I had a great campaign team and many volunteers who gave it their best. To them, I am eternally grateful.

I’m proud of the campaign we ran. I’m humbled by the love and encouragement I received from so many who stood with me to promote a conservative vision for Georgia.

Congratulations to Sam Olens on his successful campaign. It is incumbent upon all Republicans to unite behind our ticket. I look forward to supporting our team.

God bless you and may God bless Georgia.

Preston Smith

ROME, GA – Preston Smith, Republican candidate for Georgia attorney general, today summarized his case for earning the support of all conservatives who rejected Sam Olens in the July 20th primary election. Smith and fellow conservative Max Wood received a combined 60 percent of the vote compared to Olens’ 40 percent.

“Georgia faces a critical decision on Tuesday. With the relentless assaults on conservative principles by the federal government, we must have an attorney general who will defend limited government, preserve the free market, protect our individual liberties, and enforce the rule of law,” said Smith. “I have a proven record in office of fighting for our conservative beliefs, while my opponent seems to go along to get along.”

As evidence of Smith’s case to the voters:

• Preston Smith has never voted for a tax increase, and in 2010, Senate leadership stripped him of his committee chairmanship for refusing to vote for a new tax. In the past four years, the Cobb County budget increased over 35% under Sam Olens’ leadership.

• Preston Smith championed legislation that cracked down on frivolous lawsuits and received the National Federation of Independent Business’ “Guardian of Small Business” award for his leadership. Sam Olens made a living suing businesses for 25 years and has received thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from trial lawyers.

• Preston Smith is a lifelong conservative Republican that has been endorsed conservative groups including the National Rifle Association and Georgia Right to Life for his proven conservative record. Sam Olens is a former Democrat that supported Bill Clinton and now denies it despite proof to contrary.

“My opponent’s track record speaks louder than words. It’s not me calling Sam Olens’ judgment into question; it’s his own history of supporting liberals, shaking down employers, and busting budgets,” added Smith.

For more information, please visit www.prestonsmith.org.

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Preston Smith is seventh generation Georgian. He was elected to the State Senate in 2002 and became the youngest serving Senator in recent history. He is a graduate of Baylor University where he earned a Bachelor of Business Administration. He later earned his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Georgia. As an attorney, Smith specialized in civil litigation and has been admitted to practice in the state and federal trial and appellate courts. He also is a member of the State Bar of Georgia. He is endorsed by the National Rifle Association, GeorgiaCarry.org, Georgia Right to Life, and the Republican Liberty Caucus.

ROME, GA – Preston Smith, Republican candidate for Georgia attorney general, once again called on his opponent, former Democrat Sam Olens, to come clean about supporting Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign. For over three weeks, Olens has refused to admit the Clinton connection, even though Smith presented proof during the July 12th Atlanta Press Club debate.

“At this point, there is no longer a question of whether Sam was on the Clinton team or not. He was. The real issue is that Sam refuses deal with the consequences,” said Smith. “Avoiding an unpleasant situation isn’t much of a strategy and certainly doesn’t inspire confidence in your willingness to vigorously defend Georgians against an overreaching federal government.”

At the Atlanta Press Club debate, Olens denied being a liberal Bill Clinton Democrat and asked Preston Smith for “proof” that he was on Clinton’s Cobb County committee. Smith then pulled out a February 25, 1992, Marietta Daily Journal article, entitled “Clinton garners support from county Democrats” written by Joe Kirby. The article clearly identified “East Cobb county lawyer Sam Olens, treasurer of the Cobb County Democratic Party” as endorsing and being a member of the Cobb County for Clinton chapter.

Olens was speechless.

Then on July 15, Olens admitted to Marietta Daily Journal reporter Jon Gillooly that he was a former Democrat, “Yet Olens told the Journal he was not on any committee to help elect Clinton, nor did he contribute to his campaign.” The Marietta Daily Journal – Olens answers Democrat allegations

Attached is a copy of the 1992 article listing Olens as a member of the Cobb County Clinton team. Also attached is a 1990 Marietta Daily Journal that reports that Olens was elected as treasure of the Cobb County Democrats. It has been implied that an “independent” Olens was simply “asked” to serve in that role when in fact Olens won the office through a vote by active Democrat partisans.

