Chamber endorses Kingston in Georgia

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is getting involved in Georgia’s crowded Senate race, throwing its support to Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) over his four rivals.

{mosads}”Now more than ever we need conservative leaders with a demonstrated record of fighting for Georgia jobs, and that leader is Jack Kingston,” U.S. Chamber political director Rob Engstrom said in a statement. “As Senator, Jack will help lead America’s comeback and lay the groundwork for more jobs, more growth, and a generation of prosperity.”

Kingston has long been the favorite candidate of establishment Republicans, so the Chamber’s endorsement is no shock.

The Chamber has been getting more involved in GOP primaries this year, unhappy with some Tea Party candidates Republicans have nominated in past cycles.

If it decides to spend heavily in the race it could have an impact. Kingston has been spending early on TV ads and has plenty of money to continue to do so for the next month leading into the primary, but additional air support in Atlanta’s expensive media market could be a boon.

Polling shows a tight race to make the two-candidate runoff. Kingston and businessman David Perdue (R), the two candidates who have been consistently on television, have led in most polling, though former Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel (R) has been getting lots of earned media, Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.) has the money for the closing stretch and Rep. Paul Broun (R-Ga.) could still be a factor as well.