The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) is targeting GA-2 incumbent U.S. Representative Sanford Bishop (D-GA-02) for defeat.
In a release, NRCC Spokeswoman Camille Gallo said, “Sanford Bishop is one of the most vulnerable Democrats in the country because he supports Biden’s failed agenda that Georgians are soundly rejecting.”
Bishop has been in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1993. Bishop was investigated by the U.S. House Ethics Committee after a report was released alleging that he misused over $90,000 of campaign donor funds to pay for personal expenses like entertainment, tuition, meals, travel, golf, and fuel.
As of the December 31, 2021 deadline, FEC records show that Bishop had raised $661,615.20 and has $392,909.71 cash on hand.
The leading Republican candidates, according to finance records, are former Trump administration office Dr. Arthur Wayne Johnson and attorney, Republican volunteer, and office with the Georgia Air National Guard Chris West.
Johnson has raised $139,181.00 and has $134,390.99 on hand. West has raised $104,925.00 and has $104,732.24 in the bank.
GA-2 became marginally more favorable for Republicans after the redistricting process. Nate Silver’s FiveThirtyEight gives the district a D+4 partisan rating, whilst it had a D+6 rating under the old lines.
The Georgia Star News previously reported that the litigation process does make the future of Georgia’s new district lines uncertain.
The new lines were signed into law on December 30, 2021 by GOP Governor Brian Kemp. Lawsuits were filed challenging the new district maps, alleging that they violate the Voting Rights Act. Injunctive relief was requested and was denied. A federal judge did rule that the new lines will stand for this year’s elections, because it would be too disruptive to the election process.
After careful review and consideration, the Court finds that while the plaintiffs have shown that they are likely to ultimately prove that certain aspects of the State’s redistricting plans are unlawful, preliminary injunctive relief is not in the public’s interest because changes to the redistricting maps at this point in the 2022 election schedule are likely to substantially disrupt the election process. As a result, the Court will not grant the requests for preliminary injunctive relief.
According to the judge’s ruling, the cases against the new district lines will continue, but as of press time, the new lines are scheduled to stand for this year’s elections.
The Republican primary is scheduled to occur on May 24.
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Aaron Gulbransen is a reporter at The Georgia Star News and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected]. Follow Aaron on GETTR.
Photo “Arthur Wayne Johnson” by Waynejohnsonga CC BY-SA 4.0 and photo “Republican National Convention” by PBS NewsHour CC BY 2.0.
