Georgia Candidate Sorry for Jewish ‘Thumbs Down’ in Campaign Flyers

By Marcy Oster May 22, 2016

— An attorney who is running against a sitting Jewish-Hispanic judge in Georgia apologized for turning religion into a criterion for the office.

Roderick Bridges apologized on Saturday to DeKalb County State Court Judge Dax Lopez for campaign literature that listed Bridges as Christian with a thumbs up sign, and Lopez as Jewish with a thumbs down sign.

Bridges also included party affiliation – he’s a Republican and Dax is a Democrat – in what is supposed to be a non-partisan race. Bridges would be the first African American to hold the position.

Bridges also said that including religion in the checklist was intended to highlight his own commitment to his faith. “I wasn’t talking about him, I was more so talking about myself,” Bridges said, according to the Daily Report.

“We weren’t trying to offend anybody, especially the Jewish population,” he said.

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