A white Republican is suing Fox News for racketeering, claiming that the conservative network conspired to sink his primary bid in favor of a Black Republican’s candidacy.
It’s an odd subplot in a little-covered race for an obscure Georgia congressional district in the rural southwestern corner of the state. The 2nd Congressional District has been reliably safe for incumbent Sanford Bishop, a Democrat who is also Black, since 1993. But a new voting map drawn by Georgia’s Republican legislature after the 2020 census put the district, which borders Alabama to the west and Florida to the south, in play.
Enter Jeremy Hunt, Chris West and Wayne Johnson, who duked it out to represent the GOP in trying to oust Bishop in the November general election. Hunt, who is Black and whose bio touts him as an Army vet and “Born-Again Christian & Proven Conservative”, finished first in the primary but not by a margin wide enough to avoid a runoff with White, a white real estate developer. That left Johnson on the outside looking in, but not, he claims, without Fox News putting its finger on the scale.
From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The trouble, according to Johnson, started back in February, when Hunt, a frequent Fox News guest before he declared his candidacy, continued to appear on Fox platforms and have access to the network’s conservative audience after he joined the race.
WRBL’s Chuck Williams reported that Johnson complained in writing to Fox News Channel CEO Suzanne Scott throughout the primary that Hunt was getting unfair and unequal airtime and using it to promote himself and raise money for his campaign...
In the civil racketeering lawsuit, reported Thursday night by Nick Wooten at the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer and WRBL’s Williams, Johnson calls Fox News an “unlawful enterprise” and accuses Hunt, Fox News and host Brian Kilmeade of using Fox resources, which “ultimately amount to mail and wire fraud,” to get Hunt elected.
“This civil action aims to ensure the integrity of Georgia’s elections,” a press release announcing the action stated.
Hunt has hit back at the law suit, telling WMGT-TV Thursday night, “It’s just ridiculous that we have Republicans suing other Republicans because they came in third place,” he said.
The primary between Hunt and West is slated for next Tuesday.