FARGO - After hinting at a possible campaign for weeks, Republican Shane Goettle officially declared his intention Tuesday to seek the GOP endorsement in the U.S. House race.
Goettle's move makes him the fourth Republican among a field of five contenders vying for North Dakota's congressional seat next year.
"We have it pretty good right now in North Dakota ... but our country faces just the opposite," Goettle said as he announced his campaign to Fargo supporters. "We're piling up mountains of debt. It's really unsustainable."
Channeling the platform of the man he hopes to replace, Goettle emphasized the need for federal lawmakers to create jobs, balance the budget, cut spending and reduce the debt - all without raising taxes on Americans.
"Our problem is not that we aren't taxed enough, rather our economy's sluggish, anemic and under tremendous recessionary strain," Goettle said. "In North Dakota, revenues have grown over the last decade without raising taxes. Instead, we focused on efforts to expand North Dakota's economy, and we did a number of things that our nation could do as well."
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Goettle is a former state commerce commissioner and, until recently, was state director to Sen. John Hoeven.
Goettle will face off against Public Service Commissioners Brian Kalk and Kevin Cramer and Fargo legislator Bette Grande for the GOP endorsement at the state convention in March.
Whoever wins that battle will likely face Democrat Pam Gulleson on the November ballot. Gulleson, former state director for retired Sen. Byron Dorgan, is the lone Democratic candidate.
Freshman Republican Rep. Rick Berg is seeking the state's open Senate seat next fall, which also leaves his seat vacant on the 2012 ballot.
Berg's successful campaign in 2010 emphasized job creation and fiscal responsibility, a message Goettle heralded Tuesday.
Hoeven appointed Goettle his commerce commissioner in 2005. Goettle served in that role until last fall, when he resigned to follow Hoeven to Washington as part of Hoeven's senior Senate staff.
Prior to his state office tenure, Goettle worked for four years under the Bush administration in Washington, D.C.
The article is from The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, which, like the Herald, is a Forum Communications Co. newspaper.
