The wife of Georgia Rep. Paul Broun said Tuesday that her husband will seek the seat of retiring Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss in 2014, according to a Viral Read report. The announcement could put one of the nation's most controversial Republican congressmen back in the spotlight.
Speaking at a Georgia Citizens Helping America Restore Government Ethics meeting, Niki Broun told those in attendance that her husband had her permission to run for Chambliss's seat and that he would indeed do so.
That disclosure, while unofficial, is the first hint at a run among potential GOP candidates in a likely crowded primary field. Broun is expected to make an official announcement of his candidacy next week.
The congressman is well known on the national stage for his vitriolic and controversial statements regarding President Barack Obama. Just last week, Broun said to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that in his view, the "only Constitution that Barack Obama upholds is the Soviet constitution."
The statement was only the latest in a string of contentious remarks the congressman has directed at the president. During Obama's 2011 State of the Union address, Broun responded to a statement the president made about global competition via Twitter, writing, "Mr. President, you don't believe in the Constitution. You believe in socialism."
In 2008, before Obama even took office, Broun accused him of having Marxist views and compared him to Hitler. Citing a speech Obama had made that July on the concept of a civilian task force, Broun said, "That's exactly what Hitler did in Nazi Germany and it’s exactly what the Soviet Union did." Broun went on to say, "He's showing me signs of being Marxist."
Broun's controversial statements are not always saved for Obama. During a speech at a Liberty Baptist Church Sportsman’s Banquet last year, Broun, a high-ranking member on the House Science Committee, made waves when he said that the science staples of "evolution and embryology and the Big Bang Theory" are all "lies straight from the pit of Hell."
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