Thursday, March 20th, 2014 09:17:21

Callaway, a Georgian Visionary

Georgia may appear at first glance to be a red state, solidly Republican, but its history is more complex. Those unfamiliar with its political history might be surprised to learn that, for 90 years, the Democratic Party so dominated Georgia that no Republican would run for the governor’s office.

In the 1960s, there were only a handful of Republicans in the state. Rodney Cook, Sr., who died last year, was one of them, and Howard H. “Bo” Callaway, Sr., who died this week at age 86, was another. Others who rose to prominence include Mack Mattingly, who served as a U.S. senator from 1981-87, and my father, former speaker of the House and 2012 Republican presidential contender, Newt Gingrich.