Photo: Bill Shaw
Dist. 60 Rep. Peggy Welch will have a November challenger for the first time since 2004.
For the first time in three election cycles, Bloomington State Representative Peggy Welch will have an opponent in November’s general election. Welch said she expected a challenge during this election, which she’ll get from former Bloomington City Councilman and Monroe County Republican chair Steve Hogan. Hogan said he’ll run on a platform of fiscal responsibility, but Welch said that’s her strength, and her legislative record will prove it – starting with a jobs bill passed this spring which she helped write.
“That leadership was provided not by the Governor, and not by the House or Senate Republicans — it was provided by the House Democrats,” Welch said. “The only viable job package that was moved forward was a bill that I had worked on…that eventually became law.”
Hogan bested former Monroe County Commissioner Joyce Poling for the Republican nomination, garnering about 300 more votes across the district. He said the county is not represented as fairly as it could be, with Welch, Matt Pierce and Senate Minority Leader Vi Simpson all Democrats.
“I would like to be the Scott Brown legislator for Indiana,” Hogan said, referring to the Massachusetts Senator who stunned the political establishment by winning the seat formerly held by Edward Kennedy. “I think it’s imperative that the Republican district in Monroe County have a voice in the state legislature.”
Hogan conceded he needs to raise much more money to be competitive and said he’ll start fundraising right away.
