J. Davisson
Indiana Rep. J. Davisson, R-Salem, is seeking to trade in his seat at the Indiana Statehouse for a spot on Capitol Hill.
Just three weeks after announcing his bid for the GOP nomination for Indiana House District 69 in the May 3 primary, Davisson has withdrawn his candidacy and is now running for Congress.
Davisson announced Tuesday that he would seek the Republican nomination in Indiana’s 9th Congressional District, which covers all or portions of 18 counties in southeastern Indiana, including a slice of southern Bartholomew County, as well as all of Brown, Decatur, Jackson and Jennings counties.
However, Davisson joins a crowded GOP primary field, becoming the fourth person to throw a hat in the ring to replace Republican Rep. Trey Hollingsworth, who announced on Jan. 12 that he would not seek re-election.
Indiana Sen. Erin Houchin, Mike Sodrel and Bill J. Thomas have also filed to run in the Republican primary. Sodrel, for his part, represented Indiana’s 9th Congressional District more than a decade ago.
Three Bloomington Democratic candidates, Isak N. Asare, Dale D. Dorris and Matthew Fyfe, are vying for that party’s nomination.
Davisson’s decision to drop out of the District 69 race also leaves incumbent Rep. Jim Lucas, R-Seymour, unopposed in the primary, at least for now. The deadline for candidates to file is Friday.
When asked why the sudden change of heart, Davisson told The Republic that “no one expected Congressman Hollingsworth to step down” and that serving in Congress “gave me the best opportunity to serve the greatest number of Hoosiers.”
“The Lord works in mysterious ways,” Davisson said. “You got to be receptive to everything that the good Lord is doing in our lives and be willing to walk through those doors that he opens for us.”
Davisson, 40, is a lifelong resident of Salem and is currently representing Indiana House District 73 after his father Steve Davisson, the former representative, died in September after a battle with cancer.
He was selected to finish the rest of his father’s term in October after being selected in a party caucus.
Davisson then filed to run for the GOP nomination for Indiana House District 69 after Salem was drawn into the district during the recent redistricting process.
If elected to Congress, Davisson said he would “combat” what he described as the “liberal, one-party-rule stranglehold” that is “allowing Washington to destroy our economy, take away our jobs and allowing socialism to undermine the very future of southern Indiana.”
Davisson said “securing the border, standing with our law enforcement, upholding pro-life stances, stopping the wasteful spending, increasing our election integrity and protecting Second Amendment rights” would be among his priorities if elected.
