John Salvesen

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John Salvesen

Republican Party

Candidate, U.S. House Georgia District 5

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 5, 2024

Next election

May 19, 2026

Education

Graduate

Santa Monica College, 1989

Personal

Birthplace

Burbank, CA

Religion

Presbyterian

Profession

Construction

Contact

Personal Facebook

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Personal LinkedIn

John Salvesen (Republican Party) (also known as Bongo) is running for election to the U.S. House to represent Georgia's 5th Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the Republican primary scheduled on May 19, 2026.^[source]

Biography

John Salvesen was born in Burbank, California. He earned a graduate degree from Santa Monica College in 1989. Salvesen's career experience includes working in the construction industry.

Elections

2026

See also: Georgia's 5th Congressional District election, 2026

General election

The primary will occur on May 19, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.

Democratic primary

Democratic primary for U.S. House Georgia District 5

Incumbent Nikema Williams (D) and Arnetress Beatty (D) are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Georgia District 5 on May 19, 2026.

		Candidate
		Nikema Williams
		Arnetress Beatty

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Andres Castro (D)
• Victor Hill (D)

Republican primary

Republican primary for U.S. House Georgia District 5

John Salvesen (R) is running in the Republican primary for U.S. House Georgia District 5 on May 19, 2026.

		Candidate
		John Salvesen

---

	There are no incumbents in this race.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Endorsements

Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.

2024

See also: Georgia's 5th Congressional District election, 2024

Georgia's 5th Congressional District election, 2024 (May 21 Republican primary)

Georgia's 5th Congressional District election, 2024 (May 21 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Georgia District 5

Incumbent Nikema Williams defeated John Salvesen in the general election for U.S. House Georgia District 5 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Nikema Williams (D)	85.7	294,470
		John Salvesen (R)	14.3	49,221

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 343,691
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Georgia District 5

Incumbent Nikema Williams advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Georgia District 5 on May 21, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Nikema Williams	100.0	69,116

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 69,116
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Georgia District 5

John Salvesen advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Georgia District 5 on May 21, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		John Salvesen	100.0	3,939

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 3,939
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Salvesen in this election.

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

John Salvesen has not yet completed Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey. If you are John Salvesen, click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.

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2024

John Salvesen completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Salvesen's responses.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Hello my name is John salvesen, Bongo for Congress and I'm running in the Georgia fifth congressional district against nikema Williams. Originally from South Jersey and have lived in Atlanta since 1994. I absolutely love the city and look forward to serving my constituents

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• I believe that the election system that we have in place in Georgia is very susceptible to be hacked and should replaced by paper ballots
• I am strongly against any attempts at 15 minutes cities and the elimination of cash. AKA what nikima calls the digitization of Georgia
• I believe that there is ingredients in our food that should never be passed by the FDA and I don't think they're doing their job properly

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I'm personally passionate about reasonable Healthcare for Americans, and I'm passionate about resisting any attempts from foreigners or corporations to impose control measures on Americans

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I look up to my father and would like to follow his example of integrity and ingenuity

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

There are several little videos on my website that express my political philosophy. This can be found at www.bongoforcongress.com

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

I believe that an official that cannot be bribed legally or illegally is an ideal candidate. Most politicians use their position for their own personal gain, constituents are lucky to get 10% representation. Also I think it's crucial for a candidate to keep in touch with its constituents and not disappear until it's time to get reelected. That's why I will report to my constituents once a week via podcast and other means. The line of communication between constituents and representatives will be solid.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I love doing due diligence and investigating things. I'm very compromising and look forward to working with my Democratic counterparts. I truly love my constituents and I would never even consider taking a bribe legally or illegally against the voters

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

The core responsibilities of this office are due diligence on particular subject matter and lots of research. Congressman should be very aware of the constituents needs and to try to meet those needs and if possible, solve those needs

What legacy would you like to leave?

I would like to lead by example. The Legacy I hope to leave will be one in which other Congressman can follow in my footsteps

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

I remember seeing the Vietnam War on color TV and I also remember the moon landing not the first one but later ones

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My very first job was dishwasher and I held the position as long as my dad couldn't find a dishwasher for his restaurant LOL

What is your favorite book? Why?

My favorite book is the Bible. (Not the Chinese version LOL) for reasons to numerous to mention in 2000 characters

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Superman or Aquaman but if I'm Aquaman I will not be hanging out with tadpole

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Nightmare by Avenged Sevenfold or most songs by Rush or Kansas

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

I have a pension of choosing bad business partners

What qualities does the U.S. House of Representatives possess that makes it unique as an institution?

