Tony Kozycki
October 8, 2026 · Newsletter
We Owe It to You... The Voter!
This morning, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ran my guest column: “Frustrated with politics? Voters should demand answers from candidates.”
Read the full piece on AJC.com:
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https://www.ajc.com/opinion/2026/10/georgia-election-debates-rick-mccormick-democrat-kozycki/
I want to tell you a bit more here than I could fit in a newspaper column.
Like a lot of Georgians, I’m disgusted by what politics has become. I’m tired of sitting with my 9-year-old son watching a Braves game, only to have some slick political ad blast across the screen to scare and divide us. I’m tired of glossy mailers that go straight from the mailbox to the trash. And I’m tired of politicians telling me what their consultants think I want to hear.
Seven months ago, I wasn’t a politician. I was a voter who wanted something authentic for once. I still do.
Why debates matter more than ever
Now that I’m the Democratic nominee in Georgia’s Seventh District, I’ve seen how the sausage is made. And I believe in debates more than I did before.
Campaigns control almost everything else. We choose the photograph. We write the mailer. We cut the television ad. We prepare the speech. We decide what to emphasize and what to avoid.
A real debate takes that control away from us and gives it back to you. Put two candidates on a stage. Ask them the same question they haven’t seen beforehand. Hand each one a microphone and make them answer in front of the people they want to represent.
Maybe you’ll hate my answer. Maybe you’ll love it. But at least you’ll know what I believe.
That’s why I challenged my opponent to debates in all six counties of this district: Dawson, Lumpkin, Cherokee, Hall, Forsyth and Fulton, each moderated by a local newspaper or media outlet. In Lumpkin County, deep in ruby-red North Georgia, Republicans in the audience applauded my answers. That’s what happens when you stop treating voters like targets and start treating them like neighbors.
The empty podium
I’ve shown up. Rep. Rich McCormick hasn’t.
When the AJC asked him about debating me, his answer was remarkably candid. A debate, he said, would give me “publicity” I “badly” need.
That gets the whole thing backward. McCormick doesn’t owe me a debate. He owes his constituents the chance to hear him defend his record, explain what he believes and answer questions from the people he works for.
On Oct. 5, I stood on stage in Forsyth County answering your neighbors’ questions, next to a podium waiting for Rich McCormick. It stayed empty.
Real issues, not scary labels
There’s plenty to debate. Take data centers. My neighbors are asking serious questions about power, water and the environment. They want to know whether local taxpayers will be left carrying the costs while corporations collect the profits.
My position is straightforward. Big Tech knows exactly what return it expects from investing billions of dollars in Georgia. Before we make decisions that will shape our communities for decades, we should be just as clear about what Georgians get in return.
Put us onstage. Ask him why. Ask me why I disagree. Ask us both what happens to power rates, water and local control.
Instead, McCormick pretends communism is on the ballot in the Seventh District. I’m a Naval Academy graduate, a combat veteran and a small-business owner. Calling people communists may make for a slick political message, but it’s exactly the kind of cheap stunt voters are sick of.
I don’t want scary labels. I want real answers.
Restoring real representation to the Seventh
Every two years, members of the House have to come home and ask their neighbors to hire them again. That isn’t an inconvenience. It’s the whole point. It’s how we hold them accountable.
This seat doesn’t belong to Rich McCormick, and it won’t belong to me. It belongs to the people of Georgia’s Seventh District, who lend their voice to someone for two years at a time.
It’s time to restore real representation to this district. That means sending someone to Washington who shows up, answers questions and works on solutions: lower costs, protecting our water and power bills from corporate giveaways, and standing up for veterans and military families. It means a representative who sees the job as doing the people’s work, not dodging the people.
Seven months ago, I wanted candidates to make it easier for me to understand who they really were. Now I owe you exactly that. I’ll keep showing up.
Here’s where you come in
This is a grassroots campaign. I don’t take corporate PAC money. I won this nomination with nearly 70% of the runoff vote, carrying every county in the district in both the runoff and primary election, because neighbors talked to neighbors, not because special interests wrote checks.
Early voting starts on Tuesday, October 13 and Election Day is Nov. 3, less than four weeks away. My opponent has the incumbent’s war chest. We have you.
Your contribution goes straight to reaching voters: more forums and debates with empty podiums the public can see, more doors knocked, and more ads that tell the truth instead of scaring people.
Chip in $10, $25 or $50 today at Kozycki for Congress Act Blue LINK.
Every dollar tells Washington that the Seventh District wants a representative who answers to the people, not the consultants. If you can’t give right now, share this post and the AJC column with one friend who’s as fed up as we are and make a plan to go to the polls together and vote. We can win this together!
Candidates don’t owe their opponents a debate. They owe it to you. And I intend to keep that promise.
Thank you,
Tony
Tony Kozycki is the Democratic nominee for Congress in Georgia’s Seventh District. He is a U.S. Naval Academy graduate, a combat veteran, and an attorney and small-business owner in metro Atlanta. Learn more and donate at KozyckiForCongress.com.
Paid for by Kozycki for Congress.
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