Antwon Stephens is a 23-year-old bisexual Democrat who is currently running for Congress in Georgia’s super conservative 9th district. Yet despite having all odds against him, he has Republicans feeling nervous.
In 2020, Stephens hopes to oust four-term Republican incumbent Doug Collins, who has represented Georgia’s 9th congressional district since 2013. Prior to that, Collins was a state representative in the Georgia House of Representatives, representing the 27th district.
Collins has a long history of supporting some of the most extreme anti-LGBTQ legislation in the country. In 2012, he not only opposed same-sex marriage, he opposed civil unions for same-sex couples. In 2016, he slammed President Obama for siding with trans people over where they should be able to go to the bathroom. And that same year, he also co-sponsored a “religious freedom” bill that allowed Christians to legally discriminate against LGBTQ people.
“I’ll be baiting Doug Collins to talk about these issues,” Stephens tells Project Q Atlanta.
I’m preaching the numbers game everywhere I go because we have to revitalize hope in rural Democrats to fight again!…
Posted by Antwon Stephens on Friday, September 20, 2019
According to his campaign website, Stephens believes Collins is one of the most “radical religious extremists” in public office and says “flipping one of America’s reddest districts won’t be easy.”
To win, his campaign plans to focus on the more diverse and often forgotten communities in his district’s rural areas.
The campaign believes he has just the right background to appeal to the over 175,000 voters in those oft ignored areas, which would put him within striking distance of Collins, who won his last election with roughly 225,000 votes.
“I was raised in north Athens, which is a much different outlook than actually being in the city of Athens,” Stephens tells Project Q Atlanta. “I was only a couple miles from the Madison County line. I was raised by conservative Democrats, so I have a rally good feel for what rural Georgia is looking for.”
Though they’ve been trying to play it cool, Republicans are clearly nervous about Stephens, as evidenced by a dire warning issued by Towns County Republican Chairwoman Betsy Young over the weekend.
“Rural, mountain counties be aware of the ‘play book’ of the far left,” Young cautioned her colleagues in a memo. “They know they have the city votes so they will concentrate on the outer areas, trying to change the minds of the more conservative voters or moderate leaning voters.”
Young added that Republicans cannot ignore Stephens and “must prepare” for a formidable fight.
If elected, Stephens would become the youngest member of the U.S. House ever if he were to win an election. He would also be Georgia’s first-ever LGBTQ member of the U.S. House.
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
Good luck with that. Rural Blacks tend to be very conservative and not at all supportive of Gays….
wellinmysoul
fool, what do you know about “rural blacks” and what they tend to be”? Why not just shut the fu*ck up and donate to his campaign?
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
FU Rex, you ain’t FOOLing no one!
wellinmysoul
damn dude… you is so smart. hehehe
Kangol2
Well, I guess we’ll see, but do tell us more as a “rural Black” who knows so much about their attitudes about gay people. We’re waiting, sis!
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
Kangol:
A focus group of black voters in South Carolina commissioned by Pete Buttigieg’s campaign found that the candidate’s sexual orientation may be one of the reasons he has struggled to gain support among African Americans there.
Buttigieg, 37, the mayor of South Bend, Ind., and the country’s first openly gay presidential candidate, has exceeded fundraising and polling expectations in the Democratic primary.
However, he has struggled to make inroads with black voters. Among black voters in South Carolina, he received less than 1 percent support in a Fox News poll released this month, and 0 percent in a Winthrop University poll in late September.
Do a little research prior to making a rebuttal to a post…
OhNoYouDont
Good for him…..I hope he wins
kramermason
Doesn’t the Constitution require a person to be 25 years of age to be a Congress person. So he would have to be turning 24 soon and then 25 before he takes office. Amy I correct? Does anyone know?
wellinmysoul
Yes, 25 upon taking office. Perhaps he will be 25 by January 2021.
andrewmpls
The constitution also states, “Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members.” I’m not a lawyer and don’t know case law surrounding this issue, but it seems possible the House could vote to allow him to serve anyway since they get to rule on qualifications. Republicans would sue which means SCOTUS would have to rule.
kramermason
thank you yes. And one must be 30 to be a Senator and 35 to be President.
RnDC
He’s not running for US Congress….
Kangol2
Good to see this young man stepping up.
Don’t forget Mondaire Jones too, Queerty. He’s Black, gay, a Democrat, and running in New York state! And he’s brilliant AND a cutie!
Florida Guy
He’s handsome
andrewmpls
The last three Presidential races have had the Republican candidate win with over 70% of the vote. He doesn’t have a chance in hell. Sorry.