Former Donald Trump aide Brian Jack wins Georgia congressional seat, defeating Democrat Maura Keller
Former Donald Trump aide Brian Jack won election to Congress from Georgia on Tuesday, leaving no distance between himself and Trump in winning his first term.
Jack’s victory came as longtime incumbent Democrat Sanford Bishop sought a 17th term in Congress in southwest Georgia’s 2nd Congressional District.
Those were the two highest-profile congressional races in the state in an election where no statewide candidates were on the ballot. Voters across Georgia also approved a measure limiting increases in a home’s value for property tax purposes. But the most competitive elections were in a handful of state House races, where Democrats are trying to reduce the Republican majority.
Both major parties contested all 14 of Georgia’s congressional districts, where Republicans held a 9-5 majority before Tuesday. Many incumbents were easily breezing to victory Tuesday, including Marjorie Taylor Greene in northwest Georgia’s 14th District.
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Jack won Georgia’s 3rd District south and west of Atlanta. He defeated Democrat Maura Keller in a GOP-tilting seat that was open because U.S. Rep. Drew Ferguson is retiring.
A 36-year-old Peachtree City native, Jack was the political director in Trump’s White House and later worked for U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Trump’s repeated endorsement and access to McCarthy’s fundraising network carried Jack to victory in a crowded Republican primary. Keller is a retired Army lieutenant colonel and Fayetteville resident.
She ran on a platform of abortion rights, better veterans services and higher wages, while Jack emphasized he would be a partner to Trump on economic and immigration issues.
Jack told The Associated Press in a phone interview after winning Tuesday that his top priority will be renewing the tax cut package passed under Donald Trump in 2017 and enacting other Trump pledges including eliminating income tax on tips and Social Security benefits.
“I’m incredibly grateful and, at the same time, motivated to do the job they elected me to do and deliver on the campaign promises I made,” Jack said.
Bishop has long focused on his legislative achievements and what his seniority helps him accomplish, calling himself a moderate. He has courted largely white farmers who drive the rural economy and supported military bases. His opponent, Republican Wayne Johnson, worked in the U.S. Department of Education under Donald Trump. Johnson had pledged to focus on the economic well-being of constituents in one of Georgia’s poorest regions. The 2nd runs across 30 counties, stretching into Columbus and Macon.
Georgia voters easily approved a state constitutional amendment to curb rising property tax bills by limiting how much of a home’s increasing value can be taxed. The amendment will limit increases in a home’s value for tax purposes to the broader rate of inflation each year.
Supporters say it will protect current homeowners from ever-higher property tax bills, but opponents warn that the caps will unfairly shift the burden onto new homeowners, renters and other property holders.
Voters also approved another referendum that would raise the value of business property such as machinery that could be deducted from property taxes. Also on the ballot was the creation of a statewide tax court.
Georgia is one of eight states where voters were deciding property tax measures on Tuesday, showing how rising tax bills are influencing politics nationwide.
From 2018 to 2022, the total assessed value of property across Georgia rose by nearly 39%, according to the Georgia Department of Revenue. Most governments pocketed increased revenues without raising tax rates, boosting employee pay and other spending.
Lawmakers proposed the amendment after hearing from constituents angry about rising tax bills. The protection will last as long as someone owns their home. The assessed value will reset to the market value when a home is sold, with new homeowners then getting the benefit of the cap on the higher price.
Dozens of Georgia counties, cities and school systems already operate under local assessment caps. But school systems have been wary, warning the cap could starve them of needed funds. Most school districts can’t raise property tax rates above a certain level.
To ease schools’ concerns, the measure gives local governments and school districts until March 1 to opt out. Any that do not will be permanently governed by the cap.
Beyond the presidential race, Georgia’s most competitive elections this year were in a handful of its 180 state House districts. Democrats are trying to reduce the Republicans’ current 102-78 majority in the lower chamber of the General Assembly.
The hardest fought districts included six stretching across northern Atlanta suburbs in Fulton and Gwinnett counties. Each party was trying to wrest away three districts held by the other. Democrats campaigned on overturning Georgia’s current abortion restrictions, doing more to limit guns, and expanding the Medicaid program to more low-income adults. Republicans touted their support for low taxes, police and school vouchers.
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