Our endorsement of Chris Harden for Congress in Georgia’s 11th District is an unusual one because we previously endorsed his Republican opponent, John Cowan, in the Republican primary.
At the time, we admired Cowan’s willingness to challenge Marjorie Taylor Greene, reject conspiracy politics, and speak frankly about Donald Trump and the MAGA movement. We thought we were supporting an independent-minded Republican. In any case, he was still the best option among those running in the Republican primary.
After watching Cowan during the run-off primary and the general-election campaign, we no longer believe that describes the candidate before us. Cowan now says he is “100% behind President Trump.” The independence we valued seems to have disappeared just when political ambition made it inconvenient.
Harden is hardly a finished product. He is a first-time candidate and, in our view, has more learning to do—particularly on economics and foreign policy. But his background in political science, history and law shows in his strong commitment to due process, constitutional protections and the rule of law. He also describes himself as a moderate Democrat and has explicitly said that he believes in market solutions.
Most important, Harden comes across as a decent and principled person.
We do not confuse decency with policy expertise. But expertise can be acquired. Character and political independence are harder to manufacture.
As we say in the endorsement, Chris Harden may be a diamond in the rough. In this race, we would rather send someone to Washington who still has things to learn than someone who appears willing to discard deeply held principles when they conflict with political ambition.
Read our full endorsement of Chris Harden for Georgia’s 11th Congressional District.
See all of CIVPAC’s 2026 candidate endorsements and races under review.
