SOUTH GEORGIA (WALB) — Two Democratic candidates are competing for the chance to challenge incumbent Republican Austin Scott in Georgia’s 8th Congressional District, each bringing distinct backgrounds and priorities to a race focused on rural communities.

Justin Marcel Lucas, a pastor and Worth County School Board member, and Dr. Kelly Esti, a Navy veteran with a PhD in public policy, will face off in the May 19 primary. The winner will advance to challenge Scott, who has represented the district since 2011.

The 8th Congressional District covers more than 30 counties across middle and south Georgia, stretching from Lowndes and Brooks counties in the south to Monroe and Jones counties in the north.

Lucas: Faith-based servant leadership focused on farmers

Lucas, who serves as an elder and pastor at two churches and is in his fourth year on the Worth County School Board, said he is running to be a voice for those not being heard.

“I’m not a politician. I like to call myself a servant,” Lucas said. “I believe I was birthed on this earth to serve other people. I saw a need. I saw a place where voices were not being heard at certain places concerning certain people.”

Lucas said his first priority in office would be assisting farmers. He cited a 145% increase in farmer bankruptcy rates between 2024 and 2025, and a 42% increase in farmer suicide rates from last year.

“Without help from the government, I really don’t think our farmers can survive,” Lucas said. “Farming affects everyone. Your food, your gas, whatever.”

He said he wants to implement plans to assist farmers during crises such as hurricanes and droughts, and address rising gas prices that affect agricultural operations. He also plans to address teacher retention and support for educators. His wife is a math teacher at Radium Elementary in Dougherty County. He said he wants to find out why teachers are leaving the profession and work to secure federal funding for education programs.

“I know you say, oh, you’re running on a federal level. What can you do about education?” Lucas said. “There’s a lot we can do. We can speak up where it matters. We can make the right phone calls. We can call the right people.”

Lucas said his faith motivates his campaign.

“Biblically speaking, what you do to the least of them is how I’m going to judge you,” Lucas said. “I want to be that person that they can say, we can count on our congressman to speak up when it matters, to vote where it matters.”

Lucas grew up in Anderson City, a rural area with a population under 300. His grandfather was a farmer. He and his brother own a food truck in Sylvester. His mother, both grandmothers, and several aunts and uncles are members of his church.

“If family can watch me grow up, watch me make mistakes, watch me become this person I am and still decide to follow me, that speaks volume,” Lucas said.

Esti: Policy expertise with focus on affordability and accountability

Esti, who grew up in rural Mississippi and holds a PhD in public policy, said he wants to elevate voices in areas often left behind as the state grows.

“I grew up in a small town called Magnolia,” Esti said. “The 8th district feels the exact same way as home. What I want to do is take what I’ve learned in Atlanta and the capital and bring it back to the rural areas which are often left behind.”

Esti outlined four main priorities. His first is to impeach and imprison the president.

“He has taken this country in a way that has been detrimental and harmful to the entire United States,” Esti said. “And he’s also a felon.”

His second priority is addressing the affordability crisis. He said inflation has increased month over month, affecting consumers at gas pumps and grocery stores. “As Donald Trump spends and spends and spends, he’s printing and printing and printing. And this is why we’re seeing inflation creep back up,” Esti said. “We have to get into a place where people can afford life again.”

On healthcare, Esti said costs have risen to unaffordable levels. He cited his experience with his 70-year-old mother transitioning to Medicaid and Social Security.

“We’re seeing her cost go up. And we know that it’s because the ACA has been stripped away,” Esti said.

Esti also advocates for a Georgia intrastate train connecting major cities from Valdosta to Chattanooga with stops along the way. He said the train would help decentralize growth from Atlanta and secure growth for rural areas.

“We can decentralize the growth in Atlanta and start growing other places as well, since they’ll be connected to Atlanta,” Esti said.

Esti studied nuclear power in the Navy after graduating high school as salutatorian in 1999. He was one of five Black students in his nuclear power school class of 300.

“Got to my first boat. I was the only black person in the engine room,” Esti said. “It was the first time that a lot of these people had seen a black nuke.”

After leaving the Navy, Esti earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees, then worked in finance at E-Trade during the Great Financial Recession. He later earned a PhD in public policy, focusing on quantitative poverty measurement.

