Duke, Vann say it’s time for Rep. Bishop to leave

Democrat Sanford Bishop has represented the 2nd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1993, and Greg Duke and Diane Vann believe that is long enough.

The two are vying for the Republican nomination on May 24 to face Bishop in November. They believe people in District 29, which covers counties in middle and southwest Georgia, are ready for a change.

“People in this district are angry,” said Duke, an optician who lives in Leesburg, Ga. “They are tired of Bishop, who is a do-nothing congressman, someone who is just a rubber stamp for President (Barack) Obama.”

Vann, a nurse who lives in Macon, Ga., said, “The greatest threat to our security is not ISIS but our national debt. We really need to cut spending and that is something Bishop just will not do.”

Bobby Scott of Columbus, who was the third candidate for the Republican nomination, died April 9.

Greg Duke

Duke, a married father of five, said his priorities are God, family, country and business.

“I am tired of seeing religious people attacked by the establishment in Washington,” he said.

Duke won the Republican nomination in 2014 but lost to Bishop by approximately 30,000 votes.

“I am much better organized this time,” Duke said.

He said keeping jobs and getting new ones in the district is his key issue.

“We are losing jobs like crazy,” Duke said. “If we get people jobs that pay well, the government won’t have to support them. Everybody needs a decent paycheck to pay bills.”

He said he will work to help veterans who do not always get the care they need or have to travel too far to get it.

“I want to get a centrally located VA hospital in the district,” Duke said.

He said he does not like the direction he sees the country moving.

“We are moving toward socialism,” Duke said.

Diane Vann

Vann believes the Democratic Party is leading the country toward communism. It is a subject she covers in her book, “Undermining the U.S. Constitution: How the Communist Manifesto of 1848 Blueprints the Actions of the Democratic Party and President Obama Today.”

She sees the Department of Education and Common Core as a problem.

“The emphasis on high stress, high stakes testing is child abuse,” said Vann, who has taught at the college level.

She fears this country is using federal land as collateral for the national debt, land that could eventually be in the hands of foreign powers.

Like others in this country, Vann said she is tired of the gridlock in the nation’s legislative bodies.

“People in Congress need to work together to get things done,” she said. “That is not happening right now. I am ready to work with others to get this country moving forward.”

Like Duke, she emphasized the need for jobs in the district.

“I know in Bibb County, I have see too many businesses disappear,” she said.

This story was originally published April 29, 2016 at 9:50 PM with the headline "Duke, Vann say it’s time for Rep. Bishop to leave."