MACON, Ga. — Republican Incumbent Austin Scott is running against Democrat Lindsay Holliday for the District 8 seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Austin Scott was first elected back in 2011 after serving 14 years in the Georgia House of Representatives.
He is from Augusta, Georgia, but is now based in Tifton and worked as an insurance broker for 20 years.
Scott currently serves on the Armed Services Committee and the House Agriculture Committee.
He says he is proud of the work he has done since taking office.
"I am and have been a fact-based decision-maker. I’m willing to work across the aisle. We have done that with our Georgia colleagues over disaster relief. We’ve done it with our Georgia colleagues on what’s right for the military bases in Georgia. I take your national security very seriously and always have and always will."
Scott says he wants to continue working to support military installations in our area and bring economic relief to the agriculture industry.
"There's work still to be done. We've got a lot of work left to do on the National Security related issues and making sure we have a strong voice for Georgia's military bases," says Scott. "We still need some targeted relief to industries. The airline industry is an example of one that needs targeted relief. Our ag producers need some targeted relief."
Linsday Holliday, better known as "Doc" Holliday, was born and raised in Macon and has worked as a dentist since 1983.
He is currently Chair of the 9-county Ocmulgee River Soil and Water Conservation District.
Holliday says Scott needed opposition, so he decided to run.
"I'm running because no other Democrat would run," he says. "My opponent is an acolyte. He’s totally subservient to the man who has brought chaos to our country for the last four years."
Holliday says he is tired of the chaos in the country.
"There were no demonstrations in the street. They just weren't there. There was no public versus police, it just wasn't there. This administration has to go before we can calm down and be a productive country again," says Holliday. "Anybody that speaks up against Trump gets crushed and they’ve all fallen in line. There are no more independent thinkers in that group and it’s so sad for our country."
Scott says he is happy with the way the country has responded to the COVID-19 pandemic and wants to keep Operation Warp Speed on track.
"Operation Warp Speed is the development of the vaccine and the distribution of the vaccine for COVID-19. Until that is done, I think we have a very hard time getting the economy back on track," says Scott. "There’s been a lot of finger-pointing on this. In the end, I don’t think there is one right thing or one wrong thing."
Holliday says he is disappointed in the COVID-19 response.
If elected, he says he wants to change the culture around wearing a mask.
"I'm a healthcare professional, the pandemic has been grossly mismanaged. The science was there."
Both men encourage Georgians to get out and vote.
District 8 includes Warner Robins, Tifton, Thomasville, Moultrie, and portions of Macon and Valdosta.