Candidates make 8th District cases
Rep. Warren HAMILTON — Davidson, R-Troy, will make his case to voters on why he should be elected to another term in Congress.
But Vanessa Enoch, a Democrat from West Chester Twp., hopes to ride the so-called Blue Wave and be the first woman to be elected to the 8th District since it was reformed in the early 1970s.
Miami University and the Journal-News have partnered in the Fall 2018 Civic Debate Series featuring Republican and Democratic nominees. At 7 p.m. Thursday, the third of the debates will feature the congressional candidates at Harry T. Wilks Conference Center at Miami University Regionals’ Hamilton campus, 1601 University Boulevard.
“We feel it is our responsibility to provide opportunities for our students and local citizens to learn about and hear directly from their candidates,” said Sarah Woiteshek Pietzuch, debate series coordinator. “As with our prior debates, we will cover a range of issues that matter to our region.”
Davidson was one of 15 Republican candidates seeking the nomination to fill the unexpired term of former U.S. House speaker John Boehner, who retired in 2015 after a quarter-century in Congress. He easily won the June 2016 special election and the November 2016 general election.
The Army veteran is seeking a second full term because “I love this country with a soldier’s passion and I want to help re-establish principles that built it,” he said. “I’m proud of the progress we’ve made, including historic tax reform. President Trump changed the status quo in Washington, and it’s time Congress does the same.”
Enoch has been involved in non-profit, government and private business sectors for nearly two decades. She’s also been an educator who holds an MBA from Xavier University and a Ph.D. from Union Institute & University. She said she’s running because she’s “fed up with wealthy Washington bureaucrats ignoring the voices of the American populace” and believes “legislators have turned a blind eye to issues such as mass incarceration, opioid addiction and tainted water supply.
“And, rather than fix the problems they have instead cut funding to agencies designed to protect us and simply ignored the voices of constituents,” she said.
Enoch said the top issues facing the country include “a dying economy, a lack of confidence in government leadership and a healthcare crisis.”
“Our Congress is made up of elitists who lack morals and values, and seemingly have no understanding of what it’s like for the majority of the American people. They are out of touch,” she said. “We need to repeal and replace everyone in the U.S. Congress. We need new leadership with fresh ideas.”
Davidson said America’s “most urgent problem” is the country’s national debt and will “continue to fight for balanced budgets and work to reign in spending.”
“We have a large, diverse country, full of good causes. Unfortunately, there are more good causes than resources. Deficits do matter,” he said. “It is not compassionate to bankrupt America, and yet that is the status quo unless Congress swiftly changes course and begins to make tough choices to prioritize spending.”
The 8th Congressional District represents all or parts of Butler, Clark, Darke, Mercer, Miami and Preble counties.