Talk radio host Martha Zoller will mount a campaign for a newly created congressional seat in Georgia, she told The Daily Caller in an interview.
“We need people that are not professional politicians,” said Zoller, who hosts a daily syndicated show across Georgia.
Zoller — who has appeared as a pundit on Fox News, CNN and MSNBC — will run for a new congressional district seat recently drawn by the Georgia state legislature.
She lives in Gainesville, located within the district, and is a proud conservative.
“We made a lot of progress in the last election with the 87 new Republicans, but we need reinforcement for those guys,” Zoller told TheDC, “and we need to have more of a conservative base in Congress.”
As for the issues she’ll emphasize in her campaign, Zoller mentioned jobs, the economy and how illegal immigration affects the economy and hurts people getting jobs.
Zoller is close to GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain, another Georgian who left the world of talk radio to run for office. In fact, she’s responsible for getting Cain on the air as a radio host for the first time. (RELATED: Poll finds Republican Turner leading in Weiner special election in New York)
“When Herman lost the primary in 2004, for the United States Senate,” Zoller recalled, “I called him up within a couple of days, and said ‘I’m going to take a few days off. How would you like to fill in for me?’ So he filled in for me a few times.”
After that, Cain had his own show, Zoller said.
Zoller said she considers Cain a friend, but she’s not allowed to endorse candidates under her radio contract. She said Cain sends her flowers every time he makes “a better step or made a step in radio.” He gave up his show to run for president.
As for Zoller, she said she doesn’t plan to give up her radio show immediately.
“The company attorneys have taken a look at FEC laws and their interpretation is that you are not a candidate until you qualify and in Georgia you don’t qualify until May of next year,” she said.
“I fully expect my opponents — and I suspect there will be a few of them — to try to get me off the air,” Zoller said. “Now we may have to change. Not the direction of the show, but I may not talk so directly about the district or that kind of thing.”
She said she’ll see how it plays out.
“Obviously, I’m going to follow the law, whatever the law requires me to do.”
