Race and Gender Are Issues Now in Athens House Race [View all]

In Monday's Federation of Neighborhoods candidate forum, Republican Houston Gaines kept referring to the "unique perspective" he'd bring to the state House of Representatives.

One would think that Gaines, who just graduated from the University of Georgia in May, was referring to his youth. When Flagpole intern Nate Harris asked him what made him unique, though, Gaines' answer was anything but clear.

After much hemming and hawing, Gaines at one point said, "It's obvious just by looking at us that we have a different perspective."

The 22-year-old has built his campaign on being the type of guy a grandmother like, say, Mayor Nancy Denson would call a nice young man. I, personally, eventually interpreted his reluctance to reference his age outright as perhaps not wanting to draw attention to his inexperience. I wondered about a dog whistle, but his whiteness, after all, would not make him unique in the legislature, nor would his maleness, or even his beard.

Read more: http://flagpole.com/news/in-the-loop/race-and-gender-are-issues-now-in-athens-house-race