Tony Kozycki
August 28, 2026 · Newsletter
I Showed Up in Lumpkin County. Rich McCormick Didn’t... Again!
Last week it was Dawson County. This week I drove up to Lumpkin County. Same story both times: I stood up, I answered every question anybody wanted to throw at me, and I did it next to an empty podium, because Rich McCormick couldn’t be bothered to show up and defend his own record to the people he’s supposed to represent.
The moderator said it plainly at the top of the night: both campaigns were invited, and he chose not to come. That’s two debates in, and I think the pattern speaks for itself. He’ll meet with his AI and defense special interest donors. He just won’t stand in a room in his own district and answer a direct question. I’ll let you decide what that tells you.
Watch the full debate here:
A few things I want to make sure you don’t miss:
[00:50] Right up front, the moderator confirms McCormick was invited and skipped it — same as Dawson County. He’s in the district, he just doesn’t think he needs to answer for his record.
[17:12] I committed, on the spot, to putting my own assets into a blind trust and banning members of Congress from trading stocks. I’m tired of wondering whether the people supposed to be working for you are trading on the side. I laid out exactly how the money, the gerrymandering, and the lack of term limits all work together to keep guys like Rich from ever having to face you again.
[39:56] I walked through the receipts on the Republican budget bill — the “big ugly bill” — and what it’s actually doing to your health insurance. ACA premiums in Georgia have roughly doubled since it gutted the subsidies, going from about $69 to $148 a month, and almost 200,000 Georgians have already dropped coverage because they can’t afford it anymore. That’s not an abstraction. That’s somebody’s grocery money.
[53:38] I got asked about Republicans who are privately breaking from Rich on the Iran war. I didn’t dodge it. I said the same thing I’ll always say, Congress needs to hear from its own district out loud, not whisper concerns behind closed doors.
[57:51] This is the line I meant every word of: “Why are we paying him almost $200,000 to be in a position, if all he does is approve what the executive does?” That’s not a talking point. That’s the actual job he’s not doing.
Here’s what didn’t make it into the video, and it’s the part I want you to know most: after the debate, a handful of Republicans in that room came up and talked to me. Not to argue, but to tell me how much this cost of living is crushing them. People who voted for Rich, telling me they’re hurting at the pump, at the grocery store, on their health premiums, because of a budget bill their own congressman voted for. A few of them were even clapping for some of my answers during the debate itself. I didn’t go in expecting that, and I’m not going to pretend it wasn’t one of the best parts of my night.
That’s what Rich is actually afraid of. Not me. He’s afraid that when people hear this stuff argued honestly, in the same room, face to face, it stops being about D’s and R’s and starts being about who’s actually going to fight for their family.
Next stop is Cherokee County on September 9. If Rich skips a third one in a row, that’s not a scheduling conflict. That’s a decision he’s making about you. I need your help making sure every corner of this district sees it for what it is.
Watch it. Send it to a neighbor, especially one who votes Republican and is sick of paying more for less. And if you want to catch every debate in this series, subscribe below.
Watch the full debate and if you’re able to, please donate to our campaign at KozyckiforCongress.com
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