Shuster will run for re-election
Republican U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster is running for re-election and hoping that there is a more agreeable resident in the White House come January.
“I’m looking forward to working with a Republican president to implement a conservative agenda,” said Shuster during a conference call with reporters Monday announcing his re-election bid. Shuster, a 54-year-old Hollidaysburg resident, has represented the 9th Congressional District since May 2001 when he won a special election to replace his father, Bud Shuster.
Shuster faces a primary challenge from Art Halvorson, who received 35 percent of the vote in the 2014 GOP primary while Shuster received 53 percent and Travis Schooley garnered 13 percent. Shuster won the general election that year with nearly 64 percent of the vote.
Halvorson, a retired Coast Guard officer and Bedford County businessman, has criticized Shuster for not being conservative enough, but on Monday the incumbent had harsh words for President Barack Obama and Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton.
Shuster touted the more than 60 votes he has cast over the years against the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, and a recent one to defund Planned Parenthood, as well as spending he opposed.
Congress has been “playing defense against a liberal Obama agenda,” he said.
As for Clinton, Shuster said she represents “just more of the same old liberal policies that will continue to drag down America.” He also said Clinton’s tenure as secretary of state was “terrible for us” and charged that she was “the architect” of a failed foreign policy.
Shuster, though, balked when asked who he is supporting in the GOP presidential field, saying his favorite is “whoever can beat Hillary Clinton … There are a lot of candidates out there that I can support. We have a great field.”
While burnishing his conservative credentials, Shuster also said he has clung to his principles while working with Democrats to get legislation passed, most recently a highway bill that could have a significant impact on roads and bridges across the country without raising taxes.
“I’m going to put my record out there and continue to communicate with the people of the 9th District,” Shuster said.