A New Curveball in the 10th District Race

Open congressional seats are viewed by some to be as valuable as gold.

There are several reasons. First, seats in congress typically are spoken for. It often takes an incumbent deciding to seek another office or to retire before it is given up.

In the 10th District, which includes Jasper County, the seat is open in 2022 for the first time in eight years. So, it’s not surprising to see such a large number of candidates batting for it.

There were already a double-digit number of Republicans vying for the seat, left open when incumbent Jody Hice decided to run for Secretary of State. Last week, however, another Republican joined the race and effectively turned it on its side.

Vernon Jones, a one-time Democrat in deeply Democrat DeKalb County, is now seeking to be the representative for the 10th District. More recently Jones has become a Republican and done so because of one person: Donald Trump.

It has been a curious turn for Jones, but he has been welcomed into GOP circles by most. Jones had been campaigning for months in the Republican primary for governor. He actually polled double digits in the most recent numbers.

However, it became pretty clear that Jones did not have the support to unseat incumbent Brian Kemp in the primary. There is no shame in that per say, as it is difficult for a primary challenger to send the incumbent packing.

Trump threw his backing behind former U.S. Senator David Perdue, who lost in his most recent race to Democrat Jon Ossoff. It was somewhat of an embarrassing defeat as the loss not only sent the Republican incumbent out of the U.S. Senate but also helped turn Georgia from deep red to purple, at a minimum.

The former president seemingly was not impressed enough with any of the already 11 candidates competing in the GOP primary in the 10th District. Several of the candidates have openly used the former president’s name in their videos and on their campaign signs.

Several have bragged how they are a “Trump Republican” and have tried to claim they were the one who supported his candidacy in 2016 first.

Trump’s candidate, however, is Jones. The endorsement was announced last week and the already hotly contested race just had the pressure turned up. Mike Collins, who last ran in 2014 losing in the Republican runoff to Hice, quickly fired a shot at Jones with labels of “lifetime Democrat” and “accused rapist.”

Jones answered in kind via Twitter saying he was the “black Donald Trump.”

While there has been little polling in this race other than those released by certain campaigns, clearly the entrance of Jones into the fray has some worried, even if they don’t admit it. Collins, who has to be considered in the top tier of candidates, is clearly ruffled by what has transpired in recent days.

The 10th District covers a large area and it is not an easy campaign for any candidate in the race. Having the backing of a former president is key and it vaults Jones into being a serious contender.

Already there has been talk of Jones not living in the district and whether that should disqualify him from running for this office. Like it or not, it is not a legal requirement for one to live in the congressional district they run for.

It’s an odd thing for sure but Jones will not be tossed from the race because of it.

Will Jones bring in Trump as a guest at an upcoming rally? It would certainly boost his campaign as the former president still has die-hard supporters in the district and state.

Open congressional seats are certainly worth their weight in gold. That certainly is evident when a billionaire former president becomes involved.

Monticello native Chris Bridges has contributed to The Monticello News since 1988. He welcomes feedback about this column at pcbridges@gmail.com.