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Massey announces bid for US Congressional seat EdgefieldDaily.com first media outlet to be informed of annoucement web posted March 20, 2009  EDGEFIELD – South
Carolina State Senator
Shane Massey officially announced Thursday afternoon that he will be
seeking the South Carolina Third US Congressional House seat that will
be
up for grabs in 2010 after Rep. Gresham Barrett (R-SC) announced his
bid for South Carolina’s Governor. Sen. Massey said that watching what
is taking place in Washington D.C. drove him to take his “Shake up
Columbia” style of representation that has won him two elections to the
state senate to the US House. “It seems to me that we are heading
towards a type of European socialism that I don’t want to see happen.
As opposed to sitting by and whining about it, I’m going to step up and
try to do something about it.”Sen. Massey is the only Republican to hold the State Senate District 25 seat in history after long time Democrat Sen. Tommy Moore resigned in July of 2007. His promise to “Shake up Columbia” was the edge he needed to overcome a challenge by veteran State House member Bill Clyburn (D-Aiken) in a close special election. His dedication to that promise was more than enough to vault him to a commanding re-election by defeating a Democrat challenge by well-respected Edgefield attorney Greg Anderson in the 2008 election. Sen. Massey said his past two elections shows that he is able to reach across party lines to win elections because of his grass-roots connections to the voters. Massey has continued to hold a grueling pace of “town hall meetings” before and after his election that he says keeps him in touch with the general public and being “new blood” in the political scene is not a disadvantage that has to be overcome. “I look at it as an advantage actually,” he said. “It’s the experienced members of Congress that has gotten us into this mess.” He said that new ideas and a new message is long overdue, especially for the Republican Party. “One of the problems that I have with (Congressional) Republicans right now is that basically what we’re seeing is a lot of them just say ‘no’. There’s not been a whole lot of alternatives offered. I think one of the things we’ve got to do is not only oppose what we see as bad ideas, but we’ve got to propose alternatives,” Massey said. “Instead we’ve got to say your way is not the best way, but I’ve got another idea, let’s try this.” In spite of Republicans being in the minority party in Congress, presenting your ides to the voters can bring about changes Sen. Massey said. “If the public gets behind it, the numbers start to change”. Massey said that his proven close connections to the local voter, and not that of a Washington insider, would bring common sense to Congress if elected. “I think it’s just a matter of working hard and having good ideas.” Sen. Massey said he has been in touch with Rep. Gresham Barrett before making the decision to run and Barrett was very helpful. Even though Rep. Barrett endorsed Massey for the state senate he did not see any endorsement coming in the near future for the Congressional run until the primaries are over. Currently there are three Republican SC State House members rumored to be considering a run for the seat, but none have made an official announcement at this time. Sen. Massey said he also expected a “formidable candidate to come forward on the Democrat ticket” but did not offer any names. Asked what one thing he would like to bring to Washington Sen. Massey said, “The one thing I want to take with me is some good judgment and small town common sense.” Massey alluded to his earlier point that the experienced politicians in Washington are what brought about the disarray that the country is facing. “Jobs and the economy have to be our main focus,” he said. “One of the things I am concerned about is that the smaller rural areas get forgotten about,” as politicians focus on larger population areas once elected, “and this Congressional District is made up of a lot of small rural areas.” Sen. Massey praised Congressman Barrett for the work he did while in Congress and hoped to expand on his service to bring the influence of the local voter into the decisions made in Washington. Sen. Massey said he reached his decision to run for Congress after in depth talks with his wife Blair, supporters, and much prayer and decided, “If the good Lord opens a door, don’t slam it in His face.” Massey said he was reminded of a story about a father and son discussing a bad situation with the son repetitively lamenting that the current problems were troublesome and that somebody needed to step up and do something about it. “That’s when the father looked at his son and said, ‘aren’t you somebody’”? Clearly Sen. Massey feels he is that “somebody” and looks forward to spreading that message to the rest of the Third Congressional District. Sen. Massey said that his campaign is just getting off the ground and that a web site will be available soon along with other formal campaign organizational contacts. However, supporters can contribute to the campaign now by sending donations to: Massey for Congress, PO Box 551, Edgefield, SC, 29824. Personal contributions are limited to $2,400 for a US Congressional race. As a State Senator, Shane Massey has worked tirelessly to bring conservative reforms to Columbia. He helped pass the monumental transparency and accountability plans in the Senate earlier this year when he joined South Carolina’s most conservative legislators in pushing more “on the record voting.” He is also the author of key earmark legislation in the State Senate that will let voters know exactly which big-spending politicians are wasting our hard-earned tax dollars. That bill, authored by him, will be voted on by the full Senate next week. Shane Massey is currently the State Senator for District 25, representing Aiken, Edgefield, McCormick, and Saluda Counties. He, his wife Blair, and thier six-month-old daughter Carter live in Edgefield. Related: Sen. Massey's letter to constituents © Copyright 2009
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