During the remaining debates, Smith will continue to press Olens for a straight answer.

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Preston Smith is seventh generation Georgian. He was elected to the State Senate in 2002 and became the youngest serving Senator in recent history. He is a graduate of Baylor University where he earned a Bachelor of Business Administration. He later earned his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Georgia. As an attorney, Smith specialized in civil litigation and has been admitted to practice in the state and federal trial and appellate courts. He also is a member of the State Bar of Georgia. He is endorsed by the National Rifle Association, GeorgiaCarry.org, Georgia Right to Life, and the Republican Liberty Caucus.

ROME, GA – Preston Smith, Republican candidate for Georgia attorney general, today announced that during his first year in office he will designate post-secondary education as a “public benefit”. By doing so, Smith will trigger an automatic requirement for Georgia’s public colleges and universities to verify the citizenship of applicants and attendees.

“Some bureaucrats in higher education seem reluctant to protect the taxpayers by ensuring that only those who are in legally in our state can attend our taxpayer-funded colleges and universities,” said Smith. “They say it is a complicated issue, but I am going to make it simple for them. By using exiting authority that Attorney General Baker has ignored, I will require citizenship verification for every current student and future applicant.”

As a State Senator in 2009, Smith voted for House Bill 2, a bill that passed the General Assembly and became law on January 1, 2010. It defines certain ‘public benefits’ and requires, for the recipients of those benefits, verification of lawful presence within the United States. It also authorizes the attorney general to update the list of defined “public benefits” each year by August 1 and allows him to require that any recipient of the enumerated public benefit be required to have citizenship eligibility confirmed through the SAVE program.

“As attorney general, I will use every tool I have to enforce our current laws against illegal immigration and work to strengthen them where necessary. Georgians can’t afford another attorney general ignoring this issue. The burden of illegal immigration on taxpayers is too high and the cost to public safety is too great,” said Smith.

Smith has also pledged to aggressively enforce The Georgia Security and Immigration Compliance Act, one of the toughest immigration laws in the nation that he helped pass in 2006. In addition to requiring all public employers and those working on public contracts to verify citizenship, the law stipulates that an arresting police officer must make a reasonable effort to determine the nationality of any person charged and arrested with a felony or DUI. Smith will take a similar stance as the attorney general of Virginia who announced today that law enforcement officers are allowed to check the immigration status of anyone “stopped or arrested”.

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Preston Smith is seventh generation Georgian. He was elected to the State Senate in 2002 and became the youngest serving Senator in recent history. He is a graduate of Baylor University where he earned a Bachelor of Business Administration. He later earned his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Georgia. As an attorney, Smith specialized in civil litigation and has been admitted to practice in the state and federal trial and appellate courts. He also is a member of the State Bar of Georgia. He is endorsed by the National Rifle Association, GeorgiaCarry.org, Georgia Right to Life, and the Republican Liberty Caucus.

Statement of Preston Smith on Federal Judge’s Obstruction of Arizona Illegal Immigration Law

ROME, GA – Preston Smith, Republican candidate for Georgia attorney general, today issued the following statement regarding federal judge Susan Bolton’s decision to block key parts of the popular Arizona:

“The liberal federal judge that blocked parts of the Arizona law is just one more infuriating example of a national government run amuck. Her activism usurped a state’s authority to take public safety into our own hands when the federal government has undeniably failed us. This decision is victory for Mexico and a loss for the taxpaying, law abiding citizens of the United States.

It should be no surprise that Judge Bolton is a Bill Clinton appointee; so in part, we have my opponent Sam Olens to thank for nonsense like this since he was on the team that got Clinton elected. As attorney general, I will use every tool I have to enforce our current laws against illegal immigration and work to strengthen them where necessary. Georgians can’t afford another attorney general ignoring this issue. The burden of illegal immigration on taxpayers is too high and the cost to public safety is too great.”

Earlier in the campaign, Smith pledged to aggressively enforce The Georgia Security and Immigration Compliance Act, one of the toughest immigration laws in the nation that he helped pass in 2006. Among its provisions, the law requires all public employers and those working on public contracts must participate in citizenship verification. It also stipulates that an arresting police officer must make a reasonable effort to determine the nationality of any person charged and arrested with a felony or DUI. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is to be notified if the prisoner is deemed to be in the United States illegally.

