Georgia candidate apologizes for highlighting opponent’s religion as ‘not Christian’

An attorney running against a sitting state judge used campaign literature listing his Christian faith with a thumbs-up sign and the incumbent as "not Christian" with a thumbs down.

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(JTA) — An attorney running for a judgeship in Georgia apologized for referencing his Jewish opponent’s religion as “not Christian” in his campaign literature.

Roderick Bridges apologized on Saturday to Dax Lopez, the incumbent on the DeKalb County State Court, for literature that listed Bridges as Christian with a thumbs-up sign and Lopez as “not Christian” with a thumbs-down sign.

Bridges also included party affiliation – he’s a Republican and Dax is a Democrat – in what is supposed to be a nonpartisan race. Bridges would be the first African-American to hold the position; Lopez is Hispanic.

Including religion on the checklist was intended to highlight his own commitment to his faith, Bridges said.

“I wasn’t talking about him, I was more so talking about myself,” he said, according to the Daily Report, a publication that covers Georgia’s courts. “We weren’t trying to offend anybody, especially the Jewish population.”

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