Meet the candidates running for Middle Georgia’s U.S. House District 2 this November

While the upcoming presidential election may dominate the conversation about November’s elections, other federal offices are up for grabs as well.

Among them is Georgia’s 2nd Congressional District, which covers Fort Valley and portions of Macon and Warner Robins.

This cycle, Republican challenger Wayne Johnson seeks to unseat Democratic incumbent Rep. Sanford Bishop, who has held the seat since being elected in 1992.

Wayne Johnson

Johnson won a contentious Republican primary against Chuck Hand, who made national headlines after he was discovered to have been convicted for storming the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot and walked off the stage during a debate against Johnson.

Johnson is a U.S. Army veteran and has owned and operated multiple small businesses. He also has worked in the federal government as a senior official and as the chief strategy and transformation officer and chief operating officer for the Department of Education’s office of Federal Student Aid.

During his campaign, Johnson has emphasized combating high living costs.

“Wayne Johnson will work hard to solve the Kitchen Table Issues that are troubling your family,” Johnson wrote on his website. “Wayne knows how to reduce the cost of groceries, gas, rent and insurance.”

He wants to pass an “Everybody Drives Act,” which would create a program to help people purchase cars for $200 a month with no down payment. Johnson has also said he wants to make starter homes available for $1,000 a month, and fight large corporations buying up small houses.

Sanford Bishop

Bishop has represented Georgia’s 2nd Congressional District for more than 30 years. He is on the House Agriculture Committee, the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee, the Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee and the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Subcommittee.

Prior to his time as a U.S. representative, Bishop served in the Army and worked as a lawyer. He also served in the Georgia House of Representatives from 1977 to 1990, and the Georgia Senate from 1991 to 1992.

Bishop considers himself a “fiscally responsible” Democrat, according to his biography on the U.S. House’s website. Bishop has supported legislation to lower taxes for Americans and increase small business lending, and supported a constitutional amendment that would require any new spending by Congress to be offset by spending cuts or increasing revenues.

Bishop has co-sponsored amendments to the U.S. Constitution that would forbid acts of desecration against the flag and allow voluntary, non-denominational prayer in schools and other public spaces. He has expressed support for abortion rights.