John Cowan has won the runoff for the Republican nomination in the race for Georgia’s 11th Congressional District.
Cowan beat Rob Adkerson by 30 percentage points on Tuesday. The winner will go on to the election in November to replace retiring Republican U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk. If Cowan wins, it’ll be his first time serving in elected office.
It’s the end of a primary that heavily centered on President Donald Trump’s policies and his favor, despite the president never endorsing anyone in the race.
Loudermilk has held the Republican stronghold district for over a decade. It includes parts of Cobb, Cherokee, Bartow and Pickens counties. He won the seat by 33 percentage points in 2024.
Cowan is a Northwest Georgia neurosurgeon. He finished 21 points higher than Adkerson in the May primary, but finished behind 50% of the vote, forcing a runoff. He previously ran unsuccessfully against former U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene in the District 14 Republican primary in 2020.
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His opponents in the primary harped on him for switching districts and for being a perceived “never-Trumper,” something Cowan vehemently denied during his campaign this time around as he framed himself as Trump’s best ally and a much-needed political outsider.
As a healthcare professional, Cowan naturally campaigned on that front and to “fix the problems” with Obamacare, also known as the Affordable Care Act. Other priorities of his include affordability, tax relief and election security.
Adkerson is Loudermilk’s former chief of staff. He was Loudermilk’s campaign manager in 2014 and then served in his office for over a decade before resigning earlier this year.
Throughout his campaign, Adkerson branded himself as a staunch and faith-based conservative. Cowan framed Adkerson as an establishment politician who won’t bring fresh blood to Washington, though Adkerson has never held elected office.
Adkerson ran on many typical conservative values, such as 2nd Amendment rights, religious liberty, and anti-immigration and anti-abortion policies.
During an Atlanta Press Club runoff debate earlier this month, both Adkerson and Cowan told the moderator they don’t disagree with a single one of Trump’s policies.
Though policy generally took a backseat during that debate, the candidates answered questions about perceived election fraud, healthcare and the Affordable Care Act, the war in Iran, and whether the Department of Homeland Security should work with local governments or their representation in Congress when building new immigration detention facilities. Most answers were in lockstep with Trump’s priorities.
But neither ultimately won a nod from the president. Adkerson did win the backing of conservative student group Turning Point USA and of his former employer Loudermilk. Cowan has also picked up the endorsements of a handful of conservative lawmakers and local elected leaders.
Cowan will face off against Democratic candidate and defense attorney Chris Harden in November.
