Bryan County Chairman Carter Infinger (R) said he is considering a run for Georgia’s 1st Congressional District – a seat incumbent Buddy Carter said he would not run for again since he announced he will challenge United States Senator Jon Ossoff.
The decision is still up in the air for Infinger, who said he has established a team of people to help determine his path forward.
“I’m just kind of looking at it and seeing if it’s a good option for me and my family to do it,” said Carter. “It’s a lot of work. I think August is when you can qualify, so I’ve got a little bit of time. My consultants are looking into it. We need conservative leadership in Washington and someone who is going to look out for the people. I am a regular guy, I think I can look at things with a different perspective. I’m not a business owner, so I don’t have to worry about that being impacted or impacting my decision making.”
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Infinger said he wants to help cut down on the nation’s debt, among other things.
“I want to protect Medicare and Medicaid and have no taxes on social security. They should not do that,” said Infinger. “We need to secure borders for our country. You have to come through the legal system. Those are some of the issues.”
When asked what helped prepare him for his potential run for Congress, he pointed to the county’s success in lowering the millage rate and the work that went into getting the county ready for the state’s largest economic project-to-date, Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America.
“When I got elected, I want to say the millage rate was 9.43 and its either 5.6 or 7 today,” said Infinger. “That takes a lot of work with the staff to see what we can cut every year and make sure we continue to roll those millage rates back. With the Hyundai deal, I was fortunate enough to be part of that. It took a lot of effort. My job as chairman is to go out and get as much money as we can for our county and get things done around the area without costing taxpayers and that’s what I have done. All of that infrastructure being put up there is not really costing the taxpayers any money.”
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In February, candidate Kandiss Taylor, a Republican from Baxley, who previously ran for Governor of Georgia under the slogan “Jesus, guns and babies,” announced that she would be running for the District 1 seat.
Infinger said if he is voted into Congress, he will continue to maintain the same level of availability to his constituents, saying he is just a phone call away.
“I’m a regular guy and I’m easily approachable,” said Infinger. “I’m not hiding behind anybody. I’m honest. If I get elected to Congress, I’ll represent the folks in the First Congressional District the same way I represent the folks here now. There would be a learning curve but I can do it.”
Carter is married and he and his wife Karen have two children. He was first elected as a county commissioner in 2010 and has been the chairman for nine years.
Latrice Williams is a general assignment reporter covering Bryan and Effingham County. She can be reached at lwilliams6@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Carter Infinger is thinking about running for Congress.