“The choice is yours. “It’s the dollar against the currency,” Hand said before leaving the set of the Atlanta studio after an initial question on agricultural policy. “And that’s where I go back into the truck and I’m going back to southwest Georgia because I have two races to win.”
Johnson called it “pure political theater” and said in an interview that he had not tried to draw more attention to his opponent’s wife.
“He did a great disservice to voters by not being prepared to stand up to the questions he thought were coming,” said Johnson, a former federal student aid official. “He walked out of his job interview.”
It’s the latest flashpoint in Republicans’ race to take on the Democratic U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop, a 16-term lawmaker who is heavily favored to win in November. Hand and Johnson were the frontrunners in the four-candidate primary in May.
Hand, a construction worker and first-time candidate, opened his speech by saying he was “not interested in debating the issues of the 2nd District with a man who doesn’t even reside there, especially one who orchestrates attacks on my wife.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
(Johnson said he lives a few hundred yards from the southwest Georgia district; candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives are not required to live in their district to run for Congress .)
Hand said after the debate that his remarks referred to a recent news conference held by Michael Nixon, who finished third in the May primary and who endorsed Johnson.
Nixon asserted charges in 2005 and 2010 against Hand that were later dismissed. He also used the platform to highlight a drug conviction involving Hand’s wife, Mandy, in 2008, before the two were married. She spent a year in prison and nine years on probation after being convicted of an oxycodone felony.
After leaving the stage, Hand said he expected to be attacked because of his personal history.
“But publicly attacking my wife is a completely different situation,” Hand said. “My wife had paid her debt to society long before I met her.”
Johnson told the AJC that he played no role in Nixon’s news conference, which he said surprised him.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
The walkout caught debate organizers off-guard as Hand abruptly walked away from the camera after a question. Moderator Donna Lowry asked, “Aren’t you staying, sir?” You leave ?
The camera then turned to Johnson: “Wow, I don’t even know how to react.”
The two Republicans are unlikely to defeat Bishop, who has scared off more formidable contenders after a dominant re-election run in 2022. But Johnson has presented himself as a more palatable alternative to Hand, including Jan. The 6 story brought more attention to the race.
Hand and his wife were arrested in 2022 after a plethora of evidence and captioned footage presented in court led authorities to the Taylor County couple.
Both pleaded guilty in 2022 to a misdemeanor charge of unlawfully protesting at the U.S. Capitol. They were sentenced to 20 days in federal prison and six months of probation. Since then, Hand has been unapologetic about his role as he runs for office.
Credit: TNS
Credit: TNS