Emerson files for re-election

Incumbent Eighth District Congresswoman Jo Ann Emerson filed for re-election today. From her news release:

Jo Ann Emerson filed for re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives from Missouri's Eighth Congressional District this morning in Jefferson City. Emerson, a Republican, has served southern Missouri in Congress since 1996.

"Representing the Eighth District in Congress is a tremendous honor, and I am very much looking forward to the conversation about the issues on voters' minds that we will have over the next several months," Emerson said. "Our congressional district is diverse, we have unique strengths, we're home to wonderful people, and our voice is very important in today's political environment. I like to think we come to the national political discussion with common sense on our minds, not hyper-partisanship or narrow interests."

According to Emerson, the political environment in the nation's capital has never been more challenging.

"The next two years are crucial to Missouri. I'm entrenched in a fight to prevent cap-and-trade taxes on the gasoline and electricity we use in our homes and economy. I've long been working to lower the price of prescription drugs and to expand health care in rural areas of our country, by rejecting huge government expansion of our health care system that eliminates choices for Americans. And we need to see through some major contributions to our economic infrastructure that will create jobs and grow opportunity in southern Missouri. The next two years will bear out many of these discussions. I'm looking forward to being part of some real solutions for the American people."

She also noted that national liberal political interests are targeting every Republican seat they can.

"In a year where conservatives are sure to pick up seats in Congress, Nancy Pelosi and the liberal establishment are going to fight for any and every seat they can get in order to cling to power in the House. But I think the policies of the liberal left have been roundly rejected in southern Missouri, and I look forward to the opportunity to work on an agenda where the ideas of our district are given the credence and merit they deserve," Emerson said.