A former White County educator announced Monday he will challenge 9th District Congressman Doug Collins in the upcoming congressional race.
Roger D. Fitzpatrick ran as a Republican in 2012, coming in third in the three-person primary race behind Martha Zoller and Congressman Collins.
Fitzpatrick made his announcement Monday on WDUN's Morning Talk, saying he knows there's a growing dissatisfaction among conservatives in north Georgia with so-called establishment Republicans.
"It has to do with what's going on with our representative in Washington," said Fitzpatrick. "He's voting with establishment, he's voting with leadership and that's not what we sent him up there to do."
Fitzpatrick acknowledged the campaign will be expensive, but he told Morning Talk co-hosts Joel Williams and Al Gainey he thinks he can win with a strong grass roots effort.
"I do not see my be able to raise - like you say - a million dollars to be able to compete against him [Collins], but I believe that I can raise sufficient funds if the people will be with me to be able to get my message out there," Fitzpatrick said.
Fitzpatrick garnered just over 17-percent of the vote in the May 2012 race, noting that he spent what amounted to about one dollar per vote on the campaign.
Fitzpatrick currently serves as president of the Lanier Tea Party Patriots.
No other candidates have declared plans to run for the congressional post.
The General Primary election is May 24, 2016.
