Sen. Mike Crane (R-Newnan) made his announcement Wednesday at the state Capitol.

“The people of Georgia have an opportunity to send a message to Washington. We are tired of vending machine politics: you put in enough money, you pull enough levers, you get what you want. That ends...coming soon," he said.

He was surrounded by a number of Georgia lawmakers, including Sen. Josh McKoon (R-Columbus) and Sen. Marty Harbin (R-Tyrone), who said they’d support Crane.

If elected, Crane would represent Georgia’s Third District which includes the southwestern Atlanta suburbs and extends to the Alabama line.

U.S. Rep. Westmoreland announced earlier this year that he won’t be seeking re-election, and there’s speculation he might be gearing up for a bid for the governor’s office in 2018.

Tags: Mike Crane; Lynn Westmoreland; Josh McKoon; Marty Harbin