WASHINGTON (AP) — Sonny Perdue, a farmer’s son who built businesses in grain trading and trucking before
becoming the first Republican governor of Georgia since Reconstruction, is President-elect Donald
Trump’s choice to lead the Agriculture Department, The Associated Press has learned.
Trump intends to nominate Perdue, according to a person familiar with the decision but not authorized to
speak publicly about it. Agriculture secretary is the only Cabinet post for which Trump, who will be
inaugurated Friday, has not announced a selection.
Perdue, 70, who comes from the small city of Bonaire in rural central Georgia, would be the first
Southerner in the post in more than two decades. He is not related to or affiliated with the food
company Perdue or the poultry producer Perdue Farms.
Agriculture secretaries are often from the Midwest, where corn and soybeans dominate the markets. U.S.
farm policy has long been favorable to those crops, and congressional battles over massive farm bills
every five years often divide along regional lines. Southerners have pushed for subsidy programs that
are more favorable to rice and cotton, which can be more expensive to grow.
The last three agriculture secretaries were from Iowa, North Dakota and Nebraska.
Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse said Thursday in a statement that he wants to talk to Perdue about "the
unique interests of Midwest agriculture," including trade and regulatory burdens.
"Nebraskans feed the world and our agriculture secretary needs to understand what we bring to the
table," Sasse said.
Many farm-state lawmakers and agriculture groups grew concerned as Trump approached his inauguration
without having named an agriculture secretary candidate. Earlier Thursday, Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley
tweeted that he was frustrated with the process.
"NEED Ag leader w dirt under finger nails 4farmers," he wrote.
Perdue began his political career as a Democrat in the Georgia Legislature in the 1990s. After switching
his allegiance to the Republican Party, he was elected governor in 2002. The victory over an incumbent
Democrat completed Georgia’s shift to a solidly Republican state, ending generations of Democratic
control of state government.
Despite the seismic political change, Perdue showed little interest in pushing big programs or signature
legislation during his two terms. Instead he focused on finding ways to save money while improving
customer service by state agencies — such as reducing wait times for renewing driver’s licenses. He
often referred to himself as Georgia’s CEO.
"If I could choose my legacy it would be the epithet that he made government work," Perdue told
The Associated Press in 2010 before he left office. "That’s really what I’ve focused on. It’s not
some big monument."
Critics accused Perdue of failing to tackle some of Georgia’s biggest problems, such as struggling public
schools.
Perdue, who was re-elected in 2006, didn’t rely only on his business acumen as governor. A devout
Southern Baptist, he also found a place for faith in his administration. In 2007, when a withering
drought gripped Georgia and neighboring states, he held a prayer rally in front of the Capitol in
Atlanta to pray for rain.
Perdue brought an end to Georgia’s longstanding conflicts over a state flag that featured the Confederate
battle emblem. The controversial flag was replaced by lawmakers under Perdue’s Democratic predecessor,
but the new design proved unpopular. Perdue insisted Georgia voters should pick the flag. A referendum
was held in 2004, though Southern heritage groups were outraged that the options did not include the old
flag with the Confederate symbol.
Under Perdue’s watch, Georgia adopted tough food-safety regulations after a deadly U.S. salmonella
outbreak was traced to Georgia-made peanut butter. He moved the state office that issues water permits
for irrigation and other agricultural uses from Atlanta to rural south Georgia, where it would be closer
to farmers. And Perdue poured millions of state dollars into Go Fish, a program that aimed to lure bass
fishing tournaments to the state.
The ex-governor, whose full name is George Ervin Perdue III, was born in rural Perry, Georgia. He
attended the University of Georgia, where he played football as a walk-on and earned a doctorate in
veterinary medicine. Following a stint in the Air Force, he returned to Georgia and settled in Bonaire,
a city of about 14,000 people.
Perdue already has family serving in Washington. A cousin, former Dollar General CEO David Perdue of Sea
Island, Georgia, was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2014.
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Bynum reported from Savannah, Georgia. Associated Press writer Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this
report.