By Wayne Clark

Valley Times-News

In his first bid to retain his seat in the U.S. Congress, Rep. Drew Ferguson of West Point easily outdistanced Republican challenger Phillip Singleton to win the Republican nomination for Georgia’s 3rd congressional district Tuesday evening. He now advances to the Nov. 6 General Election, where he will likely face Chuck Enderlin, who defeated Rusty Oliver in the Democratic race.

With 85 percent of the precincts reporting at 11 p.m. Tuesday night, Ferguson had just under 75 percent of the vote in the two-candidate race. He had approximately 38,000 of the 52,000 Republican primary votes that had been counted at that time. Enderlin was leading his race approximately 60 percent to 40 percent.

In July 2016, Ferguson led a crowded field of Republican hopefuls in the GOP primary election to replace the retiring Lynn Westmoreland. He garnered over 54 percent of the vote in a runoff with State Sen. Mike Crane to win the party nomination and in November defeated Democrat Angela Pendley to win the general election.

Ferguson was sworn into office on Jan. 3, 2017. In his first term, he served on the House Committee on the Budget, the Committee on Education and the Workforce, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, the Republican Study Committee and several other subcommittees.

Ferguson voted in favor of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, saying that it would help middle-class families and would positively impact their lives. He termed the passage of the bill “an absolutely great step for America.”

Ferguson has spoken out against Common Core, is opposed to the legalization of marijuana and was against the government’s decisions in regard to the LGBT bathroom bills.

Prior to seeking a seat in the U.S. Congress, Ferguson was the mayor of West Point and had previously served as a member of the council. He and his wife Buffy have four children.

In the general election, Ferguson will have a formidable opponent in Enderlin, a Newnan resident. A native of Little Rock, Ark., Enderlin is an Eagle Scout, a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and served as a second lieutenant with the U.S. Marines in Afghanistan. He and his wife Jenny chose to live in Newnan for its small-town atmosphere. For the previous 11 years before settling there, the Enderlins had moved seven times due to military obligations.

“You’re getting a job at  Delta,” his wife told him. “We’ve moving to Newnan, and we’re buying one of those homes near the square, and we’re living there forever.”

Approximately 690,000 people live in the 3rd district, which stretches from the southern suburbs of Atlanta to the northern suburbs of Columbus. There are 12 counties in the district.

On Tuesday, Georgians voted for Democratic and Republican candidates in races that included 14 seats in the U.S. Congress, governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state schools superintendent, insurance commissioner, labor commissioner and seats on the Public Service Commission. There were 20 state legislative seats that did not have an incumbent.