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WHEELING -- A Republican primary takes place Tuesday in the race for Ohio's 6th District U.S. House seat.
U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson -- a Marietta resident who is seeking his sixth term in the House -- faces a challenge from Kenneth Morgan of Chesapeake, Ohio. Both have military backgrounds.
Johnson entered the U.S. Air Force in 1973 and retired as a lieutenant colonel after serving more than 26 years. He went on to a career in the technology sector before being elected to the House in 2010.
Morgan is a 2007 graduate of Chesapeake High School. He served six years as a U.S. Navy corpsman and saw action in Afghanistan. He has been awarded the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal and the Combat Action Ribbon.
"I feel I am the best candidate because I have a new perspective on the political landscape of our nation not commonly seen in the current Congress," Morgan said.
Johnson said many politicians go to Washington "to pick fights and get angry."
"But, I go there to get things done -- using my experiences from the farm, my 26-plus years of military service, my private sector small business owner experiences, and my understanding of how to navigate the legislative process I've learned since my first term in Congress," he said. "The 16 bipartisan bills I've had signed into law by presidents of both parties are a testament to this, as is having a piece of my telehealth legislation included in the recent Emergency funding legislation to help combat the cornoavirus."
Johnson said if elected, he will continue focusing on delivering rural broadband opportunities to East Ohio. He also wants to ensure America -- specifically, Eastern and Southeastern Ohio -- remains the world's energy leader in coal, oil and natural gas development.
Fighting the opioid and drug addiction crisis is important, he said, as is lowering the cost of health care, protecting those with pre-existing conditions, and protecting and strengthening Social Security and Medicare.
"Access to broadband internet for rural America, specifically our region, is a key challenge because it impacts economic development and education," Johnson said.
"Keeping taxes low and eliminating burdensome federal regulations, developing a solid and skilled workforce, protecting our Second Amendment rights, reducing the cost of health care and prescription drugs, maintaining a strong military, and securing our borders are all significant challenges."
Morgan said his main priorities in the House would be to ensure that the free speech rights of Americans is extended to online social media and web forums, and to build public support for term limits for Congress.
"I currently believe that term limits should be six terms for the House, and two for the Senate," he said. "These limits would result in a total of 12 years in office for both chambers and be long enough to ensure that our House and Senate are not perpetually full of incompetent legislators."
He said his biggest concern for the nation going forward is the shifting job market. As new technological innovations evolve, older job types lose their demand, according to Morgan. He also expects there could be a potential shortage of health care professionals as older generations of Americans begin to retire.
Both were asked what they might do protect their offices from cybersecurity hacks.
"I would utilize a virtual private network, email monitoring, anti-virus and anti-malware software and any and all additional security measures recommended by the FBI," Morgan said. "I would also not keep 30,000 official government emails saved to a private server."
Johnson said the federal government takes cybersecurity very seriously.
"And it's an issue I pay particular attention to, given my extensive background in information technology," he said. "Specifically, each member of the House of Representatives and each staff member are required to successfully complete an annual cybersecurty awareness training class in order to access the House network. Domestic and international cyber threats are increasing in frequency and sophistication. It is critically important that we understand our own individual roles in protecting our networks," he said.