From a freshman to a 13-term stalwart, Atlanta-area U.S. House members from both parties face challengers in the July 31 primary election.
The challengers come from a variety of backgrounds and most are political newcomers, but shared the sentiment that a stumbling economy and dysfunctional Congress need shaking up. The incumbents generally agree things should be better, but contend that they are fighting the good fight on behalf of their districts.
"People are frustrated with Congress," said Marietta Republican U.S. Rep. Phil Gingrey. "But when you ask them again: 'Is your member of Congress part of the problem or do you think that he or she is one that needs to be there to be part of the ultimate solution?' I think in regard to my candidacy for re-election they would say very strongly ... that Dr. Gingrey is representing us well."
Gingrey, an obstetrician/gynecologist serving his fifth term, is facing two Republican primary opponents in the newly redrawn 11th District that stretches from Cartersville to Buckhead: William Llop of Sandy Springs and Michael Opitz of Marietta.
Llop, a 53-year-old accountant making his first run for public office, is focusing on tax policy. He proposes to create a new 50 percent top income tax rate for people making more than $2.5 million per year. Llop said the extra revenue can be used to reduce the nation's deficits.
Congressional Republicans have resisted any revenue increases, but Llop said he rejects the popular no-new-taxes pledge because it stifles compromise.
"That's one of the reasons we're in this big deadlock right now," Llop said.
Opitz, 66, a mediator and arbitrator who retired from AT&T/Lucent Technologies, said his primary concern is restoring manufacturing jobs that have gone overseas. He would start by imposing a 25 percent tariff on all Chinese goods.
Opitz classified himself as a tea party supporter and "constitutional conservative," accusing Gingrey of impinging on Americans' civil liberties with his vote for a defense bill that permits detaining terror suspects indefinitely.
"Any time a congressman votes to diminish the rights of the citizen and make a law that flies in the face of the Constitution, then we have to question their motives," Opitz said.
Gingrey, 70, said Opitz is misconstruing the law, which never allowed the indefinite detention of U.S. citizens. House Republicans inserted additional language into this year's defense authorization bill to reinforce the prohibition.
In making his case for re-election, Gingrey touted that National Journal magazine ranked him tied for the most conservative House member based on his voting record last year.
5th District
Atlanta U.S. Rep. John Lewis faces his first Democratic primary challenger since 2008 in former Fulton County Superior Court Judge Michael Johnson.
Johnson, 44, a former prosecutor from Atlanta, announced his candidacy shortly after resigning from the court last year.
Johnson said the "worse Congress ever" has not been productive and cited ratings agency Standard & Poor's decision last year to downgrade the nation's credit rating.
Johnson bemoaned the joblessness and home foreclosures in the 5th congressional district, which includes parts of Clayton, DeKalb and Fulton counties. He would focus on securing more federal funds for the district as part of making job creation his top priority.
"I absolutely believe that we can do better in terms of what we have been bringing back home to the district," said Johnson, a longtime community volunteer and former chairman of the Atlanta Board of Ethics.
In his bid to win his 14th straight congressional election, Lewis — now 72 — is emphasizing his experience. He is a member of the powerful Ways and Means Committee and he serves as senior chief deputy whip in the House Democratic Caucus.
Lewis is also touting his well-known civil rights work in the 1960s. His campaign has been raising money by selling autographed posters of his Atlanta police mug shot from 1963, when he participated in a sit-in to protest a local restaurant's refusal to serve blacks. Lewis is well-known for helping lead the voting rights march in 1965 from Selma, Ala., to Montgomery.
"I never, never ever take any election for granted," said Lewis, who received President Barack Obama's endorsement last month. "I work like this is my first race. ... No one will ever outwork me."
4th District
Two Democrats are challenging U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson in a district that includes parts of DeKalb, Gwinnett and Newton counties and all of Rockdale County.
Courtney Dillard, 49, a Christian minister and real estate developer from Conyers, and Lincoln Nunnally, 32, a consultant from Newton County who is making his first bid for public office, are vying for Johnson's seat.
Dillard said people should vote for him because he will stand up for "jobs, justice, fairness and faith." He has been critical of Johnson's vote against a Republican-pushed resolution to reaffirm "In God We Trust" as the nation's motto.
