Meet the Republican candidates battling for the U.S. House District 2 seat in Georgia

ALBANY – Four candidates are running in the Republican primary for the U.S. House District 2 seat.

Michael Nixon, Wayne Johnson, Regina Liparoto and Chuck Hand are vying to face Democratic Rep. Sanford Bishop Jr. in the November general election.

Georgia’s second Congressional district is the largest district in the country east of the Mississippi River. It stretches from Columbus and Macon all the way to Thomasville at the state’s southern border.

November will be the first national election after Georgia’s redistricting, which incorporated Thomas County, Warner Robins and Warner Robins Air Force Base into the district.

The most popular Republican candidate will face a 31-year incumbent and voters in a historically blue district in the November election.

Chuck Hand could not be reached for an interview in time for publication after multiple attempts to schedule one. His campaign site reads that he works in the construction industry and is a candidate for the “working class movement.”

Hand and his wife, Mandy Hand, were arrested for their alleged role in the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot. His site reads that they were arrested for “nonviolent protest participation” in the “Stop the Steal” rally.

Get to know the other candidates:

Michael Nixon is a graduate of Colquitt County High School and a self-proclaimed family man. He has a distinguished military career, having served active duty in both the Air Force and Navy, with three deployments from 2000 to 2011. He now serves in the Air National Guard while working full-time as a director for multiple departments at Colquitt Regional Medical Center.

Nixon said he is concerned about the current state of the U.S. military. He said the combination of a tense world stage, misplaced military aid sent to Ukraine, mixed signals as far as response to Israel and the implementation of DEI are lowering morale among troops and making it more difficult for military recruiters to secure new people.

“Since we've had an administration shift, we are weaker on the military level than we have been historically, and that's something that shows every day to these military members,” he said. “You should be uplifting these military members and giving them the support and showing them that they do serve a country that should be a force to reckon with.”

One of Nixon's congressional priorities is military and defense support – pushing for initiatives that support the military, veterans and tightening up border security. Nixon said his time served in the military would enable him to come up with myriad strategic ways to get initiatives across.

The candidate said he’s also concerned about addressing what he called an “economic crisis.” He said the federal government has been irresponsible with the taxpayers' dime as far as laying out the budget, leading to high costs for household items like gas and groceries.

He works in finance at Colquitt Regional Medical Center and said this background would help him plan a budget. He said he believes the federal government needs to decrease foreign aid and instead invest money in the U.S., as well as condense the federal government.

“The government is too bloated … it’s top-heavy,” Nixon said. “Everything should be run at the state level that can possibly be run at the state level.”

He also said there is opportunity for growth in Georgia’s District 2, which he said is the poorest district in the state and one of the 15 poorest in the country. He said he wants to create jobs that keep people in the district.

“We have to invest back into this district, and we have to start building,” Nixon said.

Nixon said he also is in tune with the needs of farmers. He said there needs to be a more simple, inexpensive way for farmers to hire larger numbers of migrant workers for longer periods of time. He said current processes, like H2A programs, place difficult limitations and expenses.

He said he’s been working across 30 counties to reach voters from both sides of the aisle. He said he makes it personal to voters – and nothing is more personal than their wallets.

“Let’s focus on person, not party,” Nixon said. “This is who I am as a person, and I’m willing to fight for you, regardless of what’s next to your name on a voter registration card. I want all citizens to do better in this district.”

Wayne Johnson is a Macon native, U.S. Army veteran, entrepreneur and former CEO of multiple domestic and international businesses in consumer finance and customer service support.

In 2017, he began serving as a senior student-loan official in the Trump administration. In 2019, he resigned and called for mass student loan forgiveness. He said he believes the federal government’s student loan system is flawed and is crippling students and families. Because of this, he is a strong supporter of grant funding for education.

Johnson referred to himself as a “Sam Nunn” Republican – someone who believes heavily in fiscal conservatism but appropriate social programs that meet the needs of the district.

His campaign slogan is “Stop the Stupid in D.C.”

