Camp faces Republican Mike Dugan in the Jan. 8 election, following Dugan’s runoff win over former state Rep. Bill Hembree this week.
Camp said his election could prevent a single-party, super majority in the state Senate, which he believes is close to happening as the Republicans near the two-thirds majority level.
“When you have a super majority, it takes away the will of the people and replaces it with the will of the party establishment,” he said. “I can help stop that.”
However, he acknowledges that some voters distrust third parties, and see anyone who’s not a Republican as an outsider, and not capable of having conservative views.
“At a GOP meeting a couple of months ago, I had a man come up to me and tell me he’d vote for the devil himself if the devil had an ‘R’ next to his name,” Camps said. “But Libertarians have very conservative views and some are more to the extreme than Republicans.”
Despite such voter concerns, Camp still feels his chances are good for a Jan. 8 victory, “probably equal with Dugan.”
Dugan finished second in a field of four candidates in the Nov. 6 special primary before winning the Dec. 4 runoff.
“I think the runoff returns were very telling,” Camp said. “The people have spoken and said they want a new voice in the Legislature. Now it’s come down to January to find out which patriot they want to represent them in the Senate. Regardless of who wins, it’s a brand new start, with brand new ideas and I’m excited about that.”
Camp’s platform focuses around the issues of tax reform, helping small businesses, education and ethics reform. He favors comprehensive tax reform, moving away from an income tax structure to a consumption based tax.
“Several states neighboring Georgia have no income tax,” he said. “These states are putting Georgia to shame by attracting businesses that otherwise might come to Georgia. Eliminating income tax would attract businesses, and jobs, and put more money in consumers’ pockets, boosting our slow economy.”
Camp said he wants to reduce some of the regulatory burdens on small businesses to help create a more fertile environment for job creation.
“The best course of action the government can take is to get out of the way, by removing regulatory burdens and lowering taxes, so businesses will have more money to invest,” he said.
Camp also wants to see free market principles interjected into the education system, such as offering vouchers for families who want an alternative to public schools.
“We spend a lot of money, about 50 percent of Georgia’s tax revenue, on education,” he said. “Instead of throwing more money, I’d be interested in seeing what the top 20 or so expenditures are in education, to see if we’re spending money where we need to be spending it.”
On ethics reform, he said the ethics commission needs to have its budget restored so it can have the proper staff to investigate complaints.
“After the ethics commission had a banner year in 2008, the legislature cut its budget the following year,” he said. “How can the party claim to be open and transparent when they control the ethics commission budget? It’s like the fox guarding the henhouse.”
As one of the original founding members of GeorgiaCarry.org, a Second Amendment, right-to-bear-arms advocacy group, Camp said he will fight restrictive gun laws.
“I have been on the front lines, with other brothers-in-arms, changing Georgia’s restrictive gun laws,” he said. “I will continue that fight in the General Assembly, and make sure peaceful, law-abiding citizens will always have the rights guaranteed by our Constitution.”
Camp lives near Temple with his wife of seven years, Misa. He has been employed as a senior IT technician for the past five years with a small Carrollton consulting firm. He was formerly employed as a PC technician for Circuit City. Camp attended the Art Institute of Atlanta, majoring in video production.
Camp said he plans to wage his campaign, from now until Jan. 8, by going out in the district, knocking on doors and visiting businesses, to let the people know who he is.
“I have a meet-and-greet next Wednesday at the El Tapitio restaurant in Temple, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.,” he said.
Camp said the main message he wants to get out is that he will be the “swing vote” to keep the super majority from imposing its will on the people.
“We need diverse ideas in the legislature to keep things in check,” he said.
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