Thomas McMasters, 47, of Huber Heights, said he always planned on running for Congress after he got out of the Air Force, which he did in October. It’s on his “bucket list.”
Barring a victory — which he hopes for — McMasters wants to force a discussion on issues such as the national debt, and cutting waste in the military.
Manfred Schreyer, 53, owner of Taffy’s in Eaton — a music venue, coffee shop and craft beer purveyor — is more aggressive. “This is a fight for your life,” his campaign material screams.
“We’re going to focus on what Mr. Boehner has done for the district, and that would be nothing,” Schreyer said.
McMasters prints out his own business cards, and is trying to keep his campaign expenditures under $5,000 so he doesn’t have to file campaign finance forms.
Schreyer is planning a TV ad buy soon, and his fliers and signs are thinly scattered throughout the 8th Congressional District’s six counties.
But they have nowhere near the war chest — $606,998 on hand — or the name recognition — regular speaking engagements on “Meet the Press” — of the incumbent, U.S. Rep. John Boehner, R-West Chester Twp.
And Boehner has been popularly re-elected. Only once since first elected in 1990 has he had a primary challenger, whom he trounced in 2002 with 85 percent of the vote. And he has bested his Democratic challengers with more than 60 percent of the vote every two years since 2000.
Plus, if he wins, he has a chance of becoming speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.
But a recent Rasmussen poll found that, while national approval ratings are up for Boehner, they still trail behind his disapproval ratings. He lost love with some conservative voters by supporting the 2008 bank bailout, but gained points with his staunch opposition to Democrats’ health care reform measure.
Schreyer believes the fact that Boehner faces two same-party challengers is in itself evidence that Republicans are disenchanted with him.
“The fact is people will vote, and since there has never been an alternative, this will mark the path,” Schreyer said. “We will win.”
3 vie in GOP primary for U.S. House seat
Sitting on the broad deck of his Huber Heights home, Thomas McMasters dreams of being a U.S. congressman.
“It wouldn’t matter who’s (the incumbent) right now for me to run and say I think the budget has to be talked about more,” he said.
Sitting on a plush couch in his Eaton coffee shop — cappuccino machines screeching in the background and indie music on the radio — Manfred Schreyer poses a few questions.
“What makes a good representative? Is it the one who follows the party and is truly bought off, or is it the representative of the people?” he said. “What has he (John Boehner) done for the people? What has he done for the job losses in his district?”
Sitting in his office on Capitol Hill, Rep. John Boehner, R-West Chester Twp., plans to return to his position as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.
“Our goal is to earn a majority (of seats in the House) and that’s what we’re working to do,” said Boehner in a phone interview Thursday, April 15.
“What I try to do in Washington is represent (my constituents’) interests, and I would not have been elected the last 10 times if I had not … reflected the issues of concern in their lives,” he said.
All three are on the May 4 Republican primary ballot, seeking the party’s nomination for the 8th Congressional District, which includes all or part of six counties stretching from rural Mercer County in the north to urban and suburban Butler County in the south.
The challenger
In short, Schreyer sees the incumbent as more interested in being a Republican party power-broker in the pocket of big business than a representative of his district.
Schreyer said he wants to be a moderate alternative who supports the “conservative middle class,” not the “wealthy elite.”
He calls Boehner a hypocrite for taking a principled stance against earmarks — and requesting none for his district — but standing by while others load bills with pork for their own districts.
“If everybody takes earmarks, I will take earmarks as well, because we’re in too big of a crisis (not to),” Schreyer said.
He recalls the 1995 controversy of Boehner handing out checks from tobacco lobbyists on the House floor, his support for the North American Free Trade Agreement.
“For Mr. Boehner, in my opinion, it’s all about power. It’s not about representing the people of his district,” said Schreyer , who emigrated from Germany in 1984 and became a U.S. citizen in 1987.
His biggest criticisms: Boehner’s support for the 2008 bank bailout and refusal to work with House Democrats on health care reform. Schreyer also said the incumbent spends too much time on the golf course and too little in his district.
“The man is absent, he’s disconnected from the district,” he said. “He’s a professional fundraiser for the Republican party.”
The incumbent
Boehner spent the week in Washington, D.C., battling Democrats over proposed financial reform legislation that he called a “permanent bailout” for Wall Street.
In a phone interview from Capitol Hill between votes, he said he’s doing the people’s business, fighting “tax-and-spend” Democrats.
“I spend ample amounts of time around my district making sure I understand what the concerns of my constituents are,” he said.
“I think during my reign here (as House minority leader) we have taken principled stances to be fiscally responsible,” he said. “At the same time also offered what we thought were better solutions … (that) included a lot less spending and a lot less debt.”
He admits, though, that his vote for the bank bailout “probably does” undermine his support among conservatives. He had no choice, he said, based on what financial experts were saying would happen without the bill.
“If faced with the same forecast from the chairman of the Federal Reserve and the secretary of the treasury, I would do the same thing,” he said. “I thought that if we did not pass (the bill), the consequences for my constituents would be far worse than they are today.”
He was highly critical of how it was implemented, he said.
As for earmarks, his stance is unchanged. In fact, his Republican colleagues have joined him in a unilateral earmark ban this year.
This week, the National Republican Congressional Committee launched a “Boehner for Speaker” campaign, in an effort to win over the 40 seats needed to reclaim the House — making Boehner House speaker.
The centrist independent
McMasters’ Web site includes a list of “Reasons you may not vote for me,” which includes the statement: “The incumbent will likely be the speaker of the house if he remains in office.”
“I hate to be too honest because people think you’re not serious,” McMasters said of his self-deprecating campaign material, insisting he is in the race to win.
He said the Web site averages about 400 hits a week. “That’s probably about 45 people a day,” he said.
McMasters said he’s in the race for several reasons. For one, he has always wanted to run for Congress. And he is concerned about the federal deficit.
McMasters, a retired Air Force captain, said he saw rampant waste in military spending first-hand.
“It’s really good to hear groups out there say we have to support the military,” he said. “That doesn’t mean internally in the military you have to think money grows on trees.”
McMasters said he originally wanted to run as an independent. But that required too many petitions, so he had to decide which party to run under. He said he’s a centrist, like much of the country.
“I’ve got views that are Democratic, I’ve got views that are Republican,” he said. “We can bring 40 percent of the people into the Republican party and have a centrist party.”
At most, McMasters said he hopes to win. At least, he hopes to prompt debate about things like the budget.
“With me being in the race and me talking about it, then it gets talked about more,” he said.
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