ATLANTA — Republican voters Tuesday will vote in a primary runoff that has gotten national attention. It pits two Trump-supporting conservatives – one of whom has drawn attention for her embrace of conspiracy theories.
Ask Marjorie Greene about government, and you might hear this: “All Americans – we are very aware of the fact of an existence of the deep state,” she said during an Atlanta Press Club debate in July.
When a questioner asked her if she’s a “follower of QAnon,” a shadowy group that traffics in largely discredited conspiracy theories, she didn’t deny or confirm it.
“I, like many Americans, are disgusted by the deep state who launched an effort to get rid of President Trump. We saw it launched straight from Barack Obama’s White House,” she claimed.
Greene – who ran for congress in a different Georgia district two years ago -- may be the attention-grabbing frontrunner in a runoff with physician and Floyd County sheriff’s volunteer medic John Cowan.
“You’ve been parading yourself around like you’re a fake police officer,” Greene told Cowan during the debate. “So what do you have to say about impersonating a police officer while police are under attack?”
Cowan laughed.
“There’s lots of squirrels and bats in that attic,” he said. “You lie a lot, so let’s get to the truth. For ten years I have served as a trauma surgeon and backed up our SWAT team and emergency professionals when they get injured coming in on the job to our emergency rooms.”
In a northwest Georgia district packed with counties that overwhelmingly backed Trump four years ago, both candidates say they are hearty supporters of the president now – including his handling of the pandemic.
“The biggest problem is the liberal Democrats have turned this into a political issue,” Cowan said. “The president has done an excellent job by allowing state government and local municipalities to decide what works for them.”
For Republican primary voters, the choice may come down to style – the physician versus the firebrand.
“If you’re Republican and unapologetically conservative like I am, you’re going to get called a racist even when it’s very unwarranted,” said Greene, who is White.
Greene got almost twice the votes Cowan got in the June primary but couldn’t get above the 50 percent needed to win out-right. Because the district is overwhelmingly Republican, whichever candidate wins Tuesday’s runoff will be the favorite to go to congress to replace Tom Graves, who is retiring.