Brian Montgomery hopes to distinguish himself from an already crowded field of 2026 candidates seeking the Republican nomination to run for Georgia’s first congressional district.
U.S. Representative Earl “Buddy’ Carter (RPooler, St. Simons Island) gave up the seat to run for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Democrat Jon Ossoff.
Since then, no less than seven Republican and five Democratic candidates have announced for the Carter’s old job. Primary elections for the seat will be held in May.
Montgomery believes his military experience and not being part of the established political class in Washington will help to distinguish him from his competition.
A career military man, this is Montgomery’s first foray into the field of politics. He says it is definitely not something he would have envisioned even a year before.
“If you’d asked me about running for office six months ago, my answer would have been no,” Montgomery says. “But my life has always been about service and this is another way to serve.”
Inspired by his three fellow West Point classmates, John James of Michigan, Wesley Hunt of Texas and Pat Ryan of New York, all now serving as representatives in Congress, Montgomery feels he has the right perspective to represent Georgia. Part of his unique perspective was defined by, he says, “the first time I failed.”
Montgomery had recently dropped out of college. Waiting tables and working security at the local mall, he felt adrift and without purpose. Running an errand for the restaurant where he worked, he was at a stoplight when noticed an Army recruiting office in a strip mall.
“I suddenly felt the strongest pull to enlist,” Montgomery recalls. “I didn’t have any plan to join the army when I left the house that day.”
Montgomery calls it his round peg-round hole moment. It fit.
From there the course of his life began to change. Seeing potential in him, Montgomery’s battalion commander had him recommended for West Point. Of his time there, Montgomery laughs and says it was hard, but worth it. “West Point is not a great place to be at, but it is a great place to be from.”
Even so, he must have developed a fondness for the place. Following two tours of duty in Iraq and humanitarian relief work in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake, Montgomery returned to West Point as an instructor.
Now, Montgomery has decided on a different route. For approximately a decade he has lived in Savannah with his wife and two children. He says he feels ready to serve Georgia and the country once more.
“Our class motto was ‘For country and the corps’ and my decision to run is informed by that,” says Montgomery. “A lot of my classmates are still serving their country.”
Montgomery says he understands he must earn the trust of the people in the first district. When asked about holding town hall meetings, something Carter has been accused of avoiding, Montgomery said, “In this job, you’re working for the people and you have to be accessible to them.”
Montgomery distills his policy future approaches through three main points: “We defend America through our bases. We drive America through our ports. We feed America through farms and agriculture. We have all three here in the first district.”
“You either get into the fight or you don’t,” says Montgomery. “This country is absolutely worth fighting for and you have to give it your best shot.”
Regarding his several competitors in the upcoming primary, Montgomery replies, “I hope we all push each other to be better and the first district gets the best person for the job.”
If Montgomery wins not just the nomination, but the first district’s congressional seat as well, he says his first priority is to “reaffirm my oath to the constitution of the United States.”
Show above is a picture of Brian Montgomery during one of his two tours of duty in Iraq. Montgomery is currently seeking the Republican nomination to run for Georgia’s first congressional district.
