Dr. Earl T. Martin of Blackshear has announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for the 1st District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
A resident of Blackshear since 1986 after moving from Mississippi, Martin was associated with Blackshear Family Practice and McKinney Community Health Center in Waycross. He served in multiple capacities at Satilla Regional Medical Center in Waycross, including president of the medical staff and chairman both of the Department of Medicine and of the credentials and performance-improvement committees. For the past several years, he has been doing short-term assignments throughout the country, including working for two years alongside his daughter, Capt. Arwyn Raina, M.D.  He also has a son, Gabriel, and daughter, Bonnie, who live near Atlanta.
According to a news release, Martin entered the 1st District race after “watching the country as a whole and its government deteriorate over the past several years.” His campaign’s motto, “Now is the time,” comes from the quote “Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country.”
His platform consists of four planks: dealing with the national debt, refocusing on the military and supporting its mission of defending the country, returning integrity to government and being a representative of the 1st District and not “of the lobbyists that infest the banks of the Potomac.”
For more information, go to drmartinforcongress.com, facebook.com/Dr.Earl.Martin, @DrEarlMartin on Twitter or email Martin1stdistrictga@gmail.com.
The 1st District has 17 counties, including Liberty, Long, Bryan and Chatham.
Other GOP candidates are Buddy Carter, Darwin Carter, Jeff Chapman, Bob Johnson and John McCallum.