GA-06: Rich McCormick (R)

REPLACING:

Lucy McBath (D)[i]

WORK HISTORY:

Northside Hospital (Emergency Medicine Physician); Gwinnett Medical Center (Emergency Medicine Physician); US Navy (Emergency Medicine Physician); Naval Hospital at Camp Lejeune (Assistant Department Head); US Marine Corps (Marine); Georgia Institute of Technology (Marine Officer Instructor); Morehouse College (Marine Officer Instructor); Emory University School of Medicine (Emergency Medicine Resident)[ii] [iii]

EDUCATION & TRAINING:

Diploma, Central Catholic High School; BS, Oregon State University; MBA, National University; MD, Morehouse School of Medicine; Emergency Medicine Residency Program, Emory University School of Medicine[iv] [v]

CAMPAIGNED ON:

Opportunity Restored; Safety Secured; Elections Protected; 2^nd Amendment Defended; Parents & Students Prioritized; Sanity in Healthcare Restored[vi]

ON THE ISSUES

REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS:

McCormick is “100% pro-life” and believes life begins at conception.[vii] [viii]  He has worked to “protect life at every stage, from the unborn to the infirm.”[ix] He applauded the leaked draft of the US Supreme Court’s opinion overturning Roe v. Wade, which he called “the most barbaric law in US history.”[x] He supports Georgia’s existing ban on abortions after six weeks but has not indicated whether he would support a federal ban, preferring abortion to be a state issue.[xi]

ECONOMY, JOBS & TAXES:

McCormick believes the US is currently in a recession and blames the Biden administration for rising inflation.[xii] In Congress, he will work to provide “real tax relief” for the middle class and “double down” on the Trump tax cuts, remove unnecessary regulations that “limit growth with no benefit,” promote entrepreneurship and innovation, and fix issues with the supply chain.[xiii] [xiv] He opposed the Inflation Reduction Act, which he said would raise taxes, increase energy prices, and empower the IRS “to harass law-abiding citizens.”[xv] He has been endorsed by the National Federation of Independent Business.[xvi]

HEALTHCARE & SOCIAL SAFETY NET:

McCormick believes the US healthcare system is the “best in the world” and that the “last thing we can afford” is a single-payer healthcare “scheme,” which he argues would add $32 trillion in taxes over the next ten years while destroying millions of private health insurance plans and reducing access to quality healthcare. In Congress, McCormick will champion “patient-centered” healthcare solutions, including creating pricing transparency to drive down costs through competition, allowing hospital visitation without “unfair” restrictions, ending mask mandates everywhere, cutting “federally-mandated paperwork,” and allowing patients to choose what is best for them and their family.[xvii] He opposes Medicaid expansion and criticized a July 2021 Democratic budget proposal that would expand Medicare.[xviii] [xix] During his 2020 congressional campaign, McCormick called the ACA a “disaster,” but supported protecting those with pre-existing conditions and ending surprise medical billing.[xx] He opposes Medicare for All.[xxi]

IMMIGRATION & BORDER SECURITY:

McCormick has labeled illegal immigration an “invasion” and will fight to end the Biden administration’s “open-door policies.”[xxii] [xxiii] He supports building the wall and has pledged to “rid our communities of illegal immigrants.”[xxiv] He argues that the first step in securing the border is to enforce existing immigration laws.[xxv]

CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY:

McCormick believes law and order “is and must be the bedrock of our Republic” and that “all men are created equally and should be treated as such under the law.”[xxvi] He “vigorously” opposes defunding the police and will work to ensure that federal, state, and local law enforcement “have the resources and training required to combat the flow of illegal drugs, stop criminal gangs, and end human trafficking.”[xxvii]

GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS & ELECTION SECURITY:

McCormick advocates for election integrity and wants to make sure every American can vote in a system where it is impossible to cheat.[xxviii] He believes President Biden and his “cronies” are seeking to “rig our elections for generations” by stripping away local control and putting Washington bureaucrats in charge.[xxix] He has also accused Democrats of blocking voter ID laws that “ensure only legal votes count.”[xxx] In Congress, McCormick will fight against attempts to federalize the election process and efforts to force taxpayers to pay for political campaigns.[xxxi]

EDUCATION:

McCormick believes the “radical left” has crippled kids’ social development and brainwashed them with liberal ideologies. In Congress, he has pledged to “never bend the knee to the Democrats and the radical teachers’ unions that control them.” He opposes teaching Critical Race Theory and would seek to ban federal funding for school districts that do. McCormick wants to end remote learning and mask mandates. He also supports school choice and empowering parents.[xxxii] He has called the Biden administration’s plan to cancel some student debt a “terrible policy” and suggested that if people want the government to help pay for their college education, they should join the military.[xxxiii]

CLIMATE CHANGE, ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT:

McCormick believes the US was “on the cusp of being completely energy independent” under the Trump administration, but that we are now more dependent on foreign sources of energy than ever before.[xxxiv] He argues that a “broad mix of energy sources, including coal, is the right policy,” and has said the US should invoke the Defense Production Act “to build oil derricks, not solar panels.”[xxxv] [xxxvi] McCormick disagreed with the decision to cancel the Keystone XL Pipeline and opposes the Green New Deal and banning fracking, arguing these policies contribute to a “self-inflicted” energy crisis.[xxxvii] [xxxviii]

BIG TECH & DATA PRIVACY:

McCormick believes conservatives are routinely censored by Big Tech and that the “social media overlords will do whatever it takes to protect their liberal allies in government.”[xxxix] He has accused Democrats of colluding with the mainstream media and Big Tech “to silence and suspend anyone that dared to discuss” the conspiracy theory that COVID-19 was developed in and leaked from a Chinese lab.[xl] [xli] He also believes the media conspired with Big Tech to cover up the infamous Hunter Biden laptop story and that the American Medical Association has partnered with Big Tech to silence and prosecute those who oppose gender-affirming care for children and adolescents.[xlii] [xliii] [xliv] Additionally, McCormick has said the trend of large corporations taking over the practice of medicine impacts fair competition and amounts to antitrust, driving the cost of healthcare up.[xlv]

GUN SAFETY:

McCormick supports Second Amendment rights and will oppose “any and all attempts” to infringe upon them.[xlvi] He argues that gun violence is a mental health, parenting, schooling, and cultural issue, and believes that passing more laws, including universal background checks, will not solve the issue.[xlvii] He has pledged to expand the rights of law-abiding citizens by fighting for “Constitutional Carry” and concealed carry reciprocity.[xlviii] [xlix] He has accused Democrats of wanting to pack the US Supreme Court “until they ban virtually every gun in America.”[l] McCormick has been endorsed by the NRA, which gave him an “AQ” rating in 2022.[li]

FOREIGN POLICY:

McCormick believes that both Russia and China see “senility, frailty, and weakness” in the Biden administration, as well as an opportunity to challenge America.[lii] He argues that President Biden’s approach to Russia and China “lacks courage and conviction” and led to failed negotiations with Putin on Ukraine and threats from China over Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan.[liii] [liv] McCormick believes the US is in a “proxy war” with Russia and has called for NATO to bear most of the financial burden when it comes to providing assistance to Ukraine, arguing the US should worry first about “the invasion happening in America.”[lv] [lvi] [lvii] He also opposes sending US troops to Ukraine.[lviii] McCormick has pledged to “hold communist China accountable” for the COVID-19 pandemic.[lix] He has also accused President Biden of supporting China’s human rights abuses and “lobbying to continue” its forced labor of the Uyghur population.[lx] However, he has praised the Trump administration’s US-China trade deal, which he claims will “protect American workers and create more jobs here in the US.”[lxi]