From April 24, 2022 post

IN Focus is continuing our preview of the 9th district Republican primary. This week, we sat down with candidate Eric Schansberg, whose looking to separate himself from the crowded field.

Although he thinks immigration and the Second Amendment are important issues for Republicans going into the midterms, Schansberg believes most Americans are focused on the economy. He thinks that instead of sending a lawyer or businessman to D.C., voters in the 9th district should consider an economic professor. Schansberg said that might explain why tensions are heightened on Capitol Hill.

IN Focus: Former State Senator running for Congress

“…We can send a lawyer or businessman to D.C., or maybe we send an economics professor, there aren’t any there,” Schansberg said. “Maybe that explains why things are so jacked up in Washington right now.”

IN Focus: Former congressman running for old seat

If elected, Schansberg says his biggest priority would be tackling the national debt.

“Congress and the president are diving a car towards a cliff,” Schansberg said. “They have their foot on the accelerator… and we can’t keep doing that.”

IN Focus: Candidates for the 9th congressional seat

Watch more from candidate Eric Schansberg in the video above.

Meanwhile, Hammond Mayor Tom McDermott (D) is drawing some controversy after a recent campaign ad showed him smoking cannabis in Illinois. He says it was to highlight the issue of cannabis legalization in Indiana. McDermott says that the substance should be legalized so veterans can seek other forms of care. He also says it’s a matter of criminal justice and dismantling the war on drugs.

“A lot of our Hoosiers who are caught with this plant are being arrested, getting criminal records, and that’s unacceptable,” Mayor McDermott said.

McDermott smokes marijuana in Senate campaign ad calling for legalization

Mayor McDermott is also facing a large gap in campaign funding. Financing reports show that he’s raised $88,000 across the state, while his opponent Senator Todd Young (R) has raised over six million dollars. Mayor McDermott says that Sen. Young’s massive amount of money is concerning, and questioned his ability to serve Hoosiers in the nation’s capital.

“I’m a Hoosier through and through, I fight for Hoosiers, and I have not been corrupted by Washington, D.C. political insiders like our Senator has.”

Watch more from Mayor Tom McDermott in the video below.

Original source can be found here.