Brad Hughes Brad Hughes of Blakely has officially announced his Republican candidacy for representative of the Second Congressional District. The district is presently represented by Congressman Sanford Bishop who has held the seat since 1992. Hughes filed his qualifying papers with the Federal Elections Commission in Washington last week.

Hughes, 28, is a graduate of Early County High School. He is the son of Sue Hughes of Blakely and Curtis Hughes of Homerville and the grandson of Vaudine Glass of Blakely.

He decided at an early age he wanted to be active in politics to help make a positive difference for southwest Georgia and the country. He decided to become a lawyer as a means to that end.

He was planning to attend either Troy State or Florida State to pursue a law degree when he was called to the ministry, and instead enrolled in The Baptist College of Florida in Graceville.

“Having played the piano from a young age, I had always been interested and seriously involved in church music ministry,” Hughes stated. “When I sensed a call to ministry, I changed directions believing my dream of working for the people in politics was over and that God had provided new direction.”

Second Congressional District He completed his studies at The Baptist College of Florida in 2000 receiving an associate of divinity and bachelor of arts in church music degrees. His plans to attend the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary were sidetracked by a wreck in August 2000 which left him disabled for several weeks.

“I found myself back in Blakely with little direction and no money,” Hughes stated. “I worked several part time jobs as I searched for full time work.”

In the fall of 2001 he enrolled in The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. to pursue a master of divinity degree with an emphasis in worship.

“All through college and seminary, I still felt this nagging in my mind to involve myself in politics. But, where could a minister find his place in politics?”

Hughes stated that his political aspirations have been greatly inspired by Mike Huckabee, a Southern Baptist pastor who is the governor of Arkansas. That inspiration and his compassion for his home and southwest Georgia and the challenges facing the area led him to his decision to run for congress against an entrenched incumbent Democrat.

“I love Blakely, I love Georgia and I love the USA. All three need help, but our district is in the most desperate, pressing need,” Hughes noted. “Driving through our area, the decline is obvious. There seems to be very little industry coming to the area, while it is flourishing in other areas.

“We need someone on the federal level fighting for us. If we don’t get it, in 30 or 40 years, Blakely, Donalsonville, Montezuma, Americus, Camilla and all the rest are going to have little in the way of job opportunities or economic growth. My friends have left Blakely never to return. We have to create opportunity here or our great heritage will be lost.”

Effective for the 2006 election, the Second Congressional District of Georgia now includes all or part of 32 counties in west central and southwest Georgia. The counties include Baker, Brooks, Calhoun, Chattahoochee, Clay, Crawford, Crisp, Decatur, Dooly, Dougherty, Early, Grady, Lee, Lowndes, Macon, Marion, Miller, Mitchell, Muscogee, Peach, Quitman, Randolph, Schley, Seminole, Stewart, Sumter, Talbot, Taylor, Terrell, Thomas, Webster and Worth.

According to Republican Party officials in Atlanta, Hughes will likely be the only Republican candidate for the Second Congressional District seat.

Hughes is hoping to avoid competition in the July 18 Republican primary so he can focus his efforts and attention on the general election which will be held Nov. 7.

More information about Hughes, his convictions and the new congressional district can be found online at hughesforcongress.net.