BYRON, Ga. — There’s a crowded field of challengers to Sanford Bishop in House District 2. Bishop, a Democrat from Columbus, has served 15 terms in Congress.
Six Republicans are running to replace him, including Rich Robertson from Byron, who recently retired from the Air Force.
“I don't care what they call me. I'm going to stand up for the American people. I'm going to stand up for what's right. I'm going to stand up for what's godly,” Robertson told 13WMAZ.
Lt. Col. Rich Robertson retired as a JAG attorney after serving 22 years in the Air Force, including time in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now, he wants to serve his country as Congressman to Georgia’s 2nd District.
Robertson says two priorities are establishing energy independence for the U.S. and getting a grasp on inflation.
“We have the oil and gas in this country, we just got to tap into it,” said Robertson. “So at the same time we're killing energy, we're printing dollars like there's no tomorrow. If I wanted to destroy the country and our economy, I would not change a single thing that this current administration and this Democrat-controlled Congress is doing,” he said.
He argues Americans’ 1st Amendment rights are being taken away, so he wants to protect free speech and religious liberties.
“We don't need a mommy and daddy government telling us what we can hear and what we can say. It's called the First Amendment and the founders fought for it and that's what this administration needs to give us,” he said.
Robertson also wants to address education. He claims teachers are robbing parents of the right to control their child’s education.
“We don't need teachers telling kids that they are the oppressed or the oppressor based on their skin color, which is what Critical Race Theory does. We don't need teachers telling five-year-old children that they can be whatever gender they want to be and then keep that a secret from the parents. This is abuse as far as I’m concerned,” he said.
Early voting began May 2. The primary is May 24.
You will be able to hear from the other candidates over the next few days as we continue our candidate profiles series.