Ray McKinney

In the Republican primary, McKinney and Thunderbolt Fire Chief Carl Smith, who earned 43% and 28% respectively, headed to a runoff. On July 25, 2010, Ray McKinney failed to appear for a debate against Smith. However, in the August 10th runoff, McKinney defeated Smith 62% to 38%.

McKinney, in a surprise performance, bested Sen. John McCain, Sen. Sam Brownback, and Rep. Tom Tancredo in the Texas Straw Poll held September 1, 2007, in Fort Worth, Texas. McKinney carried 28 delegate votes, or 2.2%.

During his campaign, McKinney often had the highest ranking at U4Prez.com of all candidates registered with the Federal Election Commission. McKinney ended his bid for the presidential race on November 14, 2007, announcing his intention to run for U.S. Congress from Georgia. On July 15, 2008, McKinney lost the Republican primary to John Stone.

Raymond Louis "Ray" McKinney (born June 20, 1962) is a mechanical services manager from Savannah, Georgia, and was the Republican Party nominee for the U.S. House of Representatives in Georgia's 12th congressional district in 2010. He was a candidate for President of the United States in the Republican primaries in 2008, but withdrew on November 14, 2007.

McKinney was born June 20, 1962 in Brackenridge, Pennsylvania. After graduating from Effingham County Public High School, where he was voted "most likely to become a nuclear scientist", McKinney had two years of Gulfstream Aerospace machinist training, two years Tool and Die, CFS machinist training, and (through 1990) two years at Savannah for Electro-Mechanical Engineering. He has been in the industry for the last 23 years. McKinney is currently a nuclear services manager for Continental Field Systems in Savannah. He and his wife Lisa live in Lyons on the McKinney family farm.