Last week’s Effingham Day at the Capitol was more than just meeting with state officials and lawmakers. Turns out the national political stage may have been inadvertently a part of the proceedings.

As a group from Effingham County High School and a contingent of county leaders and Chamber representatives bided their time in Gov. Nathan Deal’s lobby, the governor apparently was meeting with U.S. Rep. Phil Gingrey. Gingrey, a Marietta Republican, could be one of a handful of contestants for the U.S. Senate seat Saxby Chambliss is forgoing.

So too could be U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston, the Savannah Republican who just recently got Effingham County back into his 1^st District. John Barrow, the now Augusta-based Democrat who also represents part of Effingham, already has declined interest in the seat, as Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, according to reports.

Kingston is said to be weighing heavily entering the Senate race. Congressman Paul Broun, an Athens Republican, has tossed his hat into the ring.

Also, the first two speakers for the Tuesday morning meeting portion were Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and Sam Olens, the state attorney general. Both are considered to be viable candidates for Chambliss’ Senate post. But there was no mention of a possible run.