Evans wants to replace Johnny Isakson, who is stepping down as a US senator for Georgia due to health reasons on 31 December 2019, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the state’s largest newspaper.
The governor of Georgia, Brian Kemp, a fellow Republican, will directly appoint Isakson’s replacement until a special election is held in November 2020.
More than 500 people have applied for the appointment, although Evans is considered one of the more serious candidates, the newspaper reported on Friday. That said, Evans will have to beat out a former and current US representative, a former US health secretary and the speaker of the Georgia state house of representatives, among others.
Evans wrote on his Twitter account on 4 October: “After careful (and prayerful) consultation and support, the application has been submitted.”
After careful (and prayerful) consultation and support, the application has been submitted.
— Randy Evans (@jrandolphevans) October 4, 2019
A US embassy spokesperson told Delano on Monday afternoon: “After consultation and support from the appropriate people, the ambassador’s name was submitted for consideration for the US senate.”
Evans stated via his spokesperson: “It is an honor to be considered by the governor of the state of Georgia for the United States senate. We have been very, very successful at our embassy, and I remain committed to continuing with many more successes to the very best of my ability, at the president’s discretion like all other appointees.”
Evans was nominated by Donald Trump as US ambassador to the grand duchy in September 2017, confirmed in May 2018 and formally took up the post in June 2018.
Before his appointment as ambassador, Evans was a partner at the Atlanta office of the global law firm Dentons. He previously served as general counsel to the Office of the Speaker of the US House of Representatives and as general counsel to the Georgia Republican Party.
Kemp’s official website did not list an application deadline when checked by Delano on Monday morning and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution said he had not set one. The ambassador’s application was available on the governor’s site (see page 11, PDF).