2nd District hopefuls urge fellow Republicans to get out the vote

May 11—THOMASVILLE — Thomas County Republicans are voting in a new Congressional district, and several of the GOP hopefuls running for the seat espoused their convictions as the top choice.

Early voting is underway for the race for the nomination to go up against longtime 2nd District U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-Albany) in November.

Thomasville native Chris West said the nation is in perilous times.

"This inflation is crushing us, it is crushing the working class," he said. "If you are a working person, you're feeling it."

West, a commercial developer for Terramore, also wondered how much worse would the economy get with three more years of the Biden administration. He also cautioned prospective voters about politicians who get "Potomac fever."

"We have to send a fighter to stand up for southwest Georgia, to represent our values in Washington," West, who is in the Air National Guard, said. "We send folks to Washington and how quickly they forget what sent them there. They get entrenched in Washington. We see it time and time again. I've been in the Republican party almost 20 years and we have seen it countless times."

Vivian Childs also proclaimed that it is "time to save America."

Childs, an author and a minister, pointed out she wrote a book in 2014 called "Splintered" and one of the chapters was called "America First."

"It is time and it is time out for those things that divide us, that are detrimental to our well-being and are headed to an agenda of socialism, communism and yes, crazynism," she said.

Childs declared she is pro-life and pro-2nd Amendement "but not everybody is pro-you. I am pro you."

Rich Robertson, who retired from the Air Force after 22 years in the judge advocate general corps, said that as a Christian, he would bring those values to Capitol Hill.

"I am also a Constitutional conservative," he said. "We are straying from the Constitution in ways that are going to lead to destruction. It is not a document that needs to be rewritten — it just needs to be followed."

Robertson, who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, quoted President Ronald Reagan on the prospect of losing freedom.

"I have 14-year-old daughter and I am very concerned about the kind of America we are handing off to them," Robertson said.

Robertson also blasted the Biden administration's energy policy and its refusal to reopen the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge for drilling. He also said the now vastly higher prices for fertilizer will have a ripple effect.

"We are going to have a food shortage," he said. "They create crises and they say, 'hey, give us more power, and we'll fix it. ' We are printing dollars like they are candy. It is a hidden tax on Americans. We have to put a stop to that."

Jeremy Hunt, a West Point grad, was an intelligence officer in the Army and got orders in 2016 to go to Ukraine.

"We knew then (Russian president Vladimir) Putin was waiting on weakness in the White House to invade Ukraine," Hunt said. "He thought in November 2016 he could invade but he was sadly mistaken."

What is transpiring in Ukraine should inspired Americans, Hunt said.

"With bullets in their faces, the Ukrainian people are fighting for their liberty, fighting for their freedom," he said.

Hunt, one of two Black GOP candidates, along with Childs, said he has been called a "sellout" and "Uncle Tom" by Black liberals.

"They can call me all those things," he said, "but what they won't call me is silent."

Hunt said there are plenty of conservatives in Black churches, and he has gone to them to bring them his message, since many of them oppose abortion.

He also pointed out his grandmother's grandparents were freed slaves. She went to Fort Valley State and her son, his father, went to Howard University. That paved the way, Hunt said, for him to go to West Point.

"Folks, that is the American dream, and I am living proof of it," he said. "It is under attack. We have forces here trying to destroy the American dream. I need you to be loud and bold. We cannot afford to let the left write the narrative."

Wayne Johnson is a former U.S. Department of Education executive seeking the 2nd District nomination. He said they worked hard to make things work for students and taxpayers.

But he does have a major change in mind.

"I will go on the record that I want to call for the abolishment of the U.S. Department of Education," he said. "The U.S. Department of Education has weaponized against parents across the nation.

I am deeply concerned about the soul of the country. I am deeply concerned about the economic future of our country."

Johnson also said he was in Argentina when that country collapsed and in Venezuela when the late Hugo Chavez came to power and put in place a socialist government.

Johnson acknowledged a freshman Congressman has little power but can use that position to meet with and engage with the various sectors of the federal government.

His campaign, he said, is centered on a simple phrase — "Stop the Stupid in Washington." It's emblazoned on the side of his truck to boot.

As Johnson pointed out, a lady saw his truck and approached him, telling him, "you need a bigger truck."

Though many national polls point to Republicans making gains in both houses of Congress, Hunt exhorted the crowd not to get settled.

"There will be no red wave if the people in this room don't get excited and vote," he said.