Mike Cheokas (second left) and Gaynor Cheokas (third left) held a meet and great for senate candidate Buddy Carter (center).

Representative Mike Cheokas and his wife Gaynor Cheokas held a meet and great reception for Congressman Buddy Carter on June 16. Carter is running for Senate. Guests were treated to a bar and beautiful view of Lake Collins.

Carter highlighted his experience in politics. “I was a mayor. I was in the state legislature for 10 years, and now I’ve been in Congress for 11 years.” He plans to bring that knowledge and experience to the Senate.

Carter told why the senate race was unique. “Of all the statewide elected officials in Georgia, all of them are republican except our two senators.” Carter attributed it to Republican disenfranchisement in the voting process after Donald Trump’s loss in 2020.

Carter contrasted it with Georgia’s support for Trump. “Donald Trump overwhelmingly won the state of Georgia last November. He deserves someone from the state of Georgia, and the state of Georgia deserves someone who’s going to support him in the Senate and support his American first policies.”

Carter compared his opponent Senator Jon Ossoff to democratic representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Bernie Sanders, saying his values were more aligned with them than Georgia. Carter pointed to Ossoff’s refusal to prevent transgender athletes from competing in girls’ sports as an example. “Even though 75% of Georgians said they wanted him to vote for that, he voted against it.” He also criticized Ossoff’s support of the Biden-Harris administration, including their policies on the border. “Look what happened to Laken Riley.” Carter summarized his stance. “He does not represent the values of the state of Georgia, and that’s why we need to change.”

When asked what support he planned to provide citizens, Carter pointed to his leadership in securing funding for the Georgia Port Authority. “It’s important that we invest in our infrastructure. Now, having said that, I will tell you that I’m fiscally conservative and that I serve on the Budget Committee, and we’ve got to address our deficit.”

Rising costs of health care are another issue Carter wants to tackle. “I’m a pharmacist, and I’ve witnessed what has happened with prescription drug prices, and we need to address prescription drug prices.” Carter blamed pharmacy benefit managers for rising costs. “Three companies control 80% of the market. We need more competition. We need more transparency. We need less consolidation in healthcare.”