal government to try and stop him.
“I’m not worried about the liberals,” Deal says in the ad. “My concern is you.”
In a statement, Deal went farther and actually welcomed the idea of a lawsuit being filed against Georgia — just like the one the Justice Department filed against the state of Arizona over its controversial immigration law.
“We’re outraged that the Obama administration’s answer is to sue a state that’s trying to enforce the law,” Deal said. “Well, I have a message for the president when I’m governor: You can sue us too, because in Georgia we believe in the rule of law and we believe in protecting taxpayers.”
The ad, running in metro Atlanta, strives to bolster Deal’s conservative cred in the bright-red Republican primary in Georgia. Voters have a slew of candidates to choose from in the July 20 primary, and polling so far has shown Deal — who left Congress to run — to be running with the pack. John Oxendine, the state’s incumbent Insurance Commissioner, is the frontrunner in most polls.
The race has been nasty at times, and has focused on which of the Republicans in the race is the most conservative. Deal has already tried to use the Arizona law to raise his stature on the right, saying in April that he’d support similar legislation for Georgia if he’s elected.
The new TV ad doubles down on that promise, and strives to remind voters that Deal has already put his money where his mouth is on the topic of immigration.
“I wrote the law to stop illegal aliens from receiving taxpayer-funded health care,” Deal says in the ad.
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