The Republican candidate for Georgia’s fifth congressional district, Christian Zimm (15Ox, 17C, 20B, 20L), was born and raised in Naples, Fla., before he attended Emory University, where he served as the president of Emory College Republicans during the 2016 presidential election.
“I wanted to get out of Florida,” Zimm said. “I love the city of Atlanta. Emory is a great school. … I fell in love with the campus.”
During his time at Emory, Zimm said that Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Philosophy George Yancy, who has published many books on race, taught his favorite undergraduate class.
“Obviously, almost nothing he said in class I agreed with, but I spoke out in the class and gave my perspective,” Zimm said. “He respected my point of view. He actually really appreciated it.”
Speaking up in Yancy’s class and serving as Emory College Republicans president taught Zimm the value of voicing his conservative opinions in a space as “liberal as Emory.” He reflects on this experience when he speaks to conservatives on college campuses, noting that it’s vital to express unpopular opinions.
“When I go out and speak and talk with people, oftentimes, especially in Atlanta, it’s very Democrat,” Zimm said. “As a Republican, it’s difficult to talk about certain issues, but you just got to do it. … So, having those many experiences at Emory really prepared me well for what I’m doing right now.”
On Nov. 8, Zimm will attempt to be the first Republican to win Georgia’s fifth congressional district race in 50 years.
Christian Zimm (15Ox, 17C, 20B, 20L) is running as the Republican candidate for Georgia’s fifth congressional district. Courtesy of Emory University
Zimm’s campaign
At only 27 years old, Zimm is a young candidate. The Constitution states that to run for the House of Representatives, U.S. citizens must be at least 25 years old. He said he knew it was time to run because of increased crime in Atlanta. Zimm draws a hard line on crime, stating that he believes violent criminals should face harsher punishments and fewer opportunities for bail.
“I can’t tell you how many victims I’ve talked to where the perpetrator assaulted them or battered them and they had a criminal history,” Zimm said.
Zimm critiqued his Democratic opponent, incumbent Rep. Nikema Williams (D-5), who he alleged is not doing enough to lower crime. He added that he was disappointed in her when she was arrested in 2018 for protesting the election of Gov. Brian Kemp, who beat gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams.
Another vital campaign point for the Emory alum is fiscal policy. He explained that he wants to cut the national deficit, which currently sits at about thirty-one trillion dollars, which he believes is increasing due to Williams’ advocacy for student loan forgiveness and the United States sending money to Ukraine instead of addressing internal issues first.
“President Trump did a great job with his 2017 [Tax Cuts and Jobs Act], where you reduce corporate taxes and the individual taxes,” Zimm said. “That’s what we need to get back to.”
He continued that he is “in favor of any legislation that would lower personal and corporate taxes.”
Zimm is also focused on Atlanta’s high living expenses. However, Zimm does not believe in raising the minimum wage by more than “a few dollars,” noting that he wants the natural market to dictate workers’ salaries.
Another critical point of Zimm’s campaign is maintaining single-family residential zoning unless the community consents to mix single and multi-family residences.
“If the community is OK with multi-family housing and that’s what they want and they vote on it, then I would not have any problem with that,” Zimm said. “But the issue is that the city of Atlanta has been trying to change the zoning to allow these developers to come in without the voice of the residents.”
Running on a platform of “decriminalization,” Zimm said he doesn’t care if people use marijuana in private, but he wants it to be treated like alcohol with heavy regulations in public.
“I don’t want to see it in public, I don’t want to smell it anywhere,” Zimm said. “If it becomes a nuisance, then we’ll have the proper ordinance and law to prosecute those people.”
Zimm’s position reflects Republicans’ views across the country. A September study by the National Cannabis Roundtable found that 73% of Republicans believe the marijuana industry should be treated the same as other “traditional businesses,” and 76% support federal non-interference in state marijuana markets.
The Congress hopeful has also signed the term limits pledge, the goal of which is to have the United States add a constitutional amendment limiting the number of terms a member of congress can serve. Zimm supports term limits at both the federal and state levels.
On the issue of gun reform, Zimm stated that he would most likely not be in favor of raising the legal age to buy an assault rifle to 21, although his answer could sway if the law were “crafted the right way.” He supports background and mental health checks for 18 year olds buying weapons.
“An 18-year-old can go fight in a war,” Zimm said. “Why can’t he also own a gun at home?”
Zimm also stated that he is not in favor of any other gun restrictions at this time.
Abortion has become a hot-button issue in politics since Roe v. Wade was overturned on June 24. Zimm is certified by the Georgia Life Alliance, whose goal, according to their website, “is working to create a pro-life culture where all life is valued.”
Zimm said that abortion should be prohibitted in most cases, barring rape, incest and maternal safety. He added that he believes abortion should remain a state rights issue, not at the hands of Congress.
“Lindsey Graham proposed a 15-week ban on abortion,” Zimm said. “I would abstain from voting on that law because I don’t think that the federal government should have any interference at all with how the states vote and draw the lines on the abortion bans.”
While discussing energy and climate change, Zimm said he favors moving toward a green future by empowering local officials in individual states and federal parks. Zimm wants to focus on energy independence and supports building the keystone pipeline that U.S. President Joe Biden recently canceled.
However, Zimm noted that he is not in favor of going green at the expense of bankrupting the United States. Zimm believes that the Green New Deal is unfeasible without crippling the nation, and that it is unreasonable to expect all Americans to be able to afford environmentally-friendly options like electric cars.
While he does not believe that former U.S. President Donald Trump won the 2020 presidential election, Zimm cited election irregularities, such as poll workers not checking IDs. According to Zimm, his ID was not requested when voting in the Jan. 5 Senate runoff election.
Zimm also criticized the ongoing story of voter suppression in Georgia.
“All this about voter suppression, we knew it was lies months ago, but it’s even more of a lie now because you see us breaking records in May in the primaries and breaking records early voting now,” Zimm said. “We’re going to be setting midterm election records through next week.”
Georgia’s fifth district is heavily Democratic. Williams won the 2020 election with over 80% of the vote. However, this doesn’t discourage Zimm.
“We think that we can make a big impact this election,” Zimm said. “We believe that our message of lower crime, lower inflation, will hopefully resonate. … It’s an uphill battle, but someone’s gotta do it.”
Spencer Friedland (26C) is from Long Island, New York and is the Emory Wheel's Managing News Editor. He is a Philosophy, Politics and Law major and has a secondary major in Film. Spencer is also a part of the Franklin Fellows program at Emory.
