Republican John Cowan, a neurosurgeon in Rome, Georgia, announced Tuesday he's running for the state's 14th congressional district seat.
Cowan, the CEO of Rome-based Cortex Toys, said in a news release that he would strongly support President Donald Trump's agenda while using his expertise to find solutions for the country's health care crisis.
"I'll promote and defend pro-life legislation, the Second Amendment, our borders, our religious freedoms, our military, our veterans and our first responders," Cowan said in his candidacy announcement. "I'll stand for what has made America great, and I'll fight against any efforts by the left to rebrand socialism, undermine our Constitution, or threaten our freedoms."
Cowan said he is running to address the country's "unsustainable health care spending," which he believes is the nation's highest need.
John Cowan / Contributed photo"We spend more on health care than any developed nation yet have declining life expectancy and worse health," he said. "Healing a broken health care system will go a long way toward putting us back on the right path. This can't happen without physicians in Congress. It's time to make a House call."
Cowan lives in Rome with his wife, Dr. Annie Cowan, an anesthesiologist who serves on the Medical Association of Georgia's Opioid Task Force.
Marjorie Greene, a business owner in Alpharetta, and Clayton Fuller, a special assistant district attorney for Georgia's Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit, are the two other candidates who have filed for May's primary.
Congressman Tom Graves, the senior-most Republican in Georgia's House delegation, said earlier this month he will not stand for re-election next year, triggering an unexpected battle to represent the deeply conservative district.
The 14th congressional district includes Catoosa, Chattooga, Dade, Floyd, Gordon, Haralson, Murray, Paulding, Polk, Walker, Whitfield and parts of Pickens counties.
Contact Patrick Filbin at pfilbin@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6476. Follow him on Twitter @PatrickFilbin.