Clyde is facing Democrat Devin Pandy of Gainesville in the Nov. 3 general election for the Northeast Georgia seat.

Clydes ordeal began in 2013, when he was hit by civil asset forfeiture. The IRS confiscated about $940,000 from his gun shop, Clyde Armory. Federal agents ultimately found no issues and returned $900,000 to Clyde.

The experience inspired him to go to Washington, D.C., to advocate for civil asset forfeiture reform. Clyde had been accused of structuring, or setting up bank deposits to avoid reporting to the IRS.

The RESPECT Act, signed by President Donald Trump in 2019, changed IRS rules to only allow forfeiture for structuring if the money comes from an illegal source or is used to hide illegal activity. Prosecutors are now required to demonstrate probable cause that the seized money was somehow used illegally.

It should prevent any other law-abiding citizen from ever suffering the abuse that I suffered, he said at the time[CS1] .

Clyde, 56, reflecting on the experience in the recent interview, said he found that part of the government is off the rails. You dont do that to a small business.

He founded Clyde Armory in 1991 as a hobby business and made it a full-time venture in 1999, after graduating from the University of Georgia with a masters degree in business administration.

Meanwhile, he was also serving in the Navy Reserve. Clyde, who was born in Ontario, Canada, and who has U.S. citizenship as both his parents are citizens, started his journey up the Navy ranks at University of Notre Dames ROTC.

He ended up serving in the Navy for 11 years active duty and 17 years in the Navy Reserve, including deployments to the Middle East, where he was stationed in Kuwait and Iraq. He retired from the Reserve as a commander in 2013.

He said he believes his military background helped refine perseverance as a personal character trait.

Clyde had to lean on that to get through a challenging political season, one that began with a nine-candidate field seeking the Republican nomination for the 9th District seat. And then, he won a contentious Aug. 11 runoff against state Rep. Matt Gurtler, R-Tiger.

In a nod to his profession, protecting gun rights covered by the Second Amendment is a top priority for Clyde.

Deregulation hasnt happened in the firearms industry, he said, citing especially the rules on noise-reducing devices on firearms.

Everything that makes noise above 85 decibels, at which a person can start to lose their hearing, has a muffler on it, Clyde said. The government is penalizing people who want to put that kind of (equipment) on a firearm. Youve got to pay a $200 tax and wait almost a year to get one. Having a firearm is a constitutional right. Its unconstitutional to tax a constitutional right.

Also, he strongly advocates right to life.

If people dont have respect for life, then what do they have respect for? Clyde said. I firmly believe that life begins at conception and ends at natural death, and that God created life and that life is precious and needs to be protected.

Hes also pushing for rural broadband improvements.

Its like the electricity of the 1930s and the telephones of the 1940s, Clyde said. If we have to do all this distance learning and work from home, if youre not connected, how are you going to be able to do that?

And businesses are learning that without connectivity to the internet, youre just not going to be very successful. I want businesses to have every advantage in North Georgia.

Read more:
U.S. House 9th District preview: What motivated Andrew Clyde to run for Congress - Dawson Community News