An Air Force veteran is joining the crowded 7th District congressional race with the hope that his military and business background will help cut through the fray in the Republican primary.
Ben Bullock, the founder of a real estate investment firm, announced his first run for political office on Wednesday morning with a video that emphasized his roots in the state and warned about the threat of socialism in the U.S.
“Today we face a different kind of terror in the form of socialism, with those on the left undermining our president,” he said in the video, which cuts to images of progressive members of Congress, including U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.
Bullock said his experience in finance will "help tackle our national debt crisis, improve infrastructure, empower local businesses, and bring more jobs to Georgia’s Seventh District."
He joins a packed field that includes at least six Republican candidates that seek to succeed retiring U.S. Rep. Rob Woodall, R-Lawrenceville.
Former Home Depot executive Lynn Homrich and emergency room doctor Richard McCormick are also first-time candidates running for the GOP nomination as political outsiders. State Sen. Renee Unterman is expected to announce her candidacy on Thursday and will instantly become the field's most prominent Republican. Former NFL running back Joe Profit is also in the race, and state Rep. Todd Jones could also join.
Meanwhile, five Democrats are vying for their party's nomination. Carolyn Bourdeaux, the college professor who came within 500 votes of Woodall last year, is among the candidates. State Rep. Brenda Lopez and party organizer Nabilah Islam are also in the contest, as are attorney Marqus Cole and former Fulton Commission chairman John Eaves.
The 7th district includes broad swaths of Gwinnett and Forsyth counties. Once a GOP lock, its now considered a swing district by party leaders in Washington after playing host to the closest U.S. House race in the nation last year.
Read more: Who's running in Georgia's 7th Congressional District
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