Columbus Councilor defends using political consultant identified as Christian nationalist
Columbus Councilor John Anker of citywide District 9 is defending his use of a political consultant who previously managed the mayoral campaign for Councilor Joanne Cogle of District 7 before screenshots of the consultant’s social media identifying him as a Christian nationalist surfaced.
Cogle’s campaign paid thousands of dollars to Magnolia Grove Consultants to manage her campaign. Screenshots show that the firm’s president, Ben Garcia, previously self-identified as a Christian nationalist on his Instagram profile, drawing criticism.
This phrase has since been removed from his profile.
Garcia and Magnolia Grove Consultants were dropped from Cogle’s campaign after his view came to light, Cogle told the Ledger-Enquirer.
Anker continues to be listed as a client on the firm’s website.
He did hire them for previous campaigns, Anker said, but he has not utilized them in his current run for the District 9 seat.
Anker previously ran for two citywide races. He lost to Henderson in the 2022 race for mayor. Then he lost to Travis Chambers in a 2024 runoff for the District 10 citywide council seat. Now, he seeks re-election to citywide District 9 seat.
Magnolia Grove Consultants are “fine people” trying to make a living with their consulting business, Anker told the Ledger-Enquirer on Tuesday. There’s a need for the services that Garcia and his partner provide, he said.
“In terms of a Christian nationalist, I don’t even know, really, what that is,” Anker said. “Call it naivety, call it I just don’t know. That’s not a word I’ve ever used.”
Anker said he hasn’t seen Garcia’s social media.
“I know (Garcia) personally,” Anker said. “And he’s a fine young man. Secondly, he’s never led my campaign, but I have paid for services from his group. They did a good job, and they delivered a good value.”
Anker said he isn’t paying Magnolia Grove Consultants for his 2026 campaign because he isn’t sure whether their services would help him this late in the campaign before the May 19 election.
In terms of optics, Anker acknowledged the mayoral and council races are supposed to be nonpartisan.
“We need to make sure that we understand that nonpartisan means you’re there to serve the entire city,” he said. “And my mission has never wavered from that.”
He can pay a professional to buy ads and deploy content and messaging, Anker said, and plenty of other candidates do the same thing “using partisan consultants.”
Anker doesn’t believe Garcia’s use of the phrase Christian nationalist indicates that he is a “bad person,” he said.
“I would like people to know that conservative values don’t mean that you don’t want to help everybody in Columbus, Georgia,” Anker said. “I don’t think Ben Garcia is any kind of right-wing fanatic. I’m definitely not a right-wing fanatic, but I have conservative values.”
His conservative values serve all citizens, Anker said. He used an example of pushing the Columbus Council to lower the millage rate and property taxes before he was appointed to the council in March by a 6-3 vote to succeed Judy Thomas, who resigned due to health concerns.
“That is one example of a conservative value that is nonpartisan, that serves across all people,” Anker said. “That’s why I’m sitting on council — to bring good policy that helps all people in Columbus.”
This story was originally published February 10, 2026 at 12:18 PM.
