MONROE, Ga. — State Rep. Timothy Barr said he’s the man who can keep up Jody Hice’s work in Congress.

Barr, 40, announced his candidacy late last week for the Republican nomination for the 10th District seat in Congress. He’s served in the state House since 2013.

Hice, a Republican from Greensboro, is giving up the seat he’s held since 2015 to run for secretary of state next year.

Barr credits trips to Bolivia with his wife in volunteer work for putting him on the path for public service.

“Their government is extremely oppressive,” he said.

And along came the children.

“And then as you have a child, you start thinking long term, down the road, 20 years, what does the United States look like for them? So when our daughter came, we actually named her Liberty to remind us on a daily basis, that we need to fight for her liberty to preserve freedom for the next generation.”

In his first interview since announcing his candidacy, Barr said the run for Congress is about continuing that work.

“It again goes back to preserving freedom,” he said. “And when the congressman got out, my wife (Melinda) and I started praying about what the next step looked like for us.

“And so it was a tough choice, but in the end, we feel like taking the fight to D.C. to help preserve freedom, to stand up for America, and battle against the cancel culture, was very important.

“We have a need for that conservative leadership that the congressman provided,” he said. “And we want to step in and continue that conservative approach in D.C.”

Although the 10th District currently stretches from Gwinnett County east to the outskirts of Augusta, and includes the eastern half of Newton County, Barr’s Lawrenceville home is just outside in the 7th District, now represented by Carolyn Bourdeaux, a Democrat from Suwanee.

But Barr said he aligns with the culture of the 10th District and thinks the every-decade reapportionment later this year may well put him in the 10th anyway.

“Our values align really, really well — you know, a man of faith with a small business, protecting life and family are super important to me,” he said.

During his time in Atlanta, Barr said he’s proud to have worked to have supported the Living Infants Fairness Equality Act, also known as the “heartbeat bill.” It would have banned abortion in almost all cases after six weeks.

Gov. Brian Kemp signed the act in 2019, but it was struck down as unconstitutional a year later.

Barr said he and his wife have four children — in addition to Liberty, the family includes Haven, Maverick and Dixie — and two of them were born prematurely.

“Our family spent quite a bit of time in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit),” Barr said. “We understand that life begins very, very early.

“Those little ones that are premature, just gave us a profound respect for life.”

He also pointed to a bill that repeals a law that curtails a citizen’s gun rights during a state of emergency, as Georgia has been in for more than a year due to COVID-19.

Otherwise, Barr said he stays vigilant on what is coming down the pike under the Gold Dome.

“I read a lot of legislation and sometimes there are a lot of unintended consequences, so stopping legislation that shouldn’t have gone through” is a key accomplishment, he said.

The primary elections for the congressional race will be May 24, 2022, with the general election on Nov. 8, 2022.

Also in the race for the 10th District seat is Dr. Paul Broun of Athens, who held the seat from 2007-15, and businessman Marc McMain.