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Preston Smith is seventh generation Georgian. He was elected to the State Senate in 2002 and became the youngest serving Senator in recent history. He is a graduate of Baylor University where he earned a Bachelor of Business Administration. He later earned his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Georgia. As an attorney, Smith specialized in civil litigation and has been admitted to practice in the state and federal trial and appellate courts. He also is a member of the State Bar of Georgia. He is endorsed by the National Rifle Association, GeorgiaCarry.org, Georgia Right to Life, and the Republican Liberty Caucus.

For media inquiries, please contact Adam Clemons at (706) 295-9000 or adam@prestonsmith.org

AG Candidate Smith Becomes Online Sensation
“Uncommon Courage” web video approaching 80,000 views on YouTube

ROME, GA – Preston Smith, Republican candidate for Georgia attorney general, is quickly becoming an internet star with his web video “Uncommon Courage.” Released less than three weeks ago, the video is on the verge of receiving 80,000 views on YouTube, an astounding number for a political video in this year’s Georgia primary season.

“Voters are understandably cynical and desperately searching for public servants who actually have a record in office of doing what they said they would do. Words alone are cheap these days, while real action is priceless,” said Smith. “Undoubtedly, conservative Republicans are responding to the video because of my anti-tax increase stance, but I think the speech is appealing to a broader group because I sacrificed political power in order to remain true to my principles and constituents.”

The video was released on July 8 and includes clips of Smith’s 2010 speech from the Senate floor after he was stripped of his committee chairmanship for refusing to vote for a tax increase. The video also displays newspaper headlines from all across Georgia praising his courage and unwillingness to compromise his principles.

“I represent between 150-200,000 constituents, and I am the only voice that they have in this Senate. Neither my principle nor their voice is on the auction block,” Smith said during his now-famous speech.

As Georgia’s Attorney General, Smith will continue to be a taxpayer champion by implementing zero base budgeting in the AG’s Office, challenging Obamacare on his first day in office, strictly enforcing our immigration laws, and stopping waste, fraud, and abuse.

The video, “Uncommon Courage” and entire text of Smith’s speech from the Senate floor can be viewed at www.PrestonSmith.org.

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Preston Smith is seventh generation Georgian. He was elected to the State Senate in 2002 and became the youngest serving Senator in recent history. He is a graduate of Baylor University where he earned a Bachelor of Business Administration. He later earned his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Georgia. As an attorney, Smith specialized in civil litigation and has been admitted to practice in the state and federal trial and appellate courts. He also is a member of the State Bar of Georgia. He is endorsed by the National Rifle Association, GeorgiaCarry.org, Georgia Right to Life, and the Republican Liberty Caucus.

When we started this campaign three months ago, all we had was a conservative message of taking on the liberals in Washington and standing firm for conservative principles. But that message, combined with the grassroots efforts of many hardworking Georgians, has made our campaign one that will continue forward to fight for the people of Georgia.

I am humbled by the confidence so many Georgians have placed in our campaign.

I would like to congratulate Max Wood for running a campaign based on the issues and standing up for our conservative principles. Max and his team ran a great campaign. I enjoyed getting to know him and his volunteers as I was out on the campaign trail.

This campaign is about who the conservative is and who will stand up to the liberal establishment. I am proud to say that I am the only candidate who is endorsed by the National Rifle Association, GeorgiaCarry.org, Georgia Right to Life, and the Republican Liberty Caucus. These organizations have endorsed our campaign because of my proven conservative record.

This campaign has gained tremendous momentum. Each day, we are contacted by many Georgians who want real conservative leaders who have the uncommon courage to fight for them.

Join us in this campaign to take back Georgia. Join us as we travel across the state over the next few weeks to take our message to the people. Join us as we say “no more” to Washington.

I would appreciate your support and vote in the August 10^th Republican Run-Off. Please tell your friends and family members.

Sincerely,

Preston W. Smith

Republican for Attorney General

On my first day in office, I will file a lawsuit on behalf of the people of Georgia to repeal ObamaCare. It is clearly a violation of Article I, Sections 2 and 9 of the United States Constitution. We must fight this encroachment of the federal government immediately before the liberals in Washington erode our liberties and freedoms.

