Making debates great again.
Get to know your candidates & the truth (courtesy of pop-up video fact checking).
The best way to choose your next Georgia State Senator for the 56—to represent East Cobb, Roswell, and Woodstock—is to see both your candidates side-by-side and to hear them exchange unprepared statements and responses to constituent questions.
On April 25, 2024, the Farm Bureau & the Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce hosted a candidate forum at Canton’s historic courthouse. Incumbents and challengers from a variety of federal and stare races had the chance to introduce themselves to voters and fortunately for the 56, both our incumbent, John Albers, and I were in attendance. And doubly so that someone in the audience captured the full exchange on their phone!
On forthe56.com, I shared each candidate’s introductory and closing statements as well as their unscripted, unprepared responses to questions about Medicaid expansion, rising energy and housing prices, and immigration enforcement.
In addition to simply sharing these videos, I spent time fact-checking each of our statements and unscripted responses. I’ve performed this critique for two reasons:
Honesty and transparency are cornerstones of a healthy constituent experience and critical to establishing and maintaining trust between members of the public and their elected officials (candidates, too!)
To show I’m open to being fact checked, interested in feedback where I might be further informed, and open to the conversations such critiques may inspire.
Indeed, an AI analysis of the debate transcripts found that the Canton Debate highlighted clear differences in both style and substance between the two candidates:
JD Jordan consistently delivered fact-based responses, with nearly all of his statements rated as true and none rated false across every segment of the debate. His positions on Medicaid expansion, housing affordability, and immigration enforcement were especially well-supported, reflecting a high level of clarity and honesty. By contrast, John Albers frequently relied on claims that were either unclear or inaccurate, particularly in his remarks on energy costs and housing, where multiple false statements were flagged. Overall, the transcripts show Jordan running a disciplined, transparent campaign rooted in verifiable facts, while Albers’s answers often strayed into ambiguity or misrepresentation.
My sincere hope was that these exchanges (and their annotated transcripts) would help inform voters’ choices in the election. Because whether someone choose me or our opponent, voters deserve full transparency and to know the minds of the candidate seeking their support.
