The number of candidates vying for Ed Tarver’s vacant state Senate seat is up to three.

Taylor Bryant, spokesman for the Libertarian Party of the CSRA, says he’ll be running as a Libertarian in the upcoming special election. He said he’s working with the state party to file paperwork in Atlanta making his candidacy official.

His platform will include lower taxes, less government and more personal freedom – the cornerstones of Libertarian ideology.

“I have every intention of putting 100 percent into winning,” Mr. Bryant said today. “I understand I’m the underdog.”

Mr. Tarver resigned Monday so he could be appointed U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia by President Obama.

The date of an election to replace him hasn’t been announced, and Richmond County Board of Elections Executive Director Lynn Bailey said she’s waiting on an order from Gov. Sonny Perdue on when to hold it. She said he’ll likely want to do it quickly so senate District 22, which covers the core of Richmond County, will be represented in the next General Assembly session starting in January.

House District 122 Rep. Hardie Davis has already announced his intentions to run, as has Solicitor Harold V. Jones II, who has filed paperwork with the State Ethics Commission to run for the seat. Former Augusta Commissioner Marion Williams has expressed interest, but hasn’t given a definitive answer.

Mr. Bryant, an auto technician for Gerald Jones Volkswagen Audi in Martinez, has been Augusta’s Libertarian spokesman for almost a year.

He was involved in an unsuccessful campaign to defeat the next special-purpose sales tax package in a June referendum, and he’s also taken part at community cleanups of the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame’s property and Gordon Highway.

Reach Johnny Edwards at (706) 823-3225 or johnny.edwards@augustachronicle.com