Georgia Rep. Mesha Mainor, who converted to the Republican Party, has drawn five Democratic challengers this week — including a man who served jail time for allegedly stalking her.
Mainor faces a tough reelection campaign in her heavily Democratic district in Westside Atlanta, where 91% of voters supported Joe Biden for president four years ago.
Mainor’s opponents say she betrayed her voters by switching parties after she broke with Democrats on private school vouchers and prosecutor oversight bills.
But Mainor said she’s eager to make her case that Democrats have ignored the needs of House District 56, which stretches from Atlantic Station to southwest Atlanta.
“The question for voters is, ‘What has a Democrat done for me?’” said Mainor, who was elected in 2020. “People will vote for someone that solves their problems at the end of the day, regardless of what political party they’re affiliated with.”
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
She said another problem for Democrats is the candidacy of Corwin Monson, a former campaign worker for Mainor who denies he stalked her. When candidates arrived at the Capitol to file paperwork to run against Mainor, police escorted Monson to prevent a possible run-in with her.
Besides Monson, the other Democratic candidates include seventh-grade public school teacher Bryce Berry, waitress Ada Merello, chiropractor Dawn Samad and business owner Leonard Watkins.
Monson disputes allegations that he harassed Mainor, repeatedly called her, kept showing up at her house and joined her church. Monson said he entered a plea without admitting guilt so he could get out of jail after 10 months.
“Everything about Mesha Mainor is a fraud. She’s just a grifter,” said Monson, who works in audio, lighting and staging production. “What was done to us as constituents in House District 56 shouldn’t ever happen again.”
Berry, who has worked on the campaigns of Democrats Raphael Warnock and Stacey Abrams, said he’ll focus on education and oppose Mainor’s support of vouchers, which he said would harm public school students by diverting government money to expensive private schools.
“We voted for a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” Berry said. “We need people to stop lying to us and stop selling us out. Voters need someone to fight for them and serve them, and they haven’t had that.”
Samad said she’s a lifelong Democrat who would seek more school funding and programs, health care access and support for small businesses.
Mainor pointed out that Samad is another Democrat with an arrest record, misdemeanors for shoplifting in 1998 and driving without a license in 2009. Samad said she was never jailed, was incorrectly accused of shoplifting and had simply forgotten to renew her license, and the charges were resolved.
“District 56 voted in a Democrat. That Democrat has been changed to a Republican,” Samad said. “I want to return Democratic values back to this district.”
Merello, an advocate for mental health, women’s rights and LGBTQ issues, said the community isn’t being represented at the Capitol.
“We have a history of being overlooked by the state,” Merello said. “The people of District 56 were struck by an unfortunate backstabbing by the incumbent. To be frank, it’s just not fair. We voted for a Democrat.”
Watkins couldn’t immediately be reached for comment Friday.
The five Democrats will compete in Georgia’s general primary on May 21.
Because Mainor doesn’t have a Republican opponent, she’ll automatically advance to the November general election against the winning Democratic candidate.
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