Voters to see an 8th Congressional rematch in Nov. 3 general election

BUTLER COUNTY — Voters in the 8th Congressional District will have a similar choice in November as they did two years ago.

Congressman Warren Davidson, R-Troy, and Democrat Vanessa Enoch, of West Chester Twp., will be on the Nov. 3 ballot, vying for the congressional seat just as they were in 2018. But voters will also see a spot for a certified write-in candidate, Isaac Reed of Hamilton.

Reed has several items he’d like to push for in Congress, but the first is a bill to impose term limits for members of the House and Senate, and the Supreme Court justices. The pro-gun, pro legal immigration candidate also said he would introduce a bill to remove federal government control over the public education system, saying it “belongs in the hands of the state.”

The congressional district incorporates all of Butler, Clark, Darke, Miami and Preble counties, and the southernmost portion of Mercer County. It stretches from the shores of Grand Lake St. Mary’s along its northern borders to just before the northern portion of the Interstate 275 loop in Greater Cincinnati. An estimated 723,000 people reside within the district.

One of Enoch’s 2018 top issues was supporting the rural communities, which Enoch said has been “ignored by our government,” and work to provide modern necessities, like broadband access.

“It’s something that’s even more critical now as young people have had to engage in distance learning,” she said.

Davidson said not all that’s in the Affordable Health Care is bad, saying “there are some really popular provisions” in the law known as Obamacare "that have really made a difference. If the U.S. Supreme Court does strike down the national healthcare law, Davidson said he’d like any new health care law include parents being able to keep their children on plans until 26 years old and coverage of pre-existing conditions.

Davidson said other things in the bill do need extensive reform, such as the expanded Medicaid. The Troy Republican said he’d like to “blend” traditional Medicaid coverage and expanded Medicaid together, then “you can have a better approach to how it’s funded.”

Davidson also wants to allow private companies the option to give employees a fixed amount through a health savings account to buy health insurance plans on the open market.

Davidson as he talks with constituents, most are talking about either the state or federal response to the novel coronavirus pandemic, but there’s also been discussion about the protests, and civil unrest, following George Floyd’s death.

Enoch is pro-police and supports the Black Lives Matter ideology.

“Those are not exclusive causes that cannot co-exist,” said Enoch, who was married to a law enforcement officer for 10 years before his death in 2009. “What I find in the law enforcement community is when they are confronted with and when they see injustices perpetrated towards people in the community, that they are just as disturbed as those individuals taking to the street to complain.”

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