N. Georgia voters face congressional choices

North Georgia’s midterm congressional elections feature a hotly contested race to fill the seat of a retiring Republican congressman plus four other races involving well-funded incumbents.

In the 7th District, Democrat Doug Heckman is vying with Republican Rob Woodall to replace Rep. John Linder. A Republican, Linder is retiring after about 18 years in Congress. His district includes most of Gwinnett County, parts of Forsyth and Newton counties and all of Barrow and Walton counties.

This isn’t Heckman’s first attempt at Linder’s seat. An Army colonel who has done two tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan, Heckman picked up 38 percent of the vote in his loss to Linder in the 2008 election for his seat.

“I like to tell people that I’m a package deal. You are getting not only proven leadership but also a certain amount of policy,” said Heckman, the recipient of three Bronze Stars.

Woodall, who defeated radio talk show host Jody Hice in a GOP runoff in August, has been campaigning on his experience as Linder's chief of staff. He worked as the congressman’s chief of staff from 1999 to this year, when he resigned to focus on his campaign. Woodall has promised to be accessible to constituents.

“There really is no time for on-the-job training,” Woodall said.

Linder has endorsed Woodall’s candidacy and has credited him with helping improve and promote a proposal to replace the federal income tax with a national sales tax. Heckman said that proposal is regressive and that there are better ways to reform the nation’s tax system. Woodall, however, said the idea has been thoroughly studied and would help stimulate the nation’s economy.

Woodall, meanwhile, holds a sizable lead over Heckman in campaign fundraising, according to new federal campaign finance filings. Heckman raised $53,965 through the third quarter of this year and had $7,234 left on hand, while Woodall raised $307,309 and had $82,994 left.

U.S. House incumbents across the state had about 4 1/2 times as much cash on hand as their opponents did at the end of the third quarter.

Here is who is running in the other races:

• 4th District: Democratic Rep. Hank Johnson is seeking to fend off a challenge from Republican Liz Carter, an entrepreneur. This district includes most of DeKalb County and parts of Gwinnett and Rockdale counties.

• 5th District: Republican Fenn Little, an attorney, is challenging Democratic Rep. John Lewis in this district. The district includes much of Fulton County and western DeKalb County and northern Clayton County.