Republican challengers target Rep. Greene
GOP challengers are taking aim at 14th District U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene RRome, even as the freshman legislator directs her fire at fellow Republicans in Congress.
Healthcare CEO Jennifer Strahan and retired emergency physician Dr. Charles Lutin are vying to unseat Greene as the party’s nominee in the May 24 primary. Mark Clay of Rome has suspended his campaign, according to an email from his treasurer Mansell McCord.
The latest salvo is a poke from Strahan at Greene’s individual stock portfolio, which includes shares in a number of biopharmaceutical companies involved in the COVID-19 response. Greene has been a vocal critic of mask and vaccination mandates.
“With all of the theatrics going on in Washington, I thought we could have some fun and do a poll question,” Strahan tweeted Wednesday from her campaign account.
The poll: “Which of the following COVID vaccine manufacturers does @mtgreenee currently own stock in?” A. Pfizer B. AstraZeneca C. Johnson & Johnson D. All of the above.
Greene’s Financial Disclosure Reports filed with the Clerk of the House show the answer is D, all of the above. She also owns shares in Gilead Sciences, maker of the remdesivir drug Veklury, and COVID researcher Amgen Inc., “a pioneer in the science of using living cells to make biologic medicines,” according to its website.
“Our district deserves someone who is honest and practices what they preach,” Strahan said in an email Thursday. “I know I am not the only one who is surprised to find Rep. Greene owns stock in 3 of the 4 major vaccine manufacturing companies despite her open disdain for the vaccine. She simply is not who she tells Georgians she is, and this is just the latest example.”
Strahan is the only other candidate for the 14th District who lists an individual stock — Tesla — among her assets.
Greene has said she is not vaccinated — “because I’m an American,” and no one can make her put something in her body, she told Steve Bannon on his War Room podcast in early November.
She had not risen to Strahan’s Twitter bait as of Friday. Instead, she’s continued her attacks on Democrats — and on Republicans she’s called “traitors” due to their (few) votes with Democrats or
their refusal to back former President Donald Trump’s discredited claims about the 2020 election.
Among them, GOP Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., who sits on the Jan. 6 Committee investigating the raid on the Capitol.
“Failed ‘leaders’ like Mitch McConnell and Liz Cheney are far too eager to work with Democrats to pass Biden’s America Last agenda and reject the priorities of grassroots conservatives,” Greene wrote in one of her responses to a candidate questionnaire running inside today’s paper.
Strahan says she wants to work with the other GOP members of Congress to advance the Republican agenda and Lutin — well, he’s fed up.
“I decided to run when I recently traveled around the U.S. and got tired of apologizing for our loud, foulmouthed, ignorant, and unbalanced congresswoman from Georgia,” he wrote.
Three Democrats are running for their party’s nomination in the race: veteran Marcus Flowers, small business owner Holly McCormack and Wendy Davis, a Rome city commissioner.
The winners of the May primaries will face off in the Nov. 8 general election.