“Safest seat” in D.C. heavily pursued

Rep. Dan Burton of the 5th Congressional District will run against four other candidates on May 4 for a seat that has long been thought the safest seat in Washington, D.C.

The 5th Congressional District is the richest in Indiana and covers 11 counties stretching from Huntington and Wabash down to the eastern and southern suburbs of Indianapolis. Rep. Burton has held his seat in the House for 27 years and during that time has run for office largely unopposed.

Luke Messer, a former state representative, is considered the front-runner in this race. Sam Blevins (sr) interned for Luke Messer last spring and was very impressed by Messer, most by his realistic ideas and character.

After an event in Wabash, Blevins attended earlier in the eek, Messer called personally to thank him for coming and his support.

“He didn’t have to do that,” Blevins said. He said that is Messer’s greatest strength. “A candidate should run for the people,” Blevins said. “[Messer] isn’t going to attend just to attend. He’s very personal.”

John Donnelly, press secretary for Dan Burton, said that Burton isn’t as concerned with the primary right now as he is the position he was elected to in Washington. Burton is confident because the people of the 5th District trust him and that’s why they continue to vote for him.

“He is very respected in Washington and his record speaks for himself,” Donnelly said. “This district is very conservative and that is who Burton continues to represent.”

Dan Burton and Luke Messer both acknowledge that something needs to change and they have similar ideas for Washington regarding the economy, education, and health-care reform. Burton said that he will continue to fight for health care remaining in the hands of patients and health care providers, away from government and big business, and he will rely on free market principles and the American work ethic to get us out of this recession.

Messer believes that this is not the time for old politics and that the Republican Party needs to start coming up with realistic alternatives.

When he announced his candidacy last spring, Messer said, “What we hear over and over again is that people want to see the Republican Party return to its roots of limited government, fiscal disciplines, lower taxes. They are ready for the next generation of conservative leaders to present that message. … If we are going to restore the credibility of our own party, we need to have our own version of reform.”

The other candidates include Mike Murphy, a current state representative, Brose McVey, a Hamilton County businessman and John McGoff, Burton’s 2008 challenger.

McVey said that the district’s constituents “are terribly frustrated with politics as usual.”

He welcomed Messer to the race last year saying, “Voters benefit when they have choices.”

Sam Blevins agreed with McVey.

Rep. Dan Burton has done well for us, he said, but “people should have a choice between a good candidate and a better candidate.”

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This entry was posted on Thursday, February 25th, 2010 at 8:00 AM and is filed under News, Politics.
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