Race for 5th District nomination a crowded one - 13 WTHR Indianapolis

One of the most contested races in Indiana this election year is for the 5th Congressional District seat currently held by Representative Dan Burton. Burton is stepping down and several Republicans are eager to take his spot.

The list of candidates on the Republican side is long, with Jason Anderson, Susan Brooks, John Lugar, John McGoff, David McIntosh, William Salin and Wayne Seybold seeking the nomination.

It was almost another lifetime ago for McIntosh when, in 1994, he was first elected to Congress, a seat he would give up to run for governor in 2000. Now, 12 years later, McIntosh says he is back on the phone asking for votes.

"It is coming down to the last few days and a lot of people have been turned off by some of the negatives and so what we are talking to them about are the issues. I believe in smaller government, no bailouts, balancing the budget," McIntosh said.

When McIntosh ran for governor, Susan Brooks helped with the campaign. But she has now earned the endorsement of Murray Clark, who was McIntosh's running mate in 2000. Brooks is a former U.S. Attorney, and if she is successful in convincing voters, she would be the first Republican woman to serve in Indiana in Congress in 50 years.

Brooks says, though, that the campaign has turned more negative.

"It started out as jobs, but I think it has become more now about truth and integrity and I think the voters want to make a change in the type of people that they send to Washington D.C. and so what we have been hearing is that they are unhappy with some of the dishonesty that has come out, most recently in this campaign," she said.

Dr. John McGoff, a relative political newcomer, is making his third run at this seat. Two years ago, he finished third of the seven that ran in the primary. McGoff says in his first run in 2008, he gave long-time Congressman Dan Burton a run for his money, but "we got 45 percent of the vote, unfortunately, that was the year when a bunch of Republicans crossed over and voted in the Democrat primary, that 'Operation Chaos,' and things have gotten worse than they were 2008. Jobs, the economy, spending, those are the most important things," McGoff said.

The newly-redrawn 5th District is mainly made up of Hamilton, Madison, Tipton and Grant counties, along with portions of Marion, Boone, Howard and Blackford counties.

Two candidates, Tony Long and Scott Reske, will face off for the Democratic nomination in the May 8 primary.