10th Congressional District features activists from different sides

State Sen. Buddy Carter, Republican

Brian Reese, Democrat

District 2

U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop, Democrat

Greg Duke, Republican

District 3

U.S. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, Republican

District 4

U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson, Democrat

District 5

U.S. Rep. John Lewis, Democrat

District 6

Robert Montigel, Democrat

U.S. Rep. Tom Price, Republican

District 7

Thomas Wight, Democrat

U.S. Rep. Rob Woodall, Republican

District 8

U.S. Rep. Austin Scott, Republican

District 9

U.S. Rep. Doug Collins, Republican

David Vogel, Democrat

District 10

Ken Dious, Democrat

Jody Hice Republican

District 11

Barry Loudermilk, Republican

District 12

Rick Allen, Republican

U.S. Rep. John Barrow, Democrat

District 13

U.S. Rep. David Scott, Democrat

District 14

U.S. Rep. Tom Graves, Republican

You could call Georgia’s 10th Congressional District race the clash of the activists.

On one side is Ken Dious, a Democrat and a longtime civil rights attorney. He marched against the Ku Klux Klan and segregation in Athens in the 1960s.

On the other side is Jody Hice, a Republican and former Baptist minister from Monroe. He fought for a Ten Commandments display in the Barrow County Courthouse and wrote a book about his Christian worldview and his plan to save America from “cultural erosion.”

Dious, the underdog in the race, has gone on the attack by highlighting some of Hice’s controversial statements about same-sex marriage and women serving in politics. Hice is brushing off the criticism, saying Dious is “out of touch” with the needs of the vast 10th District, which stretches from eastern Gwinnett County to the Savannah River.

Whoever prevails on Nov. 4 will head to Washington with at least two other new congressmen from Georgia. The new lawmakers will be able to thank U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss for their jobs. Here’s why: Dious and Hice are vying to replace Republican U.S. Rep. Paul Broun. Broun and fellow Republican U.S. Reps. Phil Gingrey and Jack Kingston created openings for their seats when they ran unsuccessfully this year to replace Chambliss.

In all, 21 candidates are seeking Georgia’s 14 House seats. Six incumbents and one newcomer don’t have any challengers on the ballot. Most of the other incumbents are heavy favorites. The most competitive race is in the 12th District, where five-term U.S. Rep. John Barrow faces perhaps his toughest challenge. In a district redrawn to evict him, and in a midterm year where turnout leans more Republican, the Augusta Democrat faces Rick Allen, the owner of a construction business in Augusta.

Next door in Georgia’s 10th District race, Dious is running on a shoestring budget in an area that went heavily for Republican Mitt Romney over President Barack Obama in 2012. As of July, Dious had raised just $31,795 to Hice’s whopping $567,918.

Dious faced no Democratic primary opposition. In contrast, Hice survived a seven-way GOP primary and then defeated Mike Collins, a trucking company executive from Jackson, in July’s GOP primary runoff. Both have run unsuccessfully for public office before — Dious for state representative in the 1980s and Hice for Congress in 2010.

It’s easy to draw sharp contrasts between the two as they have staked out opposite positions. Dious favors retaining the federal health care law, while Hice wants to scrap it. Dious supports bipartisan Senate legislation that includes a path to citizenship for immigrants living illegally in the U.S. Hice opposes granting “amnesty” to such immigrants and wants to block automatic birthright citizenship for the U.S.-born children of those living here without legal status.

Dious is highlighting his involvement in the civil rights movement. While growing up in Athens, he marched to integrate a Varsity restaurant there, sometimes getting in fistfights with the KKK. In 1966, he became the first black to make the University of Georgia football team. After graduating from UGA’s law school, Dious went to work for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, arguing civil rights cases in federal courts.

Hice is known for battling with the Internal Revenue Service over regulations that say clergy can risk the loss of tax-exempt status of their churches by making public endorsements. He has also garnered attention for clashing with the American Civil Liberties Union over the Ten Commandments display in Barrow.

During the GOP primary runoff, Hice drew fire from Collins for telling The Athens Banner-Herald in 2004 that he doesn’t see a problem with women serving in positions of political power “if the woman’s within the authority of her husband.”

Hice has said his words have been taken out of context and that he meant married people should consult each other before running for public office since political campaigns can be time-consuming, expensive and stressful.

Hice has also attracted controversy with his 2012 book, “It’s Now or Never: A Call to Reclaim America.” In arguing against same-sex marriage, Hice wrote: “Some ask the question, ‘How does same-sex marriage threaten your marriage?’ The answer is similar to asking, ‘How does a trashy neighborhood affect you?’ ”

When asked about those comments, Hice stresses his support for traditional marriage, saying “children should have the benefit of being raised by a loving mother and father. Strong families make strong communities.”

Dious is now distributing fliers seeking to remind voters of Hice’s comments about women and same-sex marriage. Dious said Hice is too divisive to work with the Obama administration in creating jobs and boosting education in the 10th District. He added he considers it his responsibility to run against what he described as extremism.

“I always have opposed that all my life, so this is not anything new for me at all,” Dious said in a recent interview in his Athens law office. “If I don’t, those extreme views are allowed to grow.”

Hice was unavailable for an in-person interview, but he answered questions sent to him by email.

“I have seen tactics like this before — it happens when a candidate is unable to run on a message of their own because they are out of touch with the needs and concerns of the people of the district,” Hice wrote in an email about Dious’ attack. “My message is resonating with the people of the 10th District. It’s a clear one that consists of Constitutionally-limited government, repealing and replacing Obamacare, and encouraging economic growth and bringing jobs to Georgia.”

Such controversies aren’t new in the 10th District. Broun, one of the most conservative members of Congress, likes to call President Barack Obama a communist and once said evolution is a “lie from the pit of hell.” He won re-election three times.

Hice’s positions on Obamacare and illegal immigration are among the reasons why Judy Bailey is planning to vote for him. The Lawrenceville Republican activist rushed up to hug Hice at a Gwinnett County Republican Party meeting this month.

“I just know him to be a good, honest man,” said Bailey, an engineer. “He will stand by his principles.”

Alvin Sheats is backing Dious because he supports keeping the health care law in place. Dious recently stopped by to visit Sheats at a large red tent outside a strip mall in Athens, where Sheats was selling fried fish sandwiches for a community development corporation he leads.

“We need someone up there (in Washington) who understands the needs of the everyday person,” Sheats said. “I’ve known him for years. He is a charitable guy and a people person. … You have to have love for the people to be a good representative. And Mr. Dious has that.”