Houston Gaines, the only candidate with opposition in November speaking at the Oconee County Republican Party meeting on Monday (8/24/2026), devoted most of his opening comments to attacks on Democrats running for office in New Jersey and Michigan, across the state, and for Georgia House Districts 120 and 121.
“These folks are radical,” he said of Democrats. “This is not the difference of just a couple of issues on the ballot. The difference between the two parties couldn't be couldn't be further.”
Near the end of his opening comments, before taking questions from the audience, Gaines, who is seeking to represent Oconee County in the U.S. Congress, said “I'm running against someone from Henry County” without mentioning the name of Democrat Pam DeLancy.
“She’s a vote for the far left,” Gaines said.
In response to questions, Gaines said Congress needs to address the national debt, which has increased since 2000, but he blamed the problem on the Democrats.
He said he is in favor of term limits and that he supports President Donald Trump’s Save America Act, which the U.S. Senate has not passed.
Gaines also said he is trying to arrange his schedule so he can attend the candidate forum on Sept. 24 sponsored by The Oconee Enterprise and Oconee County Observations.
Kate Patterson and Ryan Hammock, running unopposed for the Oconee County Board of Education, and Amrey Harden and Chuck Horton, running unopposed for the Oconee County Board of Commissioners, also spoke at the meeting on Monday, as did a representative of Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Rick Jackson.
Gaines On Democrats Nationally
“I'm fired up about our ticket. I really am,” Gaines said in beginning his comments to the crowd of just more than 40 at the Piedmont Oconee Health Campus on Jennings Mill Road. “I think we've got a great opportunity this November to elect people up and down the ballot.”
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| Gaines 8/24/2026 |
"But this election really is about the future of our state and the future of our country,” Gaines said, turning to criticism of the Democratic Party for nominating Adam Hamawy in the 12th Congressional District in New Jersey.
Gaines mistakenly said Hamawy had been a character witness for the Oklahoma City bomber. Hamawy had testified for the defense of Abdel Rayman, who was convicted in 1995 of planning to bomb the United Nations and other New York City properties.
Gaines next criticized Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Michigan, for not distancing himself from Hasan Piker, a political commentator who has made very critical statements about Israel.
“These folks, if they take control, they're going to make Hakeem Jeffries look like a moderate,” Gaines said, referring to the Democratic House Minority Leader, “because that's how far to the left these people are.”
“I can't stress the urgency of us going and getting friends and family registered to vote,” he said, “because if these folks take over, it is going to be a disaster.”
“And the U.S. House, all they're going to do is impeachment,” Gaines said. “That's all they're going to spend their time on. They're not going to even try to help people on the issues that, you know, really matter. All they're going to do is spend their time on impeachment investigations.”
“U.S. Senate, same thing,” Gaines said, saying incumbent Democratic Senate John Ossoff is a supporter of “crazy far-left policies.”
Gaines On Democrats In Georgia
“If Keisha Lance Bottoms is our next governor,” Gaines said, referring to the Democratic nominee, “she'll do exactly what she did to the city of Atlanta, which was burn it to the ground.”
“And, you know, it's really hard to be the worst mayor of the city of Atlanta,” he said. “There's been a lot of bad ones. But she's at the top.”
“It's critical that Dutch wins and that Ward Black wins in these two Oconee County seats,” Gaines said, referring to Mack “Dutch” Guest IV and Ward Black, the Republican candidates for House District 121 and 120 respectively.
Oconee South, Oconee Central, and Dark Corner precincts are in House District 121, and Oconee Northeast is in House District 120.
“We were able to get things done (in the Georgia General Assembly) because we had folks in the state legislature who know how to pass legislation and deliver for the district,” Gaines said, referring to himself, Marcus Wiedower, and Bill Cowsert. Wiedower is House District 120 representative.
Wiedower stepped down from the House District 121 seat last fall, forcing a special election won by Democrat Eric Gisler. Cowsert will end his term representing the 46th Senate District in December. Oconee County is in the 46th District.
Gaines did not mention Republican Marc McMain or Democrat Ray Smith, both competing for Senate District 46 on the Nov. 3 ballot.
“You need folks who know how to get things done,” Gaines said again. “And Dutch is going to be able to do that. Ward is going to be able to do that.”
Gaines said that Gisler “aligns with the very far left in the legislature.”
Referring to the Democratic Party candidate for House District 120, Suzanna Karatassos, Gaines said “I don't know her last name. I mean, I can't even remember all the crazy things she has said.”
Responses To Questions
In closing his comments, Gaines said “I'm going to miss serving in the State House because I felt like we were able to get a lot of really good things done. But I believe we need people in Congress who know how to do the same. That's why I made the decision to run.”
