MACON, Ga. (ABP) — Two Baptist ministers — Republican Cecil Staton and Democrat Ben Taylor — will be campaigning for an open Georgia state Senate seat in the Nov. 2 general election. The newly created district covers parts of five central Georgia counties.
Taylor, minister of education and administration at First Baptist Church of Christ in Macon, where he has served since 1986, faced no opposition in the Democratic primary. Staton was the winner over physician Meg Nichols in the Republican primary July 20.
Staton is president of Smyth and Helwys Publishing, which produces curriculum and other resources for a primarily moderate Baptist audience. He also recently founded Stroud and Hall, a new publishing house that released A National Party No More, U.S. Senator Zell Miller's stinging critique of the Democratic Party.
Staton entered the political arena in 2002, losing in a primary run-off with eventually winner Phil Gingrey (R-Georgia) for the 11th Congressional District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Taylor, who lives north of Macon, was elected three times to the Monroe County Board of Education. He resigned that position to run for the state Senate.
The two candidates are graduates of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C. Both Staton and Taylor describe themselves as conservatives and their entry into politics as an extension of their ministry calling.
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