I haven’t learned much about him yet, but a Democrat who, at the very least, appears to have put some thought into lining up some meaningful support, has announced a challenge to Republican Congressman Steve Buyer, the incumbent in Indiana District 4.
His name is Nels Ackerson, and his website is here:
He’s starting out with former Senator Birch Bayh as honorary campaign chair. Some of you are too young to remember the Senate career of Birch Bayh, but let an old-timer assure you that Birch Bayh was substantially more liberal than his DLC son Evan, who’s in the Senate now.
Ackerson has also been endorsed by former Congressman Lee Hamilton.
The “issues” section on Ackerson’s web page is thin on social issues and looks like a centrist positioning himself to appeal to centrist voters. He’s critical of the current Administration’s war in Iraq, but fuzzy about solutions. He calls for better treatment of veterans. The best thing I saw there was a strong statement supporting civil liberties against government encroachments and erosion.
In the 2006 cycle the GOP incumbent raised $744K and cruised to a comfortable win (63%/37%) over Democratic challenger David Sanders, who raised $136K.
cross-posted also at the big orange blog