Graves Demonstrates Conservative Leadership at Hall County Forum

(GAINESVILLE) – Tom Graves, Republican candidate in Georgia’s 9th District, demonstrated at Friday evening’s Georgia Teen Republicans and Hall County Young Republicans forum that he is the top candidate to fill Congressman Nathan Deal’s unexpired term in just 18 short days.  

The debate, held at the Georgia Mountains Center, focused on jobs, rebuilding the economy and tax reform.

Graves stuck to his message of lower taxes, less spending and limited government as the path to get this country back on track and provided a bold, clear conservative voice that young Republicans are eager to get behind.

“I’ve been the author of the Jobs Act in both 2009 and 2010, which eliminated and reduced taxes and regulation on businesses here in the state of Georgia,” Graves said. “You take that to the federal level and it’s about getting government and taxation out of the way.”

Graves said he supports replacing the current tax system with the FairTax.  “We need a simpler, fairer, voluntary system that empowers the taxpayer and doesn’t empower the government.”

The former state representative from Ranger said if government would get out of the way, small businesses would “ignite the entrepreneur spirit” and create jobs.  Graves said in Washington he would work towards, “eliminating the capital gains tax, reducing the corporate income tax, repealing the unused portions of the stimulus bill and vote down the cap and trade.”  

In addition to being the front-running candidate among young conservatives, Graves dominated last week’s straw poll in the crowded field of Special Election hopefuls, gaining 53 percent of the straw-poll votes on the seven candidate ballot.

Graves has been endorsed by FreedomWorks, RedState’s Erick Erickson, Club for Growth PAC, the nation’s premier free-market, free enterprise group of conservatives, the Atlanta Tea Party and was the first candidate to be certified 100 percent pro-life by the Georgia Right to Life PAC.

Graves represented the 12th House District from 2003 until March 23, 2010.  Graves announced last May that he would seek the 9th District Congressional seat that was vacated by Congressman Nathan Deal, who is running for Governor.