FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 11, 2022
CONTACT: Dan McLagan
[email protected]
MACON, GA. – Former senior Trump Administration official and 2nd District congressional candidate Wayne Johnson today called out Jeremy Hunt and a splinter group of Washington Political Power Brokers saying, ‘they do not give a damn about hardworking citizens in Georgia’s 2nd District.
Johnson said members of the group, led by Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and perpetual power consultant Karl Rove, are attempting to hijack this congressional seat for their own political purposes, and these power elites are insulting Georgia citizens and subverting the political process by hand-picking Jeremy Hunt as their candidate of choice. Johnson said this group works outside the normal process of the National Republican Congressional Committee.
“This group of Washington power brokers sent 28-year-old Jeremy Hunt from Connecticut to Georgia to be their puppet in the Republican primary,” said Johnson at a press conference in Macon. “They have made no effort to hide the fact that they intend to subvert the will of regular Georgia Republicans by promoting Hunt with money and power endorsements. They are proud of promoting an inexperienced, ‘opportunistic freebooting carpetbagger’ who has zero ties to the 2nd District and these Washington powerbrokers have the arrogance to believe that we in Georgia are not wise enough to figure this out.
“Hunt is an engaging young man who has no roots in the district, has never paid property taxes in the district and never lived in the district until Washington political operatives decided he was what the 2nd District needed. Hunt has no real-life work experience, is still going to college in Connecticut and his candidacy is a creation of Fox News and a third-party group of Washington Republicans. This is total ‘BS’ – as well as an egregious flagrant attempt to steal this Georgia congressional representation.”
Voters in Middle and Southwest Georgia have raised questions about Hunt to Johnson on the campaign trail. Johnson has visited all 30 counties in the district and said he has heard and learned a great deal about the challenges facing citizens.
To exemplify his message about Hunt being sent down to Georgia to run, Johnson has produced a political cartoon reflecting upon the issues relating to Hunt’s candidacy. This cartoon shows candidate Hunt being dropped out of a passing Washington DC Candidate Express airplane, with Hunt parachuting into Georgia’s 2nd District as people are asking important questions regarding Hunt.
Voters have yet to be told why Jeremy suddenly moved from Connecticut to the 2nd District, and why this was the district he was selected and directed to represent? And by whom he was selected? When did Jeremy even register to vote in Georgia’s 2nd District?
In 2016, Hunt wrote an opinion piece for Fox News — which made him a minor celebrity with numerous appearances as he commented about black versus white political issues. Hunt’s opinion piece implied Trump supporters of being racists and saying that African Americans would “survive the Trump presidency.”
Hunt also wrote the article while on active duty in the military. Those aware of the code of conduct of military officers, including a 2-star retired general who is from the district, may interpret this as being a violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice since an active-duty military officer is prohibited from making any political commentary in general, and certainly no comment about the President, the Commander in Chief. ( www.foxnews.com/opinion/why-i-find-the-black-communitys-response-to-trumps-election-a-little-embarrassing)
Hunt is 28 years old and only part way through law school in Connecticut and is enrolled while campaigning, which speaks to his life experiences. Will Congress be a part-time job for him? He is not scheduled to graduate until 2023, then still needs to pass the bar, which everyone knows takes considerable time and commitment. An even bigger question is do we really need another lawyer in Congress? Especially one who is not even a real lawyer yet? It is very likely Hunt is living off and paying his way through law school using Federal student loan money.
Hunt quoted ultra-liberal New York Times reporter and 1619 Project author (author of Critical Race Theory -CRT) Nikole Hannah-Jones in his opinion article to support his arguments. Jones is known to detest conservatives. It is odd that Hunt, professing to be a conservative, would support her beliefs. (https://www.foxnews.com/media/10-misleading-outrageous-statements-nyt-nikole-hannah-jones.)
It is clear Hunt is the product of a third-party splinter group of power brokers in Washington that is using a Washington GOP effort to increase diversity of candidates for Congress that started in recent election cycles. The best example that applies to Hunt is John James of the Detroit area. Quoting a Politico article, “House Republicans have laser-focused their recruitment efforts on candidates like (John) James, a Black West Point graduate-turned-businessman, who can transform the makeup of a party pilloried for its overwhelming roster of white men.”
