SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) – U.S. Rep. Todd Young announced Sunday he is running to succeed retiring Indiana U.S. Sen. Dan Coats, saying he will run on a campaign of responsible conservative leadership.
“That means enough of the political pageantry and overheated rhetoric that we’ve heard during the Obama years and more solution-oriented constructive leadership where people are prepared to make the hard decisions and offer concrete solutions to pressing challenges,” he said Sunday in a telephone interview.
Young, a three-term congressman whose 9th Congressional district in southeastern Indiana runs north to the suburbs south of Indianapolis, announced his candidacy through a video released online Sunday. He is the third GOP candidate to announce, joining U.S. Rep. Marlin Stutzman, who represents northeast Indiana, and former Indiana Republican Party Chairman Eric Holcomb.
The sole Democrat running so far is former U.S. Rep. Baron Hill. Young defeated by Hill for the 9th district seat in 2010, Young’s first run for office.
Young said he was encouraged by people to run for the Senate, pointing to the fact that he raised more than $1 million in campaign funds in the second quarter as he considered a possible run. He said most of the funds were raised in Indiana although outside his district.