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John Phillip Gingrey, M.D., (born July 10 1942), an American politician, has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 2003, representing the 11th District of Georgia. He was born in Augusta, Georgia, was educated at the Medical College of Georgia, and worked as an obstetrician and member of the Georgia State Senate before being elected to the U.S. House.
Georgia's 11th Congressional District covers much of northwest Georgia from Summerville, near the Tennessee border in the north, to Columbus. In addition to rural and small town mountain Georgia, the district encompasses much of Atlanta's white middle class northwestern suburbs. The Lockheed-Martin/Dobbins Air Reserve Complex in Marietta is included.
Gingrey's reputation in the Georgia State Senate was that of a social conservative and a member of the Christian right. There he supported outlawing abortion and interpretating the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution to give individual citizens rather than state militias a right to keep and use firearms. He also strongly supported the 2003 Invasion of Iraq, as well as the tax cuts of President George W. Bush.
Gingrey depends heavily on political contributions from fellow physicians to finance his election campaigns. The American College of Radiology Association, Harbin Clinic, American Academy of Ophthalmology, and American College of Cardiology are among his largest contributors in the 2004 election cycle. He opposes the provision of universal national health care.
Gingrey's likely Democratic Party challenger in the 2004 General Election is Rick Crawford, a successful trial lawyer.