(www.politico.com/news/2022/02/08/women-candidates-of-color-lead-gop-charge-to-flip-the-house-00006300)
(www.foxnews.com/politics/house-gop-reelection-initiative-candidates-diversity-republicans
“The national Republican party wants to increase diversity among its members of Congress, and this group’s playbook plays right into that goal,” said Johnson. “All the endorsements Hunt is bragging about are nothing but a page out of this playbook. Nikki Haley, Tom Cotton, Josh Hawley, Mike Pompeo and the others who say they are endorsing Hunt know absolutely nothing -- nor do they care -- about the issues residents of the 2nd District face. In fact, these Washington endorsers know little about Hunt. When asked, these political celebrities point only to him being a young family man who went to West Point.”
Johnson said that it is sad, but that he understands that it follows the Republican diversity gameplan to recruit Hunt. The NRCC stays out of endorsing or funding any candidate in a contested Republican race.
Johnson does point out that unlike Hunt, candidate John James left the military, had success in business and became qualified with meaningful real-life experience before seeking office, while Hunt left the military as junior officer only two years ago and is now in college and occasionally serves as a Fox News guest commentator, mostly around political issues that relate to Blacks and Latinos.
It is important to note that Hunt raised thousands of dollars for his campaign by using his presence on Fox to unabashedly push his candidacy and to request donations. His appearances on Fox stopped after the Johnson campaign demanded equal time from Fox News and pointed out that what Fox and Hunt were doing likely violated Federal Election law by being an illegal corporate contribution in kind.
“The GOP party at the national, state and even local level is reacting to changing demographics around the country. Outside special interest GOP power brokers, operatives and consultants have decided that, for the good of the Republican Party, there needs to be the addition of younger, diverse members of Congress,” said Johnson. “This is of course fine, but at what point does a movement to diversity at all cost override what is best for voters in any given congressional district? We must not let our district be hijacked!” Johnson said.
Johnson said that if these GOP elites feel strongly about this issue, they should retire and make more room for new candidates. For reasons known only to them, a small group of GOP leaders in Washington believe Hunt, a young African American whose only claim of experience is that he went to West Point and served as a junior military officer, represents the best chance to beat Sanford Bishop in the fall.
“They are wrong, and as I said before, they really do not understand about the people in this part of Georgia. What Washington elites want is someone they can control and put forward as progress in the Washington diversity initiative,” said Johnson. “I am the candidate who has the best chance to defeat Bishop in November because I have the life experiences and stand on issues that will have appeal to Republican and conservative Democrat voters in this district of Georgia.”
Johnson said it is equally, if not more important, to have a highly qualified person in Congress after the election who can hit the ground running and start working for the people of Middle and Southwest Georgia.
“Every candidate who runs for office should expect their record and what they can bring to bear for the people they want to represent to be scrutinized and commented on,” said Johnson. “I certainly do, and I welcome all scrutiny. Unfortunately, scrutiny about a candidate’s record and motivations does not happen as much as it used to, or should”
Johnson said election integrity starts with candidate integrity. A person’s dedication to openness and integrity are highly important attributes of a good congressman for the people. Neither Jeremy Hunt, nor the Washington power brokers, have been open nor transparent. If they will mislead us now, what will they do in the future?
“I very much care about my fellow citizens in Middle and Southwest Georgia, I do not believe Jeremy Hunt can say the same thing since he has never lived here,” said Johnson. “I am committing my heart, soul, financial resources, and my honor to represent the 2nd Congressional District.
“I do this because I am deeply concerned about the future of our nation and the need for real, mature, experienced leadership from someone who is not looking to build a personal resume – someone who only wants to provide excellent public service.”
Johnson is a rock-solid conservative candidate in the Republican Primary in the 2nd Congressional District covering Middle and Southwest Georgia. Johnson served as a Senior Official within the Trump Administration, was an officer in the U.S. Army and is an Eagle Scout.
Johnson is a Christian, husband, father, grandfather, farmer and businessman/job creator. He is pro-life and a serious gun owner.
Johnson obtained his undergraduate and doctoral degrees from Mercer University and his MBA from Emory University. He was born, raised and resides in Macon, Georgia.