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Jeff Criswell
Candidate for U.S. House of Representatives in Georgia's 6th District.

Criswell is a conservative Christian who is running as a Republican. He first moved to Atlanta in 1984 but was never involved in politics until July, 2023, when he declared for the same seat in Georgia's 7th district. When the 7th was remapped in December, 2023, Criswell switched to district 6.

The new 6th is a court-ordered "Black majority" district; when Criswell formally filed to run with the Georgia Secretary of State in March, 2024, he was the only Republican to do so, and is running unopposed. His likely opponent in the general election is Lucy McBath, who Criswell has dubbed "Dirty Dollars" McBath, because of her relationship with convicted felon Sam "the crypto-creep" Bankman-Fried, who donated $2 million in stolen money to her 2022 campaign.

EARLY LIFE
Criswell is the 3rd child of intellectuals Howard and Nell Criswell, who met at Duke University in the '50s. Born in Charlotte's Memorial Hospital, he lived in Charlotte until 1966, when his father, a sportswriter, headed to Cocoa Beach, Florida to work in Public Relations for NASA.

After 2 years in Florida, Howard was offered work with the federal government, and the family moved to Springfield, Virginia, outside of Washington, D.C.

TUMULTUOUS HIGH SCHOOL YEARS
Because both his parents were career minded, Criswell was a "latchkey kid" who spent many hours alone poring over books in the families' small library. This "home alone" dynamic created a difficult relationship with his emotionally aloof mother, which impacted Criswell's ability to relate to the opposite sex. Puberty was not an easy transition for Criswell, who indulged in pornography to the point of addiction and ended up in a sort of sexually confused state.

At the same time, Criswell began to use marijuana and alcohol, which sent the otherwise highly intelligent youngster into an emotional tailspin that ended in a suicide attempt.

NEW LIFE IN CHRIST
After dropping out of high school, Criswell toiled away at odd jobs until May, 1977, when he decided there "must be something more to life." Hitch-hiking from Springfield to Atlanta, Criswell was given a Bible tract; when he read the tract on the night of May 12, he was powerfully converted to Christ.

GIRL NEXT DOOR
Back home, Criswell relished his new life as a Christian, got involved with a local church youth group, finished high school and started college at Northern Virginia Community College.

Criswell also started a relationship with the girl next door, the former Valerie Richter, almost 5 years his senior. The trajectory of his life changed when Richter became pregnant; still only 19, Criswell was happy to get married and became dad to oldest son Aaron. The marriage, sadly, was doomed almost from the start.

Formerly a high school dropout, Criswell was accepted into the University of Virginia, where he started classes in the summer of 1980. It was at UVa, though, that the fragile nature of the marriage became obvious. Even though they had a second son, Donnie, the rocky marriage created too much stress for Criswell, who dropped out with a year to go on his degree and the family moved to Atlanta.

Atlanta
It was in Atlanta that Criswell wandered away from the faith that had been so meaningful to him. He found work but started drinking and smoking pot again. After a lot of fighting, it was obvious that they could not continue and the couple divorced in 1987.

Criswell was awarded custody of Aaron and Donnie every other weekend and during the summers.

After about a year of aimless partying Criswell realized how empty he had become, and came back to his faith in Christ. Although he tried to reconcile with his ex-wife, she had moved on from him and the couple never again reunited.

A.D.STARR
In order to honor his sons, and to create a way for them to