Johnson went on to defeat Republican Catherine Davis, a human resources manager and GOP activist, in November to become the district's Representative.

On December 21, 2005, Johnson commented during the press conference announcing his decision to run, that "The Fourth District faces serious problems of traffic and transportation, public safety, healthcare and education.

Johnson responded that he was a "lifelong Democrat" and that the money McKinney criticized was small compared to the $130,000 in donations he took in before the primary vote.

Johnson pointed out that McKinney has received large donations from donors from New York and Los Angeles, while most of his support had come from within the Congressional district.

[5] Johnson raised questions about McKinney's controversial confrontation with a U.S. Capitol police officer in Washington, DC.

During the second debate on August 5, 2006, Johnson pointed to the Capitol Hill incident as an example of what he has called McKinney's embarrassing leadership in office.

"[10] Blogger Joe Gandelman wrote about Johnson's candidacy, driving traffic to his campaign web site.

After he observed that Johnson was posting on multiple prominent political blogs, Gandelman wrote, "These are fascinating posts -- worth the attention of readers of all persuasions -- because they show a candidate taking full advantage of Internet technology to directly spread his word and also (not a small matter) a candidate who's offering voters a different style of representation.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that a poll by InsiderAdvantage "shows challenger Hank Johnson with a hefty lead over incumbent Cynthia McKinney in the Democratic runoff for the 4th District congressional race.

[15] The last poll by InsiderAdvantage before the primary runoff election, taken on August 6, 2006, gave the impression that Johnson had strengthened his lead in the race against McKinney.

[17] Merle Black, a political science professor at Emory University in Atlanta, expressed a similar sentiment, "An incumbent who is forced into a runoff is a serious sign of weakness.

"[20] During her concession speech, McKinney praised leaders in Cuba and Venezuela and blamed the media and electronic voting machines for her defeat.