Buckhead Businessman May Run For Senate

ATLANTA, GA -- The president of a Buckhead-based investment firm is being rumored as a challenger to U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson this fall.

James F. Barksdale of Equity Investment Corp. is expected to enter as a Democratic challenger to Georgia's senior senator, reports the AJC.

Isakson, 71, who has served in the Senate since 2005, is popular on both sides of the Congressional aisle. He also has a large war chest of $5.5 million.

According to Equity Investment's website, Barksdale's began his career in investments, acquisition analysis, and planning at IC Industries in Chicago. After overseas assignments, he joined Merrill Lynch in New York, and then served as a portfolio manager for Management Asset Corporation in Connecticut before forming Equity Investment in Atlanta in 1986.

He has served on The Carter Center's board since 2008.

Democrats have been scrambling to find a challenger to Isakson this fall. Rev. Raphael Warnock of Ebenezer Baptist Church was rumored to be a candidate for the party last year, but declined.