Republicans seeking Georgia congressional seat debate limits on abortion and immigration

ATLANTA– Brian Jack tried to hold a debate Sunday among Republican candidates for an open congressional seat in Georgia over his close ties to former President Donald Trump, while the other contenders ignored Trump’s endorsement of Jack.

Five Republicans running for their party’s nomination in Georgia’s 3rd Congressional District met in a debate at the Atlanta Press Club. In addition to Jack, who served as Trump’s political director during his administration and worked for then-U.S. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, participants included former Senators Mike Crane and Mike Dugan, former state Rep. Philip Singleton and party activist Jim Bennett.

They are seeking to replace Republican U.S. Rep. Drew Ferguson, who is stepping down. The district hugs the Alabama border from Carrollton to Columbus and meanders east to the Atlanta suburbs of Newnan and Peachtree City.

Jack repeatedly referenced his work in the Trump administration and vowed to continue that work in Congress.

“To sell myself, I think I will look at the record and success that we had and that we delivered in that administration,” Jack said.

Others largely passed up the opportunity to attack Jack, although Crane suggested that McCarthy is the one trying to anoint Jack and ask voters who should choose their representative.

“Do you want to take responsibility for that vote or do you want to let Washington DC insiders do what they have been doing for the last few cycles, which is elect the next representative for the Third District?” Crane asked.

But attacks on Jack, the race’s fundraising leader, remained largely muted. Crane, Bennett and Singleton took more conservative positions, each saying they would join the Freedom Caucus if elected.

Singleton was often at odds with Republican leadership during his time in the State House, attacking then-Speaker David Ralston’s leadership and leading top Republicans to move Singleton into a majority Democratic district. However, Singleton said he is “not an oppositional guy.”

“Go ahead and fight for the principles you believe in and stand for,” Singleton said. “I’m not one to fight people. I fight for good policy.”

Asked whether human embryos should have the same rights as humans, Jack reiterated Trump’s position that restrictions on reproductive rights should be left to the states. Dugan noted that he voted in favor of Georgia’s current abortion restrictions, which ban abortions after fetal heart activity is detected. This is usually after about six weeks, often before a woman knows she is pregnant.

But Dugan said limiting in vitro fertilization was “a deeper question,” and did not clearly say how he would vote.

However, the other three expressed no doubts about introducing a legal standard that could lead to a total ban on abortion in Georgia and a ban on in vitro fertilization as currently practiced.

“I am against recreational abortion,” Bennett said. “I believe that life exists from the moment of conception. There is no wiggle room for me.”

All candidates said by show of hands that they believed Trump was the rightful winner of Georgia’s 16 electoral votes in 2020, despite no reliable evidence contradicting Democrat Joe Biden’s victory. Several said they believed Republican-backed changes to Georgia’s election laws had since made them more comfortable, but Bennett attacked the continued use of Dominion ballots, which reflected a common belief among Republican activists that all voting machines should be distrusted.

All candidates expressed support for more immigration restrictions, with several, including Jack, saying they support mass deportations of people who entered the country illegally. Jack said he would have voted against the recent foreign aid package to Ukraine, Israel and others until he was satisfied with border security.

Dugan said he believed Republicans were right to reject a border security bill that the Biden administration had supported.

“I don’t think anyone trusted Joe Biden to secure our southern border,” Dugan said.