Former Wyoming mayor Hans Reigel officially filed to run for Congress in March - but Wednesday rolled out his public campaign for Delaware’s lone House seat.
Reigel is seeking the Republican nomination, running on a platform of fiscally conservative promises while de-emphasizing social issues.
Speaking inside the Old State House in Dover, he sought to riling up his base by taking shots at Democrats who have long overpowered the GOP in races for statewide and federal offices.
“We’ve been doing the same things with the same names for years and we have to change. We need to elect new ideas and new leadership. We need to elect people who don’t have years of political patronage behind them with special interest groups already lining up with their bets,” said Reigel
Some of Reigel’s specific goals include cutting the federal budget by two percent, reducing elected official salaries by ten percent until they pass a balanced budget and steadily cutting America’s $18 trillion debt.
He’s got a major uphill climb with registered Democrats significantly outnumbering the GOP. But he says he’ll follow the roadmap set by Delaware’s treasurer, the first new GOP member elected statewide since the early ‘90s.
“I’m following the strategy of Ken Simpler, which is to do very well in Kent and Sussex County and then maintain my own in Wilmington, New Castle County,” said Reigel.
He’s currently the sole Republican running and will face one of two Democrats – state Sen. Bryan Townsend or state Rep. Bryon Short – next November.