He served on the Fulton County zoning board and was involved in creating the city of South Fulton, which now has 113,000 residents and a budget of $431 million. He also served on the board of the Main Street Academy charter school, where he witnessed the impact of the pandemic on education.

Contrasting approaches to representation

Both candidates emphasized the importance of being accessible to constituents, criticizing what they described as a lack of visibility from the current congressman.

Lucas said he will run a positive campaign focused on his own platform rather than attacking opponents.

“My goal is not to focus on everything that he’s not done, but to focus on everything I’m going to do,” Lucas said. “That voice. That speaking up. Having town hall meetings. Having meetings with my local constituents.”

He said once elected, he would represent all constituents regardless of party affiliation.

“Once I’m elected, I’m not just a Democrat congressman. I’m everybody’s congressman at that moment,” Lucas said.

Lucas said he wants to establish a community relations department in his congressional office to ensure constituents can reach him or his staff within two to three days of contact.

“I want to be accessible,” Lucas said. “I will not dodge you. I don’t care if you’re Republican, Democrat, Independent, whatever. White, black, green, yellow. I want to be for everybody.”

Esti said the biggest complaint he hears while traveling the district is that constituents do not feel heard. He said Scott has not held a town hall since 2013.

“As a representative, and I take that word very seriously, I’m representing people in this state,” Esti said. “I cannot represent you if I’m not listening to you.”

He plans to establish civic engagement centers instead of traditional congressional offices to teach constituents about civics and the voting process.

“I want to be visible,” Esti said. “I’ve been showing up in the district since September. That will never change.”

Esti said he brings legislative experience and relationships at the Capitol and congressional levels that would allow him to be ready on day one.

“There’s no delaying, or I have to get to know these people,” Esti said. “I understand exactly how public policy works. But I also understand that I also have to keep in mind of unintended consequences when we’re making decisions.”

He said his education and military discipline allow him to manage multiple projects simultaneously while paying attention to details.

“We have to keep paying attention to every detail, because if we don’t, one of those details can make the entire system fail,” Esti said.

Federal funding and community programs

Both candidates discussed the importance of securing federal funding for local communities.

Lucas said federal funding for after-school programs, 501c3 organizations and summer camps comes through congressional offices. His church operates an after-school program, and the city of Sylvester runs a summer camp.

“What are we doing to ensure federally that these local people have adequate funds they need to ensure our children are off the streets?” Lucas said.

He said he wants to develop programs to address gun violence and gangs.

Esti said he wants to cultivate a state team with the same goals and responsibilities to constituents to deliver services and promised initiatives.

“You have to have a state team that have the same goals and responsibilities to their constituents as you do,” Esti said. “And so, and that is not happening.”

Appeal to young voters

Both candidates urged young voters to participate in the May 19 primary, noting the draft age of 18 to 42.

Lucas encouraged young voters to honor the legacy of civil rights leaders.

“My grandmother grew up in that era. She know what it was like not to have a voice. Not to be able to vote,” Lucas said. “Dr. King, Joe Lewis, all these people, Fannie Lou Hamer, all these people, they fought for us to be able to be where we are today. They marched so that we could walk. So that we could vote.”

He said young people should not rely on social media to make their voices heard.

“Utilize your right to vote,” Lucas said. “Not Facebook. Not Instagram. Not Twitter. Not that. Utilize your right to vote.”

Esti said young voters are seeing the consequences of not participating in elections, particularly with the potential December draft.

“In December, you’re facing a draft, especially young men,” Esti said. “The question now becomes, is if you say that your vote is not important when in the numbers, it showed that a lot of young people supported this regime.”

He noted that in Georgia, felons who have completed their sentences and probation have their voting rights automatically restored.

“We have a lot of people who are running around saying that, oh, I have a felony or I had a felony in the court years and years and years ago, I can’t vote,” Esti said. “I’m like, no, you can vote.”

Esti said young voters are now facing consequences including higher gas prices, unaffordable rent and the potential for war.

“We cannot keep going down this fascist road,” Esti said. “A lot of lives are being lost, and a lot of lives will be lost in the very near future.”

Voter registration deadline is April 20. Early voting begins April 27.

More information is available at DrKellyEsti4Congress.com .

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