THOMASVILLE — Mike Keown has lofty aspirations and a fund-raising target to match it.

At the beginning of September, Keown set a one-month goal of collecting $100,000 for his campaign for Georgia’s Second Congressional District seat. Late Wednesday, Keown figured he was about three-fourths of the way there.

“That goal is intended to show the state and national Republican Party that we can raise money for a campaign and run a campaign,” Keown said.

Keown, a Coolidge pastor, is the lone announced Republican candidate for the seat currently held by longtime Democrat incumbent Sanford Bishop. Lee Ferrell of Albany recently pulled out of the GOP race.

Ferrell received no financial support from the state or national GOP while opposing Bishop in 2008. He garnered 31.1 percent of the vote after spending $10,800.

Keown has spent the last three weeks working to boost his name recognition in the district, which includes 30 counties.

“We’ve been going wide open, but we haven’t been to every county yet,” said Keown, who holds the House District 173 seat in the Georgia General Assembly.

Fundraisers for Keown have been held in Cordele, Unadilla and Bainbridge. One is set in Thomasville next week.

“One of the encouraging things is that I have gotten a pile of $100 checks,” Keown said. “There have been a few larger checks, but the number of $100 checks proves how much people want to get involved in the process.”

Keown is set to speak at Citizens Meeting No. 6 at 6 p.m. on Tuesday at the Thomasville Municipal Auditorium.

“I’m looking forward to it,” he said. “I like meeting the folks and hearing what they have to say.”

Keown announced his intention to seek Bishop’s seat in early August. At the time, he said: “I'm running for Congress to bring common-sense Georgia values to Washington. Sadly, those values are sorely lacking in our nation's capitol. The stimulus package has created little more than massive deficits and rising unemployment. Cap and trade will impose a National Energy Tax on any American who flips on a light switch and a government-run takeover of health care threatens to raise costs and take choice away from patients.

“It's plain to see that we're headed in the wrong direction. It's time we have a representative from the Second District who understands that."