Hunt, West trade barbs over robocalls days before bitter congressional runoff
.jpg "Chris West, left, and Jeremy Hunt, right, are the two Republicans heading to a runoff in Georgia’s 2nd Congressional District. The winner will face incumbent Sanford Bishop")
Republicans Jeremy Hunt and Chris West are pointing fingers at each other over a flurry of unsourced robocalls days before the pair face off in Georgia’s 2nd Congressional District runoff.
According to call audio obtained by the Ledger-Enquirer and interviews with two Columbus residents who identified as Hunt voters, the calls are made to appear as if they come from someone affiliated with the Hunt campaign, but the underlying message is meant to drive support away from Hunt.
One call attempted to make Hunt appear as if he were not supportive of former President Donald Trump. Another call makes it seem as if Hunt is attacking Chris West for using his Christian views to get votes. A voter told the Ledger-Enquirer that he’s received 30 robocalls ahead of the runoff.
“It’s time to bring the Republican Party out of the past and into the future with Jeremy Hunt,” one of the calls says. “Although some of former President Trump’s policies did well, his divisive language was just too much for our country. We have an opportunity with Jeremy Hunt to be smart and modernize our party for the better. No more conspiracy theories. No more racism. Lock arms and join us for victory June 21.”
The prerecorded message does not identify the source of the call as required by the Federal Communications Commission.
Hunt alleges that West’s campaign is behind the calls, citing West’s close relationship with the 2nd Congressional District GOP chair Brandon Phillips, who is a partner at political consulting firm WiregrassGroup. The pair used to work together at the firm.
Wiregrass is working with Republican Mike Collins, who is in a runoff against Vernon Jones in Georgia’s 10th Congressional District. In that race, robocalls aggressively attack Collins in an attempt to make Jones look bad, a Hunt spokesperson said.
Both Jones and Hunt made similar social media posts encouraging residents to report the calls to the FCC.
“I think it’s clear ... that it’s another dirty political trick from Chris West and Brandon Phillips,” Hunt told the Ledger-Enquirer.
‘This absolutely didn’t come from our campaign’
Attempts to contact Phillips before publication were unsuccessful. However, federal election data shows that West hasn’t paid Wiregrass for services during the election.
West spokesperson Stephen Lawson told the Ledger-Enquirer that West hasn’t worked for the firm in several years and that the campaign is not behind the calls.
“This absolutely didn’t come from our campaign. But it does sound like something the Hunt campaign or the numerous Washington D.C. Super PAC’s supporting him — which have flooded the district with over $1.2 million to attack Chris West —might have done,” he said.
“Jeremy Hunt continues to attack Chris West because he knows Chris is the only true, homegrown, consistent conservative who is going to fight for the people of Southwest Georgia, ignore the politics, and win on Tuesday night,” Lawson added.
Since May 3, American Values First PAC has spent roughly $818,000 on Hunt’s behalf. The group did not respond to the LE’s questions before publication. This story will be updated with their response.
The robocall allegations come a day after former candidate Wayne Johnson filed a civil racketeering lawsuit against Hunt, Fox News and Fox and Friends host Brian Kilmeade alleging the network tried to influence the election in Hunt’s favor by giving him airtime.
The winner of June’s runoff will face Sanford Bishop in Georgia’s most hotly contested congressional race. Early voting ends Friday, and Election Day is June 21.
This story was originally published June 18, 2022 at 7:00 AM.