College activism in Georgia and first campaign, 2001–2003 Edit
While studying for his undergraduate degree, Ayers joined the College Republicans, becoming president of the school's chapter. During this time, he met Sonny Perdue, who at the time was planning to run for Governor. Ayers joined Perdue's campaign as a teenage body man for the Republican state senator, taking time off from Kennesaw State University. He initially went to school with the goal of becoming a banker, but his role with Perdue – part assistant, part adviser, part protégé – convinced him to launch a career in politics. "I had no interest in joining the campaign. I had my career planned out. I truly did not believe Governor Roy Barnes could be beat at the time", Ayers said. "After 10 minutes of talking to Sonny, I was one hundred percent confident he was the right person to run this state."[11]
In 2002, Perdue was successful in unseating Democratic incumbent Roy Barnes, making him the first Republican governor of Georgia since Reconstruction.[9][7][12][13]
"When we won, I had the option of basically being the senior adviser to a governor or a freshman in college", Ayers said later. "I chose the gubernatorial post." Studying nights and weekends, he worked on his college diploma over the next seven years, finally earning his Bachelor's in 2009.[14]
