Andrew Clyde is a carpetbagger! Using the Reconstruction-era definition as someone from the northern United States who descends onto the southern United states to exploit economic or political situations for personal gain, he epitomizes this term. Born in Canada and raised in New York City, Clyde moved to Athens, Georgia to start a gun shop. Since he was elected in 2020, he has voted against making lynching a federal hate crime, and he has proposed banning Muslims from entering the United States (and also deporting all Muslim US citizens) and making the AR-15 the National Gun.

But this article is not about him. This article is about Caitlyn Gegen (she/her), a Gen-Z graduate of the University of Georgia and resident of Suwanee, and our best fight against Andrew Clyde. Caitlyn’s top three political issues are human rights, affordable living, and universal healthcare. She says, “by human rights, I mean the right to vote, a woman’s right to her own body, and the right to due process. To protect all of these rights, we need representatives who will bring an inclusive approach to policy making, and are willing to improve the democratic institutions in our country.” Caitlyn’s platform includes raising the federal minimum wage to at least $15 an hour, pushing for universal healthcare, investing in clean energy projects across Georgia, and breaking up corporate monopolies to help small businesses and consumers.

Where are you based?
I live in Suwanee, Georgia.

What position are you running for?
I am running to be the Representative for Georgia’s 9th Congressional District.

How would you briefly summarize your platform?
I am running for Congress to bring bold, inclusive change to our country. I am going to defend human rights, expand access to affordable living, advocate for universal healthcare, and support small businesses.

What inspired you to run?
Honestly, the overall state of our country right now. We are watching our democracy crumble and our elected officials scapegoating immigrant communities, and it’s heartbreaking. These are the moments that future generations are going to ask us about. I want to be able to say I did everything I could to protect democracy.

What change are you hoping to bring to your district and country?
I am hoping to improve the daily life of people in my community. I would like to do it by increasing the minimum wage, restoring women’s rights, and decreasing the cost of groceries and housing. I’d also like to do this by addressing overall causes of stress though. I believe the government providing universal healthcare, advancing renewable energy initiatives, and tackling systemic causes of inequality will directly benefit the people in my district and in my country.

What do you consider to be your major accomplishments so far?
My major accomplishments so far include my work in community organizing and local government. I co-organized a protest against Georgia’s “Heartbeat Bill” in 2018, and I supported training programs designed to empower citizens to contact their elected officials and demand criminal justice reform. As a local government employee, I worked daily to ensure the government supported residents with their housing and energy concerns. I look forward to bringing this experience to Congress.

What do you feel are the most important issues right now, why, and how do you plan to tackle them?
Right now, I believe the most important issues are immigration, affordable living, and women’s rights. I believe that the issues of immigration and affordable living actually go hand in hand — our government sees that many people are struggling to make ends meet, but instead of passing legislation that will support them, the Trump administration is blaming immigrant communities for the hardships we are all facing. I will address this by first abolishing ICE, and increasing funding for immigration courts. I think our country needs to reevaluate its entire perspective on immigration though, and stop perceiving it as a security issue, when it is actually a human rights and economics concern. To support affordable living, I will fight to increase the minimum wage and break up monopolies.

Women’s rights are also a massive issue in our country, and in our state, right now. Georgia currently has a 6-week abortion ban, forcing some women to go to another state to get the medical care they need. If a woman isn’t able to make this trip though, because they don’t have the time, money, or childcare to do so, our state is forcing them to continue to carry their pregnancy. Our state is telling women that they don’t know what they should do with their own body, and that the state knows better than they do how their body should be used. This cruel legislation has directly led to the deaths of many women across Georgia, and the Dobbs decision has to be overturned, so that women can have the right to their body and their reproductive future back.

America is extremely divided these days. How would you hope to bridge that divide with your constituents to better unite Americans?
I agree that America is extremely divided these days. I find it disheartening, because I know that working class folks are facing similar challenges. We all want higher salaries, we all want to be confident we will be able to buy a house, and we all want to be treated with dignity. I hope to bridge the divide by spreading a message of hope and by uniting working class Georgians. I believe in a better Georgia, and a better America, because I know that we have so much potential. There are so many opportunities for growth right now, in protecting human rights, in expanding healthcare access, and in investing in clean energy advancements.

It’s also important that we use these opportunities to address the racism and prejudice that still exist in our country. I mentioned earlier that I believe all Americans want to be treated with dignity. It would be a lie to pretend that every person faces the same obstacles in having their human rights respected though. As a white woman, I am aware that I am more likely to have certain rights respected than my non-white neighbors. Part of why I am running for Congress is to fight the systems of oppression that, unfortunately, still exist in our country. These systems are apparent in many ways, such as the way our country practices security and how it protects certain citizens more than others. In Noem v Vazquez Perdomo, the Supreme Court allowed ICE to use racial profiling in immigration policing. Because of environmental racism, pollution and hazardous waste creating sites tend to be located in minority ethnic communities. Through abolishing ICE, ensuring clean energy investments directly benefit minority communities, and expanding DEI initiatives, Congress can help fight against systems of racism plaguing our community and our country.

How do you see your unique identity and background to be an asset to you in office?
Both of my parents were public school teachers, and my sister is a labor and delivery nurse. From my parents, I learned the value of investing in my community, and I saw how federal funding could support people who choose to make that investment. As a labor and delivery nurse in Georgia, my sister works, every day, with the women our state has neglected. In her stories from work, it is obvious how Georgia’s 6-week abortion ban is hurting women, and fuels me to fight to overturn the Dobbs decision.

My educational background has also influenced the type of representative I am going to be. I grew up having to perform active shooter drills, and having to go to school one day when someone had threatened to bring a gun to lunch. I am very familiar with the fear our school children and teachers feel today, and this experience is why I am going to fight for safer gun legislation. I am also a proud Double Dawg and recipient of Georgia’s HOPE scholarship. This scholarship drastically reduced the financial stress of my college education, and is why I am going to fight for free tuition for our public colleges and universities. Finally, from studying at the London School of Economics and living in London, I experienced a different form of government and a stronger social safety net. This experience is why I am going to fight to hold our current administration accountable, and why I am going to fight for free universal healthcare.

My experience as a community organizer and in local government has developed me into a representative who wants to help each individual in our community. In these roles, I worked at the individual level with people who were asking their government to do more. I am running for Congress because I want to change the systems that are hurting my community, as I believe it is the best way to help the most individuals.

What is your motto in life?
My number one rule in life is to show up. Show up for your community, for your loved ones, for your constituents. Georgians deserve a representative who is going to show up for them, and is going to fight for the policies that will benefit our state. Our current representative does not show up in the district or at community meetings, and I am running for Congress to be the type of representative who shows up, meets people where they are.

Where can we find out more about you?
Website: CaitlynForGeorgia.com
Instagram: @CaitlynGegen
TikTok: @CaitlynGegen
Facebook: Caitlyn Gegen

Our Favorite Progressive Candidates in 2026 - Caitlyn Gegen, Georgia's 9th Congressional District