Lancaster Countian running for 4th Congressional District
Daniel Burton seeks GOP nomination to represent parts of Berks, Montgomery counties
Daniel Burton believes there’s a culture war taking place across the United States, and he’s prepared to respond to the call and go to battle.
“I feel called to be the warrior that I was created to be,” he said. “I feel called to serve my country and speak the truth.”
And he wants to take that fight to the halls of Congress. That is the driving force behind his decision to run for a seat in the 4th Congressional District that includes all of the central, eastern and northeastern parts of Berks County as well as a portion of Montgomery County.
The Lancaster County insurance agent will compete against Comcast executive Christian Nascimento for the Republican nomination in the May 17 primary. The winner of the primary will face Madeleine Dean, a Montgomery County Democrat who is seeking her third term, in the general election.
“I’ve been told that if I plan on going to Washington and speaking the truth, I’m going to make a lot of enemies,” he said. “As a person who wants to speak the truth, who wants to serve all people, who wants to protect personal liberty, I say bring it on.”
Burton, who has never before run for a state or federal office, acknowledges he may not have the political resume of some congressional candidates. But he thinks that outsider status is what sets him apart from his opponents.
“People say that since I’ve never been in political office, they say I should start smaller and wait my turn,” he said. “But I think that’s part of the problem. People do this for personal gain, but I’m doing it because I’ve been called to serve.”
He has also faced some questions about the fact that he doesn’t live in the place he’s running to represent.
Burton lives in East Cocalico Township in northern Lancaster County, well outside the boundaries of the newly drawn 4th District. But he pointed out that there’s no requirement that you live in the district you are vying to represent.
“Most people would be surprised to hear that a lot of representatives don’t actually live in the district they represent,” he said. “And I don’t think voters really care where you’re from as long as you serve them and speak the truth. Pennsylvanians are Pennsylvanians. It doesn’t matter where you live.”
Burton said he’s confident in his ability to get to know his constituents better should he be elected. He added that he got a good start by spending two weeks knocking on doors throughout the district on his quest to gather enough signatures to get on the primary ballot.
The insurance agent said that if voters send him to Washington his main concern will be protecting the rights of citizens.
That includes his belief that many students across the country are being exposed to ideas he thinks are dangerous.
“We see a lot of critical race theory being taught, we see pornography in our school libraries,” he said. “We see all these things in our schools, that was the main motivator for me to run. I see how socialism is mounting a fullfrontal attack in our schools, trying to turn our kids’ minds. We’re changing history and teaching it differently in schools.”
Burton said he would support cutting off all federal funding to school districts that are found to expose students to these teachings and will advocate for parents who want to be able to send their children to schools that align with their values.
Another priority for Burton is taking on cancel culture.
“We see all over the place censorship of many different ideas and opinions if they don’t fit the narrative of the day,” he said. “Those different folks are being censored on social media. In order to speak truth, you have to be able to speak it.”
He said freedom of speech is under attack, and because of this people have very few places to find the truth.
“Freedom of speech should not be infringed upon because the moment that they control our speech they control what we hear and what we see,” he said. “We are seeing this systematically and dramatically across all factions in our country and across the world. When all of our news agencies are owned by the same large conglomerates, how can you trust what they’re saying?”
U.S. representatives serve a two-year term and receive an annual salary of $174,000.