On one side of the race for the 16th Congressional District seat, a Republican incumbent that’s served 16 years in the House of Representatives is touting his experience and ability to bring in tax dollars for local projects.

On the other, a newcomer is hoping to ride a wave of Democratic enthusiasm while running a populist campaign focused largely on affordability.

The 16th Congressional District, which spans from Lake Erie to the Butler-Allegheny County line and is home to almost 760,000 residents, has been represented by Republican Mike Kelly since 2011. This November, the longstanding representative faces Justin Wagner, a Democratic candidate from Mercer County.

Kelly, of Butler County, was elected in 2010 when the Republican Tea Party swept through the government. A car dealership owner, he also has school board and city council experience.

“I got into it because the government got into our life in a way that we never expected, taking away one of our franchises, and having to go to court to get it back. That was when I first became aware of a government that can be very overreaching,” Kelly said. “And it can be very dangerous, if you’re not paying attention.”

Aside from a close 2018 race, Kelly has won by greater than 10% in every reelection campaign he’s ran. Kelly won the 2018 election by a margin of 4.2 percentage points.

But Wagner, a veteran and engineer, thinks he sees a dissatisfied public and believes there’s an opening.

Kelly has sat on the Ways and Means Committee, responsible for oversight of revenue and taxation, since 2013. He currently chairs the subcommittee on tax.

Kelly told the Eagle in an interview Wednesday he has brought $3.1 billion in federal funding back to the district since he’s been in office. This includes funds for large infrastructure projects, notably work on Route 228, which Kelly has worked with Butler County commissioners and other local officials to push to the finish line.

He maintains he takes a fiscally conservative approach to his work.

“It’s taxpayer money; it’s not just government money,” Kelly said. “People will say, well, the government can afford it, (but) the government right now has you at $40 trillion in debt.”

Highlighting his years of experience and institutional knowledge of how policy works — in contrast to his opponent — he points out he is competing against 434 other members of the House of Representatives, and 100 senators, for federal funds on local projects. Kelly plans to spend time with Sean Duffy, secretary of transportation, to see what is possible through appropriations or grants for further Route 228 funding.

With that experience, he speaks of the importance to understand and recognize complexities of things like government spending, global markets and geopolitical dynamics. For the price of gas, the market dictates what it is worth, Kelly said.

“The market is a global market. And I understand that we are blessed in a lot of ways with natural resources. But the global market is the global market,” Kelly said.

“I think there’s a false impression that the president could just say, ‘I want gas down to $2.50 a gallon.’ He could say that, but the market’s not going to respond to that,” he continued.

According to AAA, the average price for gas in Butler County is $4.70/gallon, as of Friday.

Kelly recognizes that affordability is a major issue for district residents right now.

“It’s really hard for people. The expectations are that it shouldn’t be as hard, it should be easier for us,” Kelly said. “And the reality is that, it is the market right now. I don’t like it, you don't like it, but it is the market.

“So how do you change that? I can’t tell you. But the other thing is that we’ve out-printed the value of money.”

On the war in Iran, Kelly in a March interview with the Eagle cited decades of state-sponsored terrorism by Iran when largely supporting military actions being taken. On Sept. 30, he pointed to those same previous actions by Iran.

“It’s been raging for 47 years,” Kelly said. “I’m watching president, after president, after president, saying ‘I know they’re getting bigger. I know they’re growing. I know they’re doing things.’ One time, we sent them a lot of money and said ‘please, tamp it down.’

“And it’s gone out of control, and now you have a president who’s decided we need to do something now ... When is it you want to address it?” he added.

On immigration, Kelly pointed to countries in Europe that have largely opened their doors to immigrants as precautionary tales, arguing the need for tight restrictions while allowing law-abiding people to become American citizens.

“I think that is a great, Christian belief. I believe in that. If you come to assimilate, perfect. If you come to eliminate, not a good idea,” Kelly said.

Kelly’s campaign website indicates, the Congressman has a “common sense, pro-growth” approach to policies that remove barriers to economic growth. His approach to energy policy includes an “all of the above” and “everything below” approach to addressing current and future energy needs. On education, Kelly’s website states communities need both sufficient funding and flexibility to address what they need.