"Not only was I enraged, but a lot of the people in the community felt like it was spit in the face," said Dillard, who ran unsuccessfully for the Rockdale County Commission in 2010.
Johnson, 57, said he voted against the resolution because that wording has long been the nation's motto and he felt Congress had more important things to focus on.
Johnson and Dillard both support the federal healthcare overhaul, while Nunnally said he might seek to repeal the requirement that people purchase health insurance.
Nunnally also supports executing people convicted of attempting or committing murder, rape or molestation within five years if "no evidence brings a shadow of a doubt" to their conviction.
"Your peers, who basically can relate to you and who are more or less on your side, if they say, 'Look, you are guilty of this,' then why waste time?" he said. "Maybe we need to be hard on some issues."
Johnson defeated then-U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney in a 2006 Democratic primary runoff to capture her seat. In May, McKinney filed papers to run for her old seat this year under the Green Party banner.
A former DeKalb magistrate judge and county commissioner, Johnson said he is focusing on helping Obama succeed. Johnson co-chaired Obama's Georgia campaign and has received Obama's endorsement.
"I believe that I have proven myself to the people of the Fourth District," said Johnson, a member of the House Armed Services and Judiciary committees. "I think they support me and I certainly love them and would continue to work hard for the people of the Fourth."
7th District
Republican U.S. Rep. Rob Woodall of Lawrenceville is in his first term representing the Seventh District, which now includes the bulk of Gwinnett and Forsyth counties. And that's long enough for any member, in the eyes of challenger David Hancock.
The Suwanee software engineer is not accepting donations and he pledges not to do so once he gets to Washington, either. He argued that members spend too much time campaigning and raising money and he vowed not to campaign for a second term if elected.
As far as policy, Hancock, 51, takes a tea party approach that includes an audit of the federal reserve and a more aggressive approach to reducing budget deficits.
"If it's not in the Constitution, if it raises spending, if it increases the size of the federal government, just vote no," Hancock said. "I'm not there to make friends and make a career."
He said he was inspired to run when Congress -- including Woodall -- voted to raise the federal borrowing limit last year in exchange for future budget cuts.
Woodall, 42, defended the vote, saying the deal brought historic cuts and refusing to raise the debt ceiling will do nothing for the nation's spending ills, as Congress already authorized the spending.
"I get it why folks want to cut more, but that was a deal that got us to cut $2 trillion and if we hadn't done that we would have gotten zero," Woodall said.
The freshman said he has carried the banner for his predecessor and former boss, U.S. Rep. John Linder, in pushing the Fair Tax -- a new national sales tax to replace the income tax. Also, Woodall said he has made an extraordinary effort to be accessible to constituents and visible in the community, a notion even Hancock concedes.
3rd District
Coweta County Republican U.S. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland has compiled one of the most conservative voting records in the House, but nonetheless has two foes attacking him from the right for not doing enough to shrink the federal government.
Chip Flanegan, a Henry County resident and owner of Jonesboro Rental Center, vows to bring the penny-pinching values of a small businessman to Washington, relying on the experience of running his company for 32 years through recessions, a devastating fire and a tornado.
Flanegan's chief aim is to reduce government spending, something he said Westmoreland has not lived up to by supporting budget deficits when Republicans controlled Congress during the George W. Bush administration. He also thinks the cuts Republicans passed in this Congress were not big enough.
"I wouldn't vote to continue the spending," said Flanegan, 53.
Former Lamar County commission chairman Kent Kingsley agreed, calling for immediate and drastic spending cuts. He wants to eliminate the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Homeland Security, among other agencies, cut down the Pentagon and commit to "serious reforms" of entitlement programs such as Medicare.
Kingsley, 60, who owns a realty company in Milner, said Westmoreland is not active enough on legislative matters and that "he puts his name on things because it's expected."
Westmoreland, 62, said reversing trillion-dollar deficits takes time — and a fully Republican Congress, which he is helping to shape in his leadership post for the National Republican Congressional Committee. He envisions a dramatic fifth term if Republicans pick up the Senate and the White House.
"I see myself as being is one of those people that's ready to lead the team and go forward and make some very solid, constructive changes in the way this government operates," Westmoreland said.
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