Hanson for GOP in Congress, Dist. 5
Three Republicans are running for the GOP nomination in the 5th congressional district, and of these the strongest is the perennial candidate Tommy Hanson, a commercial real estate professional from Chicago. We have never endorsed him in his previous failed races in the 5th, finding him too far right for our taste, but we recognize that his point of view has a following among some in the GOP and in this case, he is better suited to advance than his opposition.
Hanson is a law-and-order candidate who is worried that the federal deficit will overburden the next generations. He proposes using the 10th Constitutional Amendment, which he says enables states to resist federal funding conditions they perceive as excessively burdensome, to get it under control.
His opponents are two other Chicagoans, Kimball Ladien, a psychiatrist and also a perennial candidate; and Barry Wicker, an engineer. Both of them have big ideas, but no clear pathways to achieve them, like Wicker’s commendable goal to lower health care costs for ordinary Americans by pulling together the nation’s “most capable and innovative experts.” One of his long-term visions is to create a World Museum, which would bring together history, culture, science and human achievement from every corner of the globe — “a reminder that humanity shares a common story, and that cooperation, not chaos, should guide our choices.”
Ladien believes his Contract For America can halve crime, drug abuse and joblessness by 2028. It includes a Safe Haven program, offering jobs in the public and private sectors to people who are jobless; a switch to geothermal energy could provide a clean, renewable energy source “if we can only learn to Harness the Fires at the Core of Mother Earth”; and using AI to consolidate many programs that are duplicative.
They’re nice ideas, but Hanson is better versed on the issues than his opponents, and he is the candidate who best gives voice to conservative voters in the 5th District. We give him a qualified endorsement.