DAYTON-Local retired farmer and Port of Columbia Commissioner candidate Jack Miller recently cut ties with the Columbia County Conservatives, saying that he did not agree with the dangerous core beliefs of the political group.

"I didn't agree with a lot of the things that they were espousing, to the point I decided that I did not want to be associated with them in any way," Miller said. "And that was that."

The group, which has become known for its anti-vaccination and anti-masking rhetoric, has been regularly meeting at Maco Aviation, near Huntsville.

"I asked one question- I said 'is this organization going to publish any anti vaccine rhetoric, and people started yelling and got mad. I folded up my chair and walked away. I don't care to be a part of that kind of business," Miller said.

Miller said that he initially started attending Columbia County Conservatives earlier this year, after he announced his Port Commission candidacy. A lifelong politically-conservative individual, Miller was drawn to the group's name, but said he quickly learned that the group's beliefs did not align with his own. He said that he left the group after he witnessed extreme upset, when asked if the group will be publishing any anti-vaccination material.

"This country is at war- 700,000 people dead in a year and a half? That's more than World War II, Vietnam and Korea put together," Miller said. "The only way we are going to defeat this thing that has ruined our economy, screwed up our educational system- we have to fight it. The only tools we have are masks, and the vaccine."

Miller is running against Johnny Watts, one of the founding members of the Columbia County Conservatives, for the District 3 Seat currently occupied by Sean Milligan.