Bucshon turns away Dem challenge in Indiana

Rep. Larry Bucshon (R-Ind.), a member of the House Republican’s outsized freshman class, has turned away a challenge from his Democratic opponent, Dave Crooks. 

Bucshon won 53 percent of the vote, with 91 percent of the vote in, according to CNN. According to reports out of Indiana, Crooks, a former state representative and radio station owner, conceded the race.

The results give Bucshon a second term in the so-called “Bloody Eighth,” a district in southwest Indiana that currently leans Republican but has switched between the parties in recent years. Buchson replaced former Rep. Brad Ellsworth (D), who ran for the Senate in 2010.

Bucshon, a heart surgeon who came to Washington without previous experience in elected office, publicized his work to get a transportation bill passed in the fall campaign and said that the GOP-controlled House had been successful in slowing down government spending in Washington.

For his part, Crooks attacked Bucshon over his support for the House Republican budget — crafted by Rep. Paul Ryan (Wis.), the GOP vice presidential candidate — and its proposed changes to Medicare. The Democrat also criticized Bucshon for supporting aid to Pakistan, after Osama bin Laden was found hiding there. 

Bucshon chided Crooks for that Pakistan criticism, noting that aid to the country has bipartisan support.

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