Johnson’s campaign has a number of priorities, including the expansion of rural health care, increasing law enforcement pay, financing solutions for farmland irrigation and visa programs that support lawful immigration. He said migrant workers are crucial to farmers. He wants to advocate for work visas that last three to five years and can be renewed within the district.

He said he is most interested in serving on the House Agriculture, Education and Finance committees.

Johnson is concerned about border security and the proposed completion of a border wall. He said he believes the southern Border must be closed to illegal immigration.

“The biggest contributor to our southern border crisis is our very liberal amnesty,” he said. “This has now become a portal for the world to be able to access.”

Johnson is a proponent of school choice, especially in public schools. He said measures put in place by the Biden Administration have turned parents away from schools.

“Right now, parents are fearful and speaking up and they're at their school board meetings,” he said.

He said he wants to collaborate with state and local leaders to facilitate solutions to parental involvement, declining enrollment and a lack of funding for programs and facilities.

Johnson said he wants to address the need for workers in District 2. He said he wants to tap into vocational and technical programs within the district as well as promote the need for more of these programs.

Johnson said he recognizes the strong military makeup in Georgia’s second congressional district and wants to push to expand operations happening at Robins Air Force Base, Fort Moore and the Albany Marine Corps Logistics Base through more military-focused, technology-based jobs.

As a veteran, he said he also wants to see that veterans within District 2 are being properly taken care of and that military families are supported. As far as rural health care, Johnson said District 2 needs more ambulance services in its rural counties. Many EMS services, he said, are shared between multiple counties.

Johnson said he has business experience, both domestic and international, military experience, is in tune with the education system and has experience in D.C.’s executive branch.

Regina “Reggie” Liparoto grew up mostly in Columbus while her father served in the military. She said she grew up as a “military brat” and is now a military spouse.

Liparoto learned from her mom the importance of community connection, service and strong female leadership, noting that a woman has never served Georgia’s second Congressional District.

“So I have a little bit of a different campaign,” she said. “I have to kind of hike it uphill a little bit more because you know, a woman in south rural Georgia, men place you still in different places and they don't see you in a leadership role in that capacity as much as they do a man.”

Liparoto was a well-known television and radio personality, but she said her life has been largely dedicated to advocacy within her Columbus community.

“I would call myself not just a political activist, but someone who really is involved in their community,” she said. “I don’t just sit and talk about it; I say, ‘What can I do to make this better? How can I get volunteers? How can I put that together so that more people understand and educate them?’”

Liparoto served on the board for Columbus South Inc., a revitalization and preservation effort for south Columbus. She volunteered with a Columbus “Back the Blue” organization. She is a mother to an autistic son, so she’s advocated for people with special needs. She regularly wrote opinion editorials holding city council members to transparency standards and keeping officials in check. She is also a local animal rights activist in Columbus, advocating for a shelter rather than an animal control center.

She said this work has made her someone that community members look to when they want action. Liparoto’s social media bears the title “adorably deplorable” in her bio. She’s said she’s running because she’s unhappy with Bishop’s “monarchy” and how it's impacted the district.

She said farmers are suffering from his regulations.

“We’re cutting the hand that feeds us off,” she said. “Our farmers can’t turn a profit.”

Liparoto is firmly pro-life. She volunteers at the pro-life organization, Seneca, in Columbus. She said she’s concerned about the prevalence of sex trafficking in Georgia.

She's wary of Critical Race Theory materials and LGBTQ representations – like drag queens reading books – within schools.

“I am not phobic of anybody – trans, homo, whatever they are, LBGTQ,” Liparoto said. “You're an adult, and that is your choice. Do not impose your choices on children and rob them of innocence.”

She said Georgians in District 2 want to see real change at the local level and that her diverse experiences make her the right fit when it comes to working in House committees.

“I can get down to the nitty gritty of what people want in the district,” Liparoto said. “They want to know how they're going to put food on the table, how they're going to make a profit, how they're going to buy their medicine.”