John "Tripp" Wingate III and Andy Maddox will face off Tuesday for Hall County State Court Judge.
Maddox secured over 44% of the vote and Wingate obtained 29% in the May 21 primary election. Brian Heck pulled nearly 26% of the vote.
Maddox spoke on WDUN’s Martha Zoller show and discussed political leanings as a judge.
“I think what I do hear is a thirst for a feeling of a truly independent judiciary branch. Again, I think that is what we have to be. We have to be confident that politics is not going to be part of being a judge and not going to be part of the judicial process,” Maddox said. “Whether it's the law enforcement, whether it's the judge, whether it's the system, whether it's the appellate courts, to me, it should be simple. We're umpires all I do is take the law, call balls and strikes. I walk into that courtroom, I don't care what party you're in.”
Wingate discussed the verdict in Donald Trump’s New York trial and how it has impacted his campaign.
“It's become a question at every stop. That's the first thing I get asked a lot of times, it's not the second or third, or people want to know if it surprised me, especially after the verdict came out if it wasn't surprising, and the answer was no,” Wingate said. “Just as it wasn't surprising that the DA in Athens didn't pursue the death penalty on Friday. You could see it building from the beginning. As far as the campaign, I believe it's built momentum for us, and I believe it is going to result in greater turnout when we have the election on June 18th.”
Maddox and Wingate discussed the process of running in Hall County.
“It's a tough process. It's one of those where the good news is, I have just thoroughly enjoyed being all over Hall County, meeting everybody, it's been very good for me to get back up off the couch,” Maddox said. “For the last two years, I've been a judge, I've enjoyed being a judge, I enjoy going home at the end of the day, you don't have a trial to get ready for, to try the next day. So it's been good for me to get out all over the county. It's been wonderful to meet people, to see people to hear their concerns, and educate people about the judicial system.”
“The process has been eye-opening. It's been it's been great. I have been all over Hall County and I have talked to probably thousands of people. It goes back to conservative values and what that means to people here in Hall County. For me being a conservative means the Constitution is the rule of law, judges are to apply the law not create it. I'm a supporter of the Second Amendment right to life, and I support conservative candidates and conservative values voting in the Republican primaries,” Wingate said.
Election day for the runoff is Tuesday, June 18.