As attorney general, I will also push for an Arizona-style immigration policy. As a state senator, I helped pass one of the toughest illegal immigration laws in the state. As attorney general, I will make sure our current laws are enforced and strengthened so that Georgia’s laws can be as tough as Arizona’s.

While I have been out traveling the state and shaking hands with the voters, I am often asked about my position on the right to life. I will always defend the innocent lives of our unborn. I have always been on the forefront of the pro-life fight in the Georgia General Assembly. As attorney general, I will continue that fight and make sure our pro-life laws are enforced. That is why I have been endorsed by Georgia Right to Life.

I am also asked about my stance on the Second Amendment. I am the only candidate endorsed by the National Rifle Association and GeorgiaCarry.org because I have a proven record of fighting for our Second Amendment rights. As attorney general, I will do all that I can to make sure our rights are not infringed.

I hope that over the course of this campaign you have learned that I am the proven conservative with the uncommon courage to fight for Georgia. I would appreciate your vote on Tuesday, July 20^th in the Republican Primary.

Please feel free to contact me  at (706) 295-9000 or preston@prestonsmith.org if you have any questions

Sincerely,

Preston W. Smith

Conservative for Attorney General

AG CANDIDATE PRESTON SMITH ROLLS OUT INITIATIVES TO FIGHT PUBLIC CORRUPTION

Tough on Crime, Tougher on Criminals

ROME – Attorney General candidate Preston Smith rolled out his initiative to expand the state attorney general’s office to fight public corruption today. His plan includes the implementation of a statewide grand jury to prosecute certain crimes with a statewide impact.

“Georgia has a serious crime problem, and we have to do something about it now,” Smith said today, “or we are going to lose too many innocent children to the illegal sex and drug trade industry.”

Sen. Smith said he is specifically concerned about Georgia’s human trafficking problem and the commercial sexual exploitation of women and children – particularly in Atlanta where some statistics show the city as one of the worst places for human trafficking in the world.

Various data confirms that human trafficking is the fastest-growing criminal industry in the world – a $5 billion and $9 billion “business.” The U.S. State Department estimates that more than 600,000 men, women and children are trafficked across international borders each year, and most of them are women and girls. As many as 50 percent are minors.

Smith says that several states around the country, including Florida and South Carolina, have statewide grand juries that can empower prosecutors to take on the predators who are exploiting thousands of people each year.

“We can no longer sit back and watch while the attorney general’s office ignores the problem,” Sen. Smith went on to say. “This has been going on for decades and it gets worse every year. We have to go after these criminals now – before it is too late for our children.”

As a state senator, and as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Smith worked on hundreds of pieces of legislation to support crime victims – particularly the most vulnerable of those victims, children. He said he plans to work with the members of the legislature during the 2011 legislative session to craft a crime package that will make these criminals think twice before coming to Georgia to prey upon our citizens.

During his service in the Georgia General Assembly, Sen. Smith helped pass legislation that allows juries to impose a sentence of life without parole in murder cases, strengthened Georgia’s incest laws and put a stop to smash and grab offenders – a problem that has plagued nearly every city in Georgia.

“Georgia families have a legitimate fear for the safety of their children,” Sen. Smith went on to say. “While we many never return to the days when we didn’t have to lock our doors at night, my objective as Georgia’s attorney general is to make our state the most unwelcome place in the nation for those predators who are involved with human trafficking and drug trade. I want the message to be clear: we do not want them in Georgia, and we will not tolerate them or the industry they are trying to promote.”

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Preston Smith is seventh generation Georgian. He was elected to the State Senate in 2002 and became the youngest serving Senator in recent history. He is a graduate of Baylor University where he earned a Bachelor of Business Administration. He later earned his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Georgia. As an attorney, Smith specialized in civil litigation and has been admitted to practice in the state and federal trial and appellate courts. He also is a member of the State Bar of Georgia. He is endorsed by the National Rifle Association, GeorgiaCarry.org, Georgia Right to Life, and the Republican Liberty Caucus.

For media inquiries, please contact Adam Clemons at (706) 295-9000 or adam@prestonsmith.org