ATLANTA (AP) — By leaving no daylight between himself and Donald Trump, Brian Jack became the Republican nominee for Georgia’s 3rd Congressional District, and the former political director in Trump’s White House isn’t changing his approach as he faces the Democratic underdog Maura Keller stands.
Six times during a half-hour debate at the Atlanta Press Club, Jack noted how he had worked with Trump. The former Republican president has repeatedly endorsed Jack, including during a speech Tuesday in Atlanta.
Both major parties contest all of Georgia’s fourteen congressional districts, where Republicans currently hold a 9-5 majority. In the next highest profile race besides the third, Republican Wayne Johnson is trying to unseat longtime incumbent Democrat Sanford Bishop in Southwest Georgia’s second district.
But with no other statewide elections taking place, the presidential campaign is overshadowing everything else in Georgia politics. Bishop and many other incumbents are spending more time campaigning for presidential candidates than fending off their own enemies in districts that will be even less competitive after a court-ordered redistricting in 2023.
3rd District
When asked during Sunday’s debate if there was anything he differed from Trump on — such as the way Trump responded when a mob stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 — Jack instead emphasized that voters voted him the election and should see Trump as a package. deal to return to Trump’s policies on economic issues, immigration and public safety.
“I am incredibly proud of what we have achieved together,” said Jack.
It’s a safe strategy for the 36-year-old Peachtree City resident who worked for then-Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy after Trump left office. The 3rd District hugs the Alabama state line from Carrollton south to Columbus and hooks east into the southern suburbs of Atlanta. It is an open seat because Republican incumbent Drew Ferguson is retiring. According to the Princeton Gerrymandering Project, Republicans typically win about two-thirds of the district’s votes.
Keller, Jack’s Democratic opponent, is a retired Army lieutenant colonel and Fayetteville resident. She supports a platform for abortion rights, better veterans services and higher wages.
“I am a common-sense candidate with common-sense policies and I respectfully ask for your vote,” Keller said during the debate. “Unlike my opponent – he only cares about one person, and that is Donald Trump and the extreme agenda he has – I have been here for 28 years and I will make sure my priority is you.”
2nd arrondissement
Republicans had high hopes of defeating Bishop in 2022, but the Democrat clinched a 16th term with 55% of the vote. The Republican Party’s Johnson, who worked at the U.S. Department of Education under Trump, pledges to focus on economic progress in the 2nd District, which spans 30 counties in southwestern Georgia as far as Columbus and Macon.
“Why do you think people are better off if they give you two more years in office than they have been in the last thirty years?” Johnson asked rhetorically during a debate at the Atlanta Press Club where Bishop was absent.
Johnson proposes that the federal government provide subsidies so that someone can buy a house with a monthly payment of $1,000 and buy a car with a monthly payment of $200. He portrays himself as a moderate on abortion, but says Georgia’s ban on most abortions after fetal heart activity has begun is “close to a semi-good solution.”
Bisschop also calls himself a moderate, largely white farmers who drive the rural economy and support military bases. He focuses on legislative performance and what his seniority helps him accomplish, touting the benefits of recent federal spending packages.
But the sitting president is not above partisan red meat. While Johnson debated Bishop’s empty stage in Atlanta on Sunday, Bishop was in Albany with former President Bill Clinton to rally voters for Democratic candidate Kamala Harris. There, Bishop portrayed the choice starkly, saying Republicans would “eliminate the Department of Education, cut Head Start, take over the Justice Department and put the president above the law.” It’s good or bad. Forward or backward.”
Other congressional races
Like Bishop, many other incumbents prioritize presidential politics. That’s certainly true for Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene, who is ignoring Democrat Shawn Harris in Northwest Georgia’s 14th District. First-time incumbent Republican Mike Collins in the 10th District east of Atlanta is helping GOP candidates outside Georgia instead of campaigning against Democrat Lexy Doherty.
But at least they are recognized as real Democrats. The party has rejected its candidate in the 11th District northwest of Atlanta. Katy Stamper, who won a Democratic primary, was a conservative activist when she went by another name. Democratic Party officials are instead urging supporters to write in Tracey Verhoeven against incumbent Republican Barry Loudermilk.
In the 12th District around Augusta, Republican Rick Allen is seeking his sixth term against a familiar challenger: Liz Johnson, the Democratic nominee for the third consecutive election. In coastal Georgia’s 1st District, Republican Buddy Carter is also running for his sixth term against Democrat Patti Hewitt.
Other Democratic longshots include Bob Christian against incumbent Rich McCormick in the redrawn 7th District, Darrius Butler against incumbent Austin Scott in Central and South Georgia’s 8th District, and Tambrei Cash against incumbent Andrew Clyde in the 9th District of Northeast Georgia.
Republicans also have longshot candidates. Democratic U.S. Reps. Lucy McBath and David Scott, who easily won primaries in sharply redrawn metro Atlanta districts, have an easier general election. McBath faces Republican Jeff Criswell in the 6th District and Scott faces Republican Jonathan Chavez in the 13th District.
In the 5th District in Fulton, DeKalb and Clayton counties, John “Bongo” Salvesen is running against U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams. Longtime GOP activist Eugene Yu is running against Democrat Hank Johnson, whose 4th District now extends from DeKalb County to southwestern Gwinnett County.
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Associated Press writer Charlotte Kramon contributed.
