Posted on 02/22/2007 1:42:12 PM PST by Clintonfatigued
A former Marion County official announced plans Tuesday to challenge 13-term U.S. Rep. Dan Burton in next year's Republican primary.
John McGoff, who won election as Marion County coroner in 1996 and 2000, said he decided to seek the congressional seat for the heavily Republican 5th District after considering whether to enter the race for Indianapolis mayor.
"When I started talking to folks, they said that they really wanted to restore integrity in Washington and I heard far more about that than I did about the mayor's race," McGoff said. "It was a natural fit with my background to run for Congress."
Burton, 68, has typically faced only token opposition in his campaigns since he first won election to Congress in 1982.
He received 65 percent of the vote in last fall's election in the district, which stretches from the southern suburbs of Indianapolis, through the city's northern suburbs in Hamilton County and then north to the Huntington and Marion area near Fort Wayne.
Burton came under criticism this month after reports that he had missed 19 House votes during January for a trip to California to play in Bob Hope Chrysler Classic charity golf tournament. He has said that the trip was a mistake and that House votes had typically not been held during that week in recent years.
(Excerpt) Read more at theindychannel.com ...
There is still a great deal of deadwood in the GOP Caucus, and it needs to be swept aside if it doesn't get out of the way. Dan Burton sounds like an example of that.
I agree that there is a lot of GOP congressmen who should be persuaded to retire before some Democrat comes along and retires them. Sounds like Burton has been taking his district for granted and being less than honest in some areas. That's the same kind of stuff cost Jim Ryun his seat in Kansas 2nd. And Dan Burton's had questions about his activities in the past, if memory serves. Didn't he have a girfriend on his campaign staff payroll about 8 years ago?
Burton is one of the best in Congress.
I'm a big fan of Burton's. He's had to endure some of the ugliest $hithammering attacks from the media imaginable, especially during the dark days of the Clintoon regime. That said, if he's slipping a bit, he needs to get back on the ball. We need strong leaders like him in this Congress, now more than ever.
The guy has a terrific voting record.
Burton is arguably the most conservative member of the House, and has the voting record to prove it. There certainly is plenty of deadwood in the House GOP Caucus, but Burton ain't one of them.
You and DJ make good points. But he needs to quit missing votes. The nation's interests are more important than his score at the links.
I have some internal conflict over this. Burton has been a strong conservative vote, for the most part, but being in his district it's obvious to me that he's taken his office for granted. My district will likely put a Republican in regardless, so if this McGoff guy has a conservative platform I'll likely vote for him in the primaries. From what I'm reading on some of the local blogs a lot of other Republicans plan to do the same.
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