John McCain has picked a local man to help with his campaign.
Clint Murphy has been chosen to serve on McCain’s Georgia Advisory Committee, a group of seven individuals from across the state that will help guide the Arizona Senator as he pursues his bid for president of the United States.
"I see him as a very unique American leader," Murphy said of McCain. "The obstacles he faced in Vietnam…most people would have never risen to the occasion but he was emboldened by it. That’s true leadership."
Murphy and the others on McCain’s Georgia Advisory Committee hold weekly conference calls to help build a grassroots campaign for McCain. They will work to find key people in the state who have worked on successful campaign to help with McCain’s, and will form steering committees and other coalition groups to support the campaign.
"We’re all pretty committed to make sure John McCain is our next president and we’ll do what it takes to see that that happens," Murphy said.
Murphy, a graduate of Richmond Hill High School, said he’s been interested in politics since he was a young child, quoting political statistics like many do with sports. He credits his family and influential teachers for his continued interest and subsequent involvement in the political arena.
While in college at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Murphy interned with then U.S. Senator from Georgia Paul Coverdale and current U.S. Congressman Jack Kingston.
After graduating from Georgia Southern in 1998 with a degree in political science, Murphy went to Washington, D.C. where he worked in Coverdale’s office as a congressional fund raiser and for the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
He’s also worked on campaigns in Iowa and was the youth chairman for the state of Georgia for 1996 Republican Presidential hopeful Phil Gramm.
In Georgia, Murphy has worked with the campaigns of U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson and Georgia Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle, among others.
Murphy currently also serves as the chairman of the Citizen’s Advisory Committee, a sub-committee for the Chatham Urban Transportation Study, a transportation planning board set up by the Savannah City Council and the Chatham County Board of Commissioners.Active in the community, Murphy said he would consider running for public office, but has no certain plans to do so.
"I do see myself in politics, but where that opportunity arises and when, I’m not sure," he said. "It would have to be where I can serve to make a difference and not just serve," he said.
Murphy said he’s confident McCain will be able to beat out the competition for his party’s nomination, as well as beat any Democratic challenger for America’s top political post.
"I think America responds to authenticity, and he’s authentic," Murphy said. "There is no doubt there’s too much pork in Washington and he wants to clean that up. He’s been a reformer."