Just taking a look in one’s mailbox or at their social media feed, and it quickly becomes apparent campaign season is in full swing.
With political ads seemingly inescapable and political debates on the horizon, candidates are heading out to all corners of the state to meet constituents and make their case for votes. Candidate Kandiss Taylor, running to represent Georgia’s First District in the U.S House of Representatives, held a meet-and-greet last week in Waycross.
With her campaign bus parked at the Friendly Express on S. Georgia Pkwy, Taylor, her family and campaign staff met, chatted with, and took photos with supporters.
Taylor wasn’t able to stay for long, as her schedule has been packed with visits around the district. She also made stops April 8 to Alma, Blackshear, Folkston, Nahunta, Hortense, Patterson, Screven, and Jesup.
Taylor briefly spoke to the Waycross Journal-Herald in Blackshear.
“Affordability is the number one issue we’re hearing about everywhere we go,” Taylor said. “People are really feeling it at the gas pump and the grocery stores, so we really need to get focused on energy and gas.”
She continued, emphasizing the economic struggles being faced in the state: “It’s been rough. People are trying to build houses, trying to pay the mortgage they already have, trying to buy a car, and interest rates are through the roof, and that’s what I hear about wherever I go.”
Taylor went on to tout the First District’s resources, from Plant Hatch, to the ports, to agriculture, while encouraging tariffs against external products for some industries.
“We have to get better with our fishing and our shrimping industry, tariffing out-of-country seafood, our seafood is worth more,” she said. “Also, the tariffs on produce that are coming from out of country. We have blueberry farmers that had to leave blueberries in their fields, because they were getting blueberries from other countries cheaper. That’s a problem.”
She was also was critical of recent pushes for solar panel farms, describing them as being shoved “down our throat”, and expressed concerns over them replacing planted pines and damaging the land.
Taylor used her roots to distinguish herself from others. “There’s six Republicans running, five from Chatham County. I’m the only one from rural Georgia,” she said. “I’ve lived in Appling County all my life.”
Others seeking the Republican nomination are Patrick Farrell, Jim Kingston, Brian Montgomery, Krista Penn, and Eugene Yu.
Democrat candidates are Defonsio Daniels, Joyce Marie Griggs, Amanda Hollowell, Michael McCord, Joseph Palimeno, Sharon-Stokes Williamson, Watrick Wilver and Randy Zurcher. Dylan Castillo is the Social Labor Party candidate.
“I’m not going to DC to be a quad-millionaire, I’m going to represent the people in this district. And I’m going to be accessible and live ... I’m going to go serve there and come home every week.”
