CAIRO — Though he’s been Georgia’s agriculture commissioner for 11 years, Gary Black is going around the state on what he called “a job interview.”

Black spoke to members of the Grady County Republican Party on Monday to ask for their support for the new position he’s seeking — U.S. senator.

“I’m asking y’all to fire Raphael Warnock and hire me for this job,” he said.

Black, himself a farmer with “69 acres and about 40 momma cows,” touted his conservative bona fides — which include bucking both President Biden and President Trump, he said.

Black said he challenged President Biden’s vaccine mandates, filing suit against them and winning. 

“We won the first case, which set the precedent for the rest of the country,” he said.

He also said he fought the Trump administration to get help for Georgia farmers after Hurricane Michael. 

“Mind you, he had a ’swamp,’ too,” Black said. “It took me 13 months arguing with his folks just to get our folks some help.

“I’ve held the federal government accountable.” 

Black also said he warned the Trump administration about the damage the new United States-Mexico-Canada trade deal does to Georgia farmers.

Black is one of a handful of Republicans in the field running against Warnock. Former President Trump has endorsed Herschel Walker, the former Georgia football star and as Black called him, “my former University of Georgia classmate.”

Black chided Walker and his campaign and extolled his experience as commissioner of the state’s largest industry.

“With me, you will get a senator who will put together a team instead of a team that every morning will have to put a senator together,” he said. “Three minutes of yelling on Fox News with soundbites doesn’t help a veteran get the help they need. Signing autographs is not going to get a stranded citizen out of a country.”

Black carries the backing of former governor Nathan Deal and former U.S. Rep. Doug Collins, who ran last fall for the seat now held by Warnock.

“I’ve stood up and fought for Georgians my entire career,” Black said. “If you look at experience, my well is pretty deep.” 

Black stressed the need for a secure southern border. He said he visited the U.S.-Mexico border last fall and stood with a Border Patrol agent as 44 people “walked right by” in an illegal crossing.

“Our country is less secure today,” he said. “We have a porous southern border. And we have a milquetoast approach to crime. Our homes and families are far less secure than we were 18 months ago.”

Black also said he would try to get on the Senate Armed Services Committee. Currently, neither U.S. senator from Georgia serves on the committee and Georgia is home to several major military installations.

Celebrity, Black said, is not going to win the election in November. 

“An experiment will not win this election,” he said. “I believe trust and experience is the only way to win it. We have to make it about the failed policies of Biden and Warnock.

“I’ve earned your trust,” he said. “And I’m asking you to trust me again.”