Meagan Hanson joined the growing field of Republicans seeking to challenge U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath for a competitive U.S. House seat that now spans north Atlanta’s suburbs.
A former state legislator, Hanson said Monday she’d fight to “get America back on track” by pushing for lower taxes and standing against the Democratic agenda.
“Conservative values aren’t just a talking point for me,” said Hanson, an attorney, in a statement. “They are what I’ve been fighting for my entire life – on the grassroots level, in the legislature, and in the court system.”
She joins an unsettled field aiming to unseat McBath, who won the seat in 2018 and fended off a comeback attempt by Republican Karen Handel last year.
The district now cuts a swath from east Cobb County to north DeKalb, straddling Atlanta’s northern arc. But state lawmakers are set to redraw the boundaries later this year as part of a once-a-decade redistricting process, and the new map might make McBath’s seat significantly more competitive.
Still, since potential candidates still don’t know what the district boundaries will be, the contest has gotten off to a slower start. So far, candidates include U.S. Army veteran Harold Earls and activist Suzi Voyles. Jake Evans, a former Georgia ethics commission chair, is expected to run. Retired U.S. Army colonel Eric Welsh recently dropped his bid.
Depending on how the district lines are drawn, Republican candidates in the neighboring 7th District could also switch races to challenge McBath. That means Dr. Rich McCormick, an emergency room physician who narrowly lost to Democrat Carolyn Bourdeaux in 2020, could swap contests.
Hanson stands apart from the other contenders as the only with elected experience.
She narrowly unseated Democratic state Rep. Taylor Bennett to retake a Brookhaven-based district in 2016. Two years later, she lost to Democrat Matthew Wilson as the suburban district tilted more solidly Democratic.
Hanson since moved to Sandy Springs and is a frequent presence at the Capitol as a lobbyist and on the airwaves as a conservative pundit. She leaned on her political experience in her campaign announcement.
“I’ve never backed down – and I’m ready for this fight because my family’s future, and the future of those in our community, depend on it.”
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