Free Republic

The closer Cynthia McKinney and Hank Johnson get to Tuesday's runoff, the nastier the race seems to be getting. At a community forum Thursday night in North DeKalb, the two candidates for the Fourth Congressional District again traded barbs in their efforts to secure crucial votes. And for one of the first times publicly, Johnson took off the gloves. After McKinney accused him of being under the thumb of Republicans because of the money he has gotten from GOP-leaning donors, he struck back. "I can accuse her of being under the control of terrorists, but I won't" Johnson said, because...

Georgia Rep. Cynthia McKinney’s primary run-off opponent has tapped into the pro-Israel fundraising network that helped her virtually unknown challenger Denise Majette topple McKinney and Artur Davis beat then-Rep. Earl Hilliard (D-Ala.) in a pair of hotly contested 2002 primaries in black-majority districts. Hank Johnson collected at least $34,100 on Tuesday from individuals and political action committees (PACs) that supported Majette, Davis or both, including several pro-Israel PACs. Overall, Johnson reported receiving $63,100 on Tuesday.The contributions were recorded in a filing with the Federal Election Commission that requires only donors of $1,000 or more to be identified, meaning Johnson’s haul...

McKinney, Johnson face off in televised debate ERRIN HAINES Associated Press ATLANTA - Nearly a month ago, Rep. Cynthia McKinney's podium twice sat empty as her two opponents in the July 18 Democratic primary election debated each other and made McKinney an issue. On Monday, the 4th District congresswoman did not miss the opportunity to face Hank Johnson - who trailed her by only 2,000 votes in the primary election and forced a runoff -in the first televised debate before the election. During the half-hour debate, Johnson called McKinney "a desperate candidate seeking to distort truth to gain re-election." McKinney...

Maybe it should have come as no surprise, since first time candidates rarely fare well, but yesterday most likely derailed any presidential prospects a decade or so hence for former Christian Coalition director Ralph Reed. Bad news, too, for U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney. McKinney’s been pinned twice now by more mainstream candidates — first Denise Majette and yesterday by DeKalb Commissioner Hank Johnson, who’s forced her into a runoff. The McKinney magic’s gone, a sign that the era of housing-project vote-the-slate candidates is passing. With the black middle class flocking to South DeKalb, and Rockdale, the 4th District is easily...

Rep. Cynthia McKinney, the Georgia congresswoman whose altercation with a Capitol Hill police officer last month made national headlines, qualified to run for re-election Monday -- and quickly drew a well-known challenger in July's Democratic primary. Hank Johnson, an attorney and two-term member of the DeKalb County Commission, qualified to challenge McKinney in Georgia's 4th District, a majority black and solidly Democratic district on the eastern side of metropolitan Atlanta. Meanwhile, James Myart, a prominent Texas civil rights attorney whom McKinney retained after her altercation with the police officer, issued a statement Monday saying he no longer represented her. He...