“My campaign isn’t based on Jan. 6. The only reason Jan. 6 ever comes up in the campaign is so that you three cannot throw it in my face,” he said to his opponents at the Atlanta Press Club showdown, maintaining that it won’t matter to voters.

“The people of southwest Georgia are going to hire me for this job because I’m one of them,” he said.

Credit: Screenshot

Credit: Screenshot

Whoever emerges from the May 21 primary has little shot at defeating Democratic U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop, a 16-term lawmaker whose dominant victory in 2022 over a well-funded opponent scared away more formidable challengers this cycle.

And Hand, a construction worker, is no political juggernaut. His campaign reported less than $400 in cash in its account in the most recent disclosure; he has few events on his calendar; and he stunned his opponents with a swipe at farmers during his debate.

Still, local politicos and his rivals say Hand has a solid chance to secure the GOP nod for the district, which spans parts of Albany, Columbus and Macon. There’s no clear favorite in the contest that also includes A. Wayne Johnson, Regina Liparoto and Michael Nixon.

“Anyone could win this race,” Johnson said as he was campaigning in Hand’s hometown of Butler.

‘Change Washington’

On the campaign trail, Hand tells voters he isn’t focusing his bid for office on the arrest “or Donald Trump’s name.” But he doesn’t shy away from what happened.

He and his wife, Mandy Robinson-Hand, were arrested in 2022 after a plethora of evidence and closed-caption footage presented at court led authorities to the Taylor County couple.

In a Facebook post at the time, Hand said he “decided to beat the crowd” and march on the Capitol before Trump finished speaking to supporters on the Ellipse. His wife texted friends that she and her husband felt like “rebels” as they emerged from the building later. To her children, she wrote: “Be proud of your parents.”

The two pleaded guilty in 2022 to a misdemeanor charge of illegally demonstrating in the U.S. Capitol. They were sentenced to 20 days in federal prison and six months of probation.

Since then, Hand has been unapologetic about his role. In an interview, he said he tries not to talk about it much, “but there will be a time for it.” In one campaign post, he said that he wanted to protest a “cheated” election and “corrupt” voting machines, repeating election fraud lies and conspiracy theories about the 2020 election.

Trump lost the race in Georgia to Joe Biden by about 12,000 votes, and the outcome has been repeatedly upheld by recounts, audits and investigations.

Hand is far from the only candidate involved in the pro-Trump mob on Jan. 6 to seek public office. There are at least a half-dozen others across the nation, according to an NBC News tally, including contenders in races in Arizona, Missouri, Texas and West Virginia.

And in Georgia, a right-wing activist who organized a pro-Trump demonstration in Washington that preceded the violent mob is seeking a key party post. Amy Kremer is challenging Ginger Howard to serve as one of Georgia’s members of the Republican National Committee.

Karen Owen, a political scientist at the University of West Georgia, said the arrest could benefit Hand’s campaign in a GOP primary dominated by Trump supporters.

“So many of those Republican voters are Trump loyalists, and it’s not going to bother them,” she said. “There are a lot of voters who are unhappy with the economy, unhappy with Washington, and Hand can play off that.”

That’s one reason his Republican opponents are treating his background gingerly. Liparoto mentioned the Jan. 6 riot in positive terms at the debate, saying Hand’s arrest was something that “no American should have to happen to them.”

And Johnson, who once held a top post in the federal government’s student financial aid agency, has praised Hand for focusing his campaign on “everyday working-class concerns” beyond his participation in the pro-Trump mob.

“It’s not about Jan. 6. It’s about how we can change Washington,” said Johnson, who added that it’ll take a contender with deep resources and a broader message to beat Bishop in November.

“This district can be truly contestable if you have a serious candidate,” he said. “I think I’m that candidate.”

‘Save democracy’

Hand is quick to acknowledge that he’s not as polished as others who have taken on Bishop over the past two decades.

Much of his campaign involves homemade digital videos at construction sites, including one ad that echoes Gov. Brian Kemp’s promise to “round up” people in the U.S. illegally in his pickup truck. And at the debate, his first as a candidate, Hand took a surprising knock at the state’s largest industry.

“Of course, we have to do more for our farmers. But I’m telling you, us working-class folks are tired of hearing about it,” Hand said. “What about the framers, the welders, mechanics, nurses, welders and teachers? We’ve got to do more for all of the working-class people of southwest Georgia, not just the farmers.”

Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC

Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC

No matter who emerges from the race, Bishop is heavily favored to win another term. He’s cultivated a reputation as a moderate, and he used his perch as the top Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee to hone his support even with farmers who dominate the district.

The longest-serving U.S. House member in Georgia’s delegation, Bishop in 2022 defeated his most formidable GOP challenger in a dozen years, sailing to a 10-point victory despite Biden’s low approval ratings and a Republican-backed revamp of the district that made it slightly more conservative.

Even so, a Hand victory in this month’s primary would bring more scrutiny to what so far has been a sleepy contest — and more attention to Democrats who have invoked the Jan. 6 attack with “save democracy” messages across the nation.

In an interview, Hand said the arrest could help undercut Bishop in November by appealing to “minority communities who can relate to the two-tiered justice system.” He added that it helped make him the “only candidate in this race that can pull from Bishop’s support.”

If he wins the Republican nomination, Hand said, he would emphasize his arrest even more in a general election campaign, when a broader electorate heads to the polls. For now, though, he’s sticking to his strategy.

“It hasn’t come up negatively on the trail at all. I hardly touch on it,” he said. “My campaign is about the working-class people of southwest Georgia — period.”