Democrat Sarah Riggs Amico stepped down from her position as executive chair of her family’s trucking firm to devote herself full-time to her race against U.S. Sen. David Perdue.
Amico, one of four top Democrats in the race, said Tuesday she left Jack Cooper after the company emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy with a deal that slashed its debt by roughly $300 million.
Amico launched her bid weeks after the car-hauling business filed for bankruptcy protection. She said her company's financial struggles clinched her decision to challenge Perdue, a former Fortune 500 chief executive.
“The reality is what I’ve gone through with that business this year has profoundly shaped how I see the stakes in the election, and the urgency that I feel to fix some of these issues,” Amico said at the time.
The company cited steep labor costs and $2 billion in potential pension liabilities in its bankruptcy filing. It struck a deal in August with a New York-based firm that cut its debt, preserved roughly 3,000 jobs and limited the company's obligations to a teetering pension fund.
Georgia Republicans drew a line between Amico’s firm’s financial struggles and her bid for Senate. The Georgia GOP labeled her “desperate to escape her failed business record and poor treatment of workers.”
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