Kelly’s website also indicates he supports a strong military, efforts to assist veterans, reduced size of government and ways to “reduce the taxes that individuals pay while ensuring that the government is fiscally accountable for how we spend tax revenue.”

While highlighting his work in a Butler Eagle interview on committees and bills he’s helped introduce, Kelly also emphasized that, when looking at candidates running for political office, “you better look at their resume.”

“I think whether you’re getting healthcare, or if you’re getting work done on your house, you should probably check the resume who’s saying they want to do something,” Kelly said. “I don’t know anything about this person, by the way. I’ve met this man twice.

“I have no idea, but he’s on the ticket. I tell people, just look at our resumes.”

Wagner said his “breaking point” that made him want to get involved was seeing news coverage of U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids and arrests across the country.

“What made me reach my breaking point was last summer, when I was watching TV and I see these guys in masks tackling people, going after little kids and grandmothers, causing all of this chaos and this cruelty on the streets of America,” Wagner said. “I’ve got four daughters. I’m a veteran. When I see stuff like that, it just really gets my ire up.”

Wagner alludes to his main focus to “prioritize the people.” He speaks of bringing relief to people who are “suffering through this cost of living crisis.”

Wagner’s work experience, he said, includes spending the past 15 years as a senior automation engineer.

His military experience includes serving in South Korea with the 6th Cavalry, then stateside at Fort Hood, Texas, with the 4th Infantry Division. In 2006 he deployed to Iraq, supporting combat operations as an aviation operation specialist. While he did “a decent amount of flying between Taji and Baghdad,” he considers himself very lucky not having to see direct combat.

“My background is that I’m a regular, working class fella. I grew up doing every job I could to earn a living,” Wagner said. “I’m one of hundreds of thousands of other people here in the district. I’m just a regular person, trying to get by, doing everything that I can to make things better.”

Policies Wagner supports related to affordability includes wanting to raise the federal minimum wage.

“We created the first trillionaire before we raised the minimum wage, which is absolutely backward,” Wagner said.

He also wants to make housing more affordable, through methods such as restricting private equity from buying single-family homes. He also wants to take a look at the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, which lowered the corporate tax rate.

He went on to say he wants Medicare to have ability to negotiate all drug prices and for tariffs to be “applied with a scalpel and not a shotgun.” He indicated that certain things like steel and aluminum should be tariffed, but was not supportive of broadly implemented tariffs.

And, he wants to end the War in Iran so that “things like diesel and fertilizers aren’t driven up” and impacting the economy.

“People here, that’s what they need. They need solutions to issues like high gas prices and high grocery prices,” he said. “People not being able to afford their rent or being kicked off their healthcare. Those are the things that are going to be a priority.”

Wagner said he supports a federal moratorium on new data centers “until adequate infrastructure, and environmental, water and public health protections are put in place.”

“I believe in technology, but I don’t believe corporations should get a blank check to build the future on the backs of our communities,” Wagner said. “Our communities shouldn’t absorb the infrastructure or environmental costs of new technology while the corporations are capturing all of the benefits to the detriment of our communities.”

Wagner also said he wants to raise taxes on billionaires and close any existing loopholes.

“We need to look at where the taxes are being unfairly and inequitably applied,” Wagner said. “People like a nurse working in Hermitage shouldn’t pay more taxes than Elon Musk does.

“We should make sure tax money is going to where it should be going, and not to endless wars and vanity projects in Washington, D.C.,” he added.

Wagner believes war powers should be returned to Congress, speaking strongly against the war in Iran.

“I have four kids, and they don’t really know a world that wasn’t at war,” Wagner said. “My daughter was born in 2005, and I left a week later to go to Iraq.

“I want them to know there’s a world out there where we’re not always at war. They turn on the news, and they see on the TV, they don’t know a world not in crisis. They don’t know a world that is truly at peace and prosperous, and I want that for them.”

On his campaign website, Wagner said the district “deserves real representation-someone who will fight for local veterans and labor, for affordability and opportunity for working families, to ensure all of us have access to healthcare, and ensure every school has the tools they need to prepare the next generation.”

“I say maybe it’s time Pa. sends an engineer instead of a car salesman to Congress,” Wagner said.