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| Gaines 8/24/2026 |
“I've been honored to have your support in the primary, and now the real race is in November, 71 days from today,” Gaines said, referring to his Democratic opponent DeLancy only as "from Henry County." Gaines is from Clarke County.
“And again, she's going to be a vote for the far left and these folks that are running the Democratic Party,” he said.
The first questioner of Gaines said “So Houston, you're going to go from a state government that has a $15 billion surplus to a federal government that is $40 trillion in debt. Is it too late to get that under control in any manner?”
“Well, I think we have to because the future of the next generation and the generation after that is going to be saddled with so much debt that it's going to be unsustainable,” Gaines responded.
“You know, really until 2000, we were basically at very minimal debt,” he said. “And then just in the last 26 years, we've added $30-something trillion in debt. And so we have to find a way to get that under control.”
As a percent of Gross Domestic Product, the national debt grew under Republican George W. Bush, under Democrat Barack Obama, under Republican Donald Trump, under Democrat Joe Biden, and again under President Trump in his current term.
In response to a follow-up question, Gaines said “the Democrats for the last 30 years have been wrong on these issues. Bill Clinton, when he was President (1993 to 2001), he actually worked to balance the budget. Ever since then, they've gone off the deep end on fiscal policy. I think we're seeing that problem today.”
In response to a question on term limits and the Save America Act, Gaines said he was in favor of term limits.
He said he supported the Save America Act, which President Trump has pushed but the U.S. Senate has not passed.
“It's crazy anybody's against voter ID,” Gaines said, adding that you do not need an ID to vote at present.
Georgia law requires photo identification when voting, either in person or absentee, according to the Georgia Secretary of State.
“Are you going to have any debates or forums with the other candidates?” another person asked.
“We're working on trying to,” Gaines said. “There's one that is going to be in Oconee that we're trying to get on our schedule to be there.” The forum is on Sept. 24 at the Community Center in Oconee Veterans Park.
Other Local Speakers
Patterson, who is running unopposed for Post 2 on the Oconee County Board of Education to replace Amy Parrish, who is leaving the Board in December, said she has had three children finish at Oconee County Schools and one now at Oconee County High School.
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| Patterson 8/24/2026 |
“I have been very fortunate to be able to serve, volunteer in a lot of different schools,” Patterson said. “And we've got great schools here. We are a very, very fortunate community. So I am excited to be a part of the next chapter of the school system.”
“You know, we are number one in a lot of categories across the state, but that does not mean we don't have things to work on,” she said. “I’m so excited to be a part of that and look forward to serving all of you.”
Hammock, who is seeking re-election to his second four-year term as Post 3 member on the School Board, said he has three children currently in Oconee County Schools.
Hammock told the audience that the advantage of the recently completed agreement with the county resulting in the Civic Center becoming a school system property is that “we're able to begin earning reimbursement dollars from the state whenever there's a renovation or a modification that's needed in future years.”
“We're able to tap some of those state dollars,” he said, “which will reduce the need for local taxpayers to pay for those directly.”
“I will be on the ballot in November,” Hammock said. “I do not have an opponent, although I still want your vote.
Commissioners Harden and Horton chose to use their time to provide information about the Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (TSPLOST) referendum that will be on the ballot in November.
“During the last four budget years,” Harden said, with Harden at his side, “this TSPLOST has allowed us to pave over 131 miles, which averages about 33 miles per year. Now, prior to the TSPLOST, we were only averaging 9.5 miles of resurfacing.”
“We have been able to address probably six of the most critical intersections in Oconee County,” Harden continued.
“If the voters of Oconee County vote yes, this will allow us to keep the 1 mill reduction in the property taxes,” Harden said. “It will also allow us to continue to resurface 25 to 30 miles of subdivision streets a year. And then it will allow us to continue to work on some other intersections that need improvement.”
“I'm here to ask for your support” on the TSPLOST vote, Horton said at the end of the presentation.
Jackson Campaign
Oconee County Party Chair Kathy Hurley said at the beginning of the meeting on Monday that “We are going to be partnering with Jackson for Governor and Greater Georgia” to do canvassing and phonebanking for the Nov. 3 election.
Anna Franklin, regional field director for the Jackson for the Governor campaign, was the last speaker of the evening on Monday, and she said “We're looking for your help.”
“Anything you guys would be able to do, we can find you a spot on our team,” she said. “There's some very easy things that can be done from home, from a cell phone, from a computer, from any kind of mobile device.”
“We can do phonebanking,” she said. “We can get you set up door knocking if that's not your thing. We can have you write postcards. We can have you do just about anything.”
“We really need your help,” she said. “This is a huge election. We've got to win, so please be willing to help. Be our eyes and ears, and just thank you for having me.”
NOTE: The Oconee County Republican Party does not allow video or audio recording of its meetings.
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