Ten candidates vying for Georgia's 11th District post

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(The Center Square) - Ten candidates are running to fill the seat vacated by Georgia U.S. Congressman Barry Loudermilk, who announced he was not running for reelection.

Republicans John Cowan, John Hobbs and Chris Mora are among eight candidates seeking the party’s nomination in the 11th Congressional District.

Cowan, a neurosurgeon, said he would work to remove the federal government’s involvement in healthcare. He called for increased price transparency, targeting pharmacy benefit managers and expanding health savings accounts.

“When patients have power and the government steps back, prices come down,” Cowan wrote in a statement to The Center Square.

Cowan also called for greater transparency and for solutions to address the United States’ budget crisis. He said he would support legislation that caps annual deficits at 3% of GDP.

“Any serious cap needs automatic enforcement and a narrow supermajority carve-out for genuine emergencies, paired with a ban on congressional stock trading so the American people know their representatives are tightening belts right alongside them,” Cowan said.

John Hobbs, who is also seeking the Republican nomination, said he would eliminate the tax code entirely. He called for the elimination of property taxes and income tax.

“The government has no place in real estate, especially in taking homes from people,” Hobbs told The Center Square. “As long as property taxes exist, there’s no such thing as true ownership in this country.”

Both Hobbs and Cowan said they would work to bring federal investment back to the district. The two candidates said they would work to expand access to broadband, improve road quality and rural hospital funding.

“District 11 families send their hard earned tax dollars to Washington every year, and they deserve a representative who makes sure that money comes home to work for them,” Cowan said.

Also in the race are Chris Mora, Lisa Ann Carlquist, Rob Aderkerson, Uloma Stacy Kama and William Brown. They did not respond to a request for an interviews. 

Chris Harden and Barry Wolfert are running for the Democratic nomination in District 11. Harden told The Center Square he would increase access to healthcare in the district, including for abortion procedures.

“I’m one of the only people running on women’s reproductive rights,” Harden said. “We still have women who are having to carry dead fetuses because doctors can’t take care of them for fear of losing their license.”

Harden said he is hopeful Democrats can flip the seat in Georgia’s eleventh. He said the party is seeking to capitalize on affordability messaging to engage voters.

“A lot of people are upset with the way things are going right now,” Harden said. “I’m hopeful that people will look at the candidates and what they are saying and not just the ‘R’s’ and ‘D’s’.”

Wolfert did not respond to a request for an interview.