Congress is extremely unique government system throughout the world and one that's proven the works better than any other system.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics?

It's good to have experience in whatever you pursue but not completely necessary. Sometimes it's good to not have business as usual

What do you perceive to be the United States’ greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

The resistance of foreign entities and or corporations to infiltrate our free and fair way of life. To make sure that we as constituents, make wise choices as to who our leaders will be in the future, and to address the wants and needs of the voters in a very direct manner

Do you believe that two years is the right term length for representatives?

Three might be better only because so much time and effort has to be spent on the race. So in a two-year term half of that term is spent campaigning instead of focusing on Congressional issues

What are your thoughts on term limits?

I'm 100% for term limits. Two consecutive term for president two consecutive term for Senator four consecutive terms for Congress. Personally I will only serve two terms. After that I will either run for president or I will go back to being a handyman

Is there a particular representative, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

I work for Ronald Reagan when I was young and thought he was a great president. There are a lot of local Georgia Representatives on both sides of the aisle that I respect a lot. I hope to be the kind of Representative that others want to model themselves after. This is why after I'm elected I will be called congressman John. The name represents every average John that could be a congressman since it is us, the voters.

Both sitting representatives and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

Too many stories to mention. I love interviewing people in a journalistic fashion. It's my favorite way to learn and to know what is happening. I'm inspired by John Lewis, the congressman District that I'm taking over. My goal is to be one of the greatest congressmen it ever walked into the capitol

Tell us your favorite joke.

A Hindu a Jew and a politician are heading to a farm convention in the middle of nowhere. Because of another event that was going on in town, vacancies were very limited but they were able to find one hotel in town it still had two vacancies. When they get to the hotel the owner tells them, there's only two rooms left so one of you will have to sleep out in the barn. So the three men draw straws and the Hindu gets the Short Straw so he has to sleep out in the barn. 10 minutes later there's a knock on the door. He says, "I'm sorry guys I just can't do it I really can't it's sacrilegious to sleep with cows and there's no way I can do this".
The other to say fine will draw straws again. The Jew gets the Short Straw so he has to sleep out in the barn. 10 minutes later there's a knock on the door. He says," I'm sorry guys I just can't sleep with a pig it's totally against Jewish traditions there's no way I can do this!" So the politician says fine I'll sleep in the barn! 10 minutes later there's a knock on the door. It's the cow and the pig.

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

Compromise in working with the Democrats is crucial to getting good legislation done. I don't like this US versus them mentality and I try to work with Democrats as much as possible to achieve similar results. Also it's extremely necessary to have friendships on the other side of the aisle so that in a situation that requires consensus, this can be achieved through Partnerships and friendships

The Constitution says that all bills for raising revenue must originate in the House. What role would this power play in your priorities if elected?

I don't like power play so to speak cuz it infers some sort of coercion. I'll play my hand as good as I can do it for my constituents but I'm not interested in bullying or threatening or inferring my position. Of course if there's an advantage that I can take advantage of for my constituents I will do it as long as it's morally right

How should the U.S. House use its investigative powers?

Frequently and often. There are several issues in our country that have to be investigated and disclosed and dealt with.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

It's early yet but I've got East Atlanta Village, Lake City, College Park, East Point. I will be courting Chamber of Commerce as soon

What committees interest you?

There are several

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

Financial transparency is crucial. Government accountability absolutely crucial. The American people are the owners of this country and as such, Congressman should report to constituents regularly and frequently

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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John Salvesen campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024	U.S. House Georgia District 5	Lost general	$0	N/A**
Grand total			$0	N/A**
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Election Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

See also

2026 Elections

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Footnotes

[show]

Georgia's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Jon Ossoff (D)

Raphael Warnock (D)

Representatives

District 1

Earl Carter (R)

District 2

Sanford Bishop (D)

District 3

Brian Jack (R)

District 4

Hank Johnson (D)

District 5

Nikema Williams (D)

District 6

Lucy McBath (D)

District 7

Rich McCormick (R)

District 8

Austin Scott (R)

District 9

Andrew Clyde (R)

District 10

Mike Collins (R)

District 11

Barry Loudermilk (R)

District 12

Rick Allen (R)

District 13

David Scott (D)

District 14

Vacant

Republican Party (8)

Democratic Party (7)

Vacancies (1)