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CADIZ -- A congressional candidate launched his campaign Tuesday with several stops in the region, including one in Cadiz.
Werner Lange is a Democrat who has lived most of his 70 years in Ohio. He said he has spent much of his life helping residents of the Buckeye State in some capacity.
Lange is a graduate of the Ohio State University and Ashland Theological Seminary. He is pastor of St. Paul United Church of Christ in Tuscarawas County and has taught at Muskingum College and Kent State University.
Although he hasn't run for office before, Lange previously served as a community organizer for NE Ohio American Friends Service Committee, working on campaign finance reform; he also served as a delegate for Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont during his 2016 presidential campaign.
"I get excited about seeing people finally get hope in their eyes," Lange said Tuesday.
He added that the now-closed post office in Cadiz is a symbol of what's wrong with government, as a village of that size shouldn't be without a post office. He also said the current representative for the 6th District, Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Ohio, is out of touch with the needs and will of the people in his district.
Lange said he plans to change that by being elected.
"We have a lot of work on our hands," Lange said. "It will take more than a generation to get these communities back where they should be, but we need to get started."
Lange already has announced some key stances for his campaign. He aims to ban hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, especially in the Wayne National Forest. He also hopes to create jobs by investing in infrastructure development, approve free public education through college and get paid maternity and paternity leave for all.
If elected, he plans to help raise the minimum wage, reduce the military budget and try to reform the immigration and criminal justice systems.
Lange spent much of Tuesday traveling around eastern Ohio to announce his candidacy, making stops in Cadiz, Steubenville, East Liverpool, East Palestine, Uhrichsville and Calcutta. He said he knows he might face challenges during the campaign, but believes he is ready to rise to the occasion.
"I've faced uphill battles all my life. I rise to the challenges and will have no difficulty speaking truth in the halls of Congress," Lange said. "I'm fully confident of success, and I believe the days of Johnson in office are numbered."