Election Results: Former Trump Official Defeats Convicted January 6 Rioter

A former Trump administration official has won the GOP runoff in Georgia’s 2nd congressional district in southwest Georgia.

Wayne Johnson, a Macon Republican, was declared the winner by the Associated Press shortly after the polls closed Tuesday.

Johnson beat Chuck Hand, a construction superintendent who was one of a handful of convicted Jan. 6 rioters running for Congress. The other candidates criticized Hand for making his Jan. 6 conviction part of his campaign pitch.

Johnson, who was a senior official for the U.S. Department of Education under former President Donald Trump, will face longtime Congressman Sanford Bishop in November in the Democratic leaning district.

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The race had been a low-key affair until Hand drew national attention for abruptly walking out of an Atlanta Press Club debate earlier this month just minutes after it started.

In 2022, the National Republican Congressional Committee targeted Bishop’s seat as one it would attempt to flip that year. But in the end, Bishop handily won reelection by nearly 10 percentage points. The seat is not on the NRCC’s list of targets for this year.

The post Former Trump administration official to head GOP ticket in November contest against Bishop appeared first on Georgia Recorder.

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