Republican dislikes 'underdog' label

Most people might think Napoleon Jenkins, the Republican running against incumbent Democrat J.B. Powell for the District 23 seat in the Georgia Senate, is an underdog.

But he isn't one of them.

"I'm a challenger," he said. "A lot of challengers like to claim to be an underdog because it gets sympathy from a lot of people, but we're in a position where we need a lot of new development in east Georgia. And everybody wants what I want in east Georgia. So it's kind of hard to call yourself an underdog."

Mr. Jenkins said his roots are deep in Washington County, where his family settled in the 1850s. Ever since blacks were allowed to vote, his family has voted Democrat. He became the first to break the mold when he worked with the Washington County Republican Party when he was in seventh grade.

"I've been a Republican forever," he said. "I worked in the party in the 12th District. I'm on the 12th District Committee."

In 2006, he challenged Rep. Jimmy Lord, a 30-year incumbent, for his District 142 state House seat. Mr. Lord is retiring this year, and many people wondered why Mr. Jenkins didn't run for that seat.

"And there were people waiting for me to make my decision of whether I was going to run," he said. "I wanted to run for that Senate seat since 2004 when Randy Hall lost to J.B. Powell. And I had to make sure I had the right amount of support across the district to do it. And this year, I had the right amount of support."

Mr. Jenkins said the campaign is not about him.

"We are working to get more people interested in politics in east Georgia," he said. "We're working to get more people involved in government in east Georgia. I want this seat to be more responsive to the people."

Many people don't vote because they believe their vote doesn't count, and that when they do vote to elect somebody, they can't call them and get results, he said.

"And that's something I'm going to provide for them," he said. "My being elected, first of all as an African-American Republican in a district that's traditionally Democrat but with high African-American population, is going to show that people are more interested in results in the district than they are about which party they're electing somebody in. So that's why I can't really call myself an underdog because people want what I want."

Mr. Jenkins said he's had many experiences that most people haven't had.

"I have to overcome a lot every day just to get up and work," he said.

He has coped with end-stage renal disease for years, a malady that kept him from graduating from West Point, he said. He is not on daily dialysis.

He said his career isn't going to be in politics, but that now is the time to get things done in east Georgia with new interstates and revitalized highways.

"Once we get those things done, we can create an area in east Georgia that's more attractive to business interests," he said. "That's the only way we're going to get more business in east Georgia. We have to have it. That's why I'm running."