State Rep. J. Michael Davisson, R-Salem, is seeking to trade in his seat at the Statehouse in Indianapolis for a spot on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.
Just three weeks after announcing his bid for the GOP nomination for House District 69 in the May 3 primary, Davisson has withdrawn his candidacy and is now running for Congress.
On Tuesday, Davisson announced he would seek the Republican nomination in Indiana’s 9th Congressional District, which covers all or portions of 18 counties in southeastern Indiana including all of Jackson and Jennings counties and a slice of southern Bartholomew County.
Davisson, however, joins a crowded GOP primary field, becoming the fourth person to throw their hat in the ring to replace Republican Rep. Trey Hollingsworth, who announced on Jan. 12 that he would not seek re-election.
The other candidates are Indiana District 47 Sen. Erin Houchin of Salem, Mike Sodrel of New Albany, who represented the 9th Congressional from 2003 to 2005, and Bill J. Thomas of Corydon. Three Bloomington Democratic candidates are 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 leaves incumbent Rep. Jim Lucas, R-Seymour, unopposed in the primary, at least for now. The deadline for candidates to file is noon 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 during a party caucus in October to finish the rest of his father’s term.
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.