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Macon, GA – 
In addition to Johnson and Rep. Bishop, the forum included Republican candidates Vivian Childs of Houston County, Paul Whitehead of Bibb County and Rich Robertson of Peach County. Jeremey Hunt and Chris West declined the invitation.
While Johnson expressed his disappointment that Hunt and West didn’t honor the process of this forum with their involvement, Johnson said he had a good talk with Rep. Bishop prior to the moderated event. The 30-year incumbent congressman called the discussion “interesting” when he passed Johnson upon leaving Macon City Hall.
“It was interesting because we had the chance to show how out of touch Rep. Bishop is with the day-to-day priorities of the 2ndDistrict and how different our views are on the issues voters face,” said Johnson.
In their closing comments, Rep. Bishop said he saw his tenure in Congress as a “ministry,” to which Johnson replied, “I believe in public service. I do not want to be the district’s pastor, but their hard-working congressman.”
Of the issues discussed, one question asked for the top three national security issues facing America. While Bishop listed domestic terrorism as the only issue, Johnson pointed out that China, energy independence and funding of local law enforcement were the key issues.
“I was stunned by his answer, since it was clearly just a reference to radical groups,” said Johnson. “It is hard for Sanford to be more out of touch than that. Everyday citizens understand that China is strangling our economy, that pumping billions of dollars into the pockets of our enemies with oil purchases is just stupid, and that under-funding of paychecks for local law enforcement undermines our day-to-day public safety.”
Another topic discussed was climate change. While Rep. Bishop regurgitated the Democratic “Green New Deal” fear-mongering rhetoric, Johnson explained that climate change mitigation is achieved by regaining energy independence through multiple sources and eventually moving to nuclear energy. He backed up his answer with experience as someone who once built a biodiesel plant to produce clean energy and stated he would take informed and specific actions once in congress.
“Under President Trump, America was achieving energy independence, yet Rep. Bishop’s rubber stamp for Biden and Pelosi policies have torn that down in less than two years,” Johnson said. “There can be no more defining issue that impacts citizens’ pocketbooks than what the Democrats have done to our energy policy. The cost of energy affects everything.”
Equal pay for women and minorities was also part of the issue debate, and again Johnson and Rep. Bishop offered radically different views.
When Johnson was serving as a senior executive in the Trump Administration as part of the Department of Education, he emphatically broke through the bureaucracy and battled the status quo in Washington by demanding and achieving equal pay for everyone he hired during his tenure.
“I didn’t just talk about it, as Rep. Bishop does,” said Johnson. “I did not wait for the bureaucrats to decide; I just used my authority and acted. That is what stopping the stupid in Washington is all about.” Lastly, Johnson was asked about the concerns non-Christians have with the focus on bringing Christian values back to government. “Treat every person the way we want to be treated,” Johnson responded. “We will always defend the right of every citizen to his or her religion.” As a response, Rep. Bishop acknowledged that he agreed with Johnson.
Johnson obtained his undergraduate and doctoral degrees from Mercer University and his MBA from Emory University. He was born, raised and currently resides in Macon.
Contact:
Dan McLagan
478-324-8856
media@johnsoncongress.com
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