A Georgia congressional candidate convicted for illegally demonstrating inside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, has walked out of a televised debate with a fellow Republican.

A Georgia congressional candidate convicted of a misdemeanor for illegally demonstrating inside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, walked out of a televised debate with a fellow Republican on Sunday ahead of a June 18 primary runoff.

It was the latest volatile turn in southwest Georgia’s 2nd Congressional District, where Chuck Hand and Wayne Johnson are competing for the GOP nomination to take on 16-term Democratic incumbent Rep. Sanford Bishop in November.

Hand is one of at least four people convicted of Jan. 6 crimes running for Congress this year, all as Republicans. He was sentenced to 20 days in federal prison and six months of probation.

Nixon brought up a 2005 criminal trespass charge and a 2010 DUI charge against Hand, both of which were dismissed. Nixon also cited federal court documents to argue Hand’s participation in the Jan. 6 riot was more serious than Hand had claimed.

“This is where I get back in my truck and go back to southwest Georgia because I’ve got two races to win,” Hand said, walking out of the studio while cameras were rolling.

  • @girlfreddy@lemmy.caOP
    51•5 months ago

    If you can’t play important parts of the game, you really shouldn’t be running for election.

    I mean, I get it. There’s no way in hell I have the patience or diplomacy to be a politician. Because of that I would never run for office.

    Maybe it’s time there’s some kind of requirement that prospective candidates take a short course that would help them to understand what the real non-monetary cost of running would be.