Just take a look in one’s mailbox or social media feed, and it will quickly become apparent campaign season is in full swing, the political ads seemingly inescapable. Now, with political debates on the horizon, candidates are headed to all corners of the state to meet constituents and make their case. Congressional candidate Kandiss Taylor, running to represent Georgia’s First District, recently held a meet-and-greet in Pierce County With her campaign bus parked at the Pierce County Courthouse, Taylor, her family and campaign staff chatted and took photos with supporters.
Taylor was not able to stay for long. Her schedule has been packed with visits around the district; that Wednesday alone also saw visits to Alma, Waycross, Folkston, Nahunta, Hortense, Patterson, Screven and Jesup.
Taylor briefly spoke to The Times during the stop.
“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.”
Taylor emphasized the economic struggles facing 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.”
On the topic of local resources, when asked about the recent closure of pulp mills in the area, Taylor responded, “We have to look at the industry change and what’s going on. I want to figure out a way to fix the timber prices.” She continued, “We need to find a solution...It’s something that should have been prevented, and they did not think about it ahead of time.”
She was also critical of recent pushes for solar panel farms, describing them as being shoved “down our throat,” and expressed concerns over replacing planted pines and damaging the land.
Taylor, an Appling resident, empasized her rural home. “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. Most everybody moved into the district within the last five to 10 years, or they moved here just to run for this seat.”
Also seeking the Republican nomination are Patrick Farrell, Jim Kingston, Brian Montgomery, Krista Penn and Eugene Yu.
She concluded by reiterating her committment to her constituents: “I’m not going to DC to be a quadmillionaire, I’m going to represent the people in this district. And I’m gong to be accessible and live here. I’m going to go serve there and come home every week.”
The Kandiss Taylor campaign bus stopped in front of the Pierce County courthouse.
