Gary McDowell for Congress
As far as the major political parties are concerned, the 1st District Congressional race is a rematch from 2010.
The Democratic challenger is once again coming from the eastern U.P.
Gary McDowell of Rudyard held the 107th District State House seat before being term–limited out of office.
He lost the Congressional race to Dan Benishek two years ago.
McDowell says both of the major parties often have misplaced priorities, saying many Democrats are not serious about cutting federal spending while many Republicans aren’t serious about looking out for working men and women.
McDowell says it is possible to balance the federal budget without having to do it on the backs of more vulnerable citizens.
He says Medicare would save more than $150 billion dollars a year by using its bulk buying power to negotiate lower prescription drug prices, like the VA does.
And he says the U.S. Government Accountability Office has pointed to some other ways.
The GAO released a study earlier this year mentioning 143 federal agencies that have duplicate or overlapping responsibilities.
McDowell says if these agencies are streamlined, the country will save $100 billion per year.
Before McDowell was elected to the State House for the first time in 2004, he spent more than 20 years on the Chippewa County Board of Commissioners.
He’s also a lifelong farmer and a longtime former driver for UPS.