Matt Connolly believes he has gained enough support since the last time he sought the Republican nomination for the 17th Congressional District to not only win the party nod but defeat the incumbent in a heavily Democratic district.
“I feel very confident about my position,” Connolly said Wednesday during an interview with The Republican-Herald Editorial Board.
Connolly previously ran for the Republican nomination in 2014 against Schuylkill County Coroner Dr. David J. Moylan III and pilot Matthew Dietz, Wind Gap. Moylan won the party nod, but lost in the General Election to incumbent U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-17.
“You also have to look at how strong the incumbent Democrat is and one of Mr. Cartwright’s biggest problems is his record,” Connolly said. “He’s not well liked by many people because his record shows he is not aligned with this district.”
Connolly, 50, of Bethlehem Township, Northampton County, is one of two Republican candidates seeking the party nomination in Tuesday’s primary election for the 17th Congressional District, which includes all of Schuylkill County and parts of Carbon, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe and Northampton counties.
The other candidate is Northampton County Councilman Glenn Geissinger. The winner will face Cartwright, a Moosic attorney serving his second term.
“I think it really comes down to why I’m running,” Connolly said. “I’m running to solve the problem and return this country back to where it came from.”
The former professional race car driver said the federal government has become too powerful. He said the line between the role of government and a free society has disappeared due to overregulation and unfunded mandates, leading the country to debt, unemployment and businesses going overseas.
“I don’t think that’s the role of the federal government,” Connolly said. “The reason I want to be in federal government is because that’s where things need to change.”
Connolly, a real estate investor who still does freelance work in the automobile racing business, said he wants to roll back federal regulations that are slowing economic growth.
“The cost of compliance is too high, so what do businesses do? They go overseas,” Connolly said. “Our own rules are causing businesses to go overseas.”
Obamacare is the prime example of the federal government overstepping its bounds, he said. Connolly would continue efforts to repeal the legislation that he said has structurally changed America by forcing businesses to buy a product.
“The problem with Obamacare is that it tried to solve a problem created by more government with more government and it is not working,” he said.
Connolly said rolling back on some federal regulations while expanding energy sources will drive down expenses and promote business growth.
“I think coal is a very important energy source,” he said. “We have an abundance of energy in this district and I think to ignore it would be foolish. I am more than happy with the natural competition between energy sources. I am a big supporter of nuclear. If France can get 80 percent of their electricity from nuclear, why can’t we? It has zero carbon footprint, and is completely reliable and controllable and inexpensive.”
Connolly also said the economy will benefit from rebuilding the U.S. military, which he said is at a pre-World War I level.
“There is trickle down effect of rebuilding our military and all the industry and jobs it creates,” he said. “We also get a lot of great technology that spills into the private sector.”
National security is being threatened by weak leadership, he said, and radical Islam needs to be eliminated.
“We have a real problem in the world based on weak leadership,” he said. “Our friends don’t trust us and our enemies don’t fear us.”
If elected, Connolly pledged to stand up and be vocal for his constituents and not “go along to get along.”
“It isn’t about me being a congressman,” he said. “It is about me not watching my country going down hill and sitting idly by. I’m not a complainer. I’m a doer.”