Kevin Boyd's next task: Unseating freshman U.S. Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-3rd, in this fall's general election.
Boosted by endorsements from the party establishment and what Boyd called a superior ground campaign, the Fort Wayne minister handily dispatched a crowded Democratic field Tuesday night.
“I think the hard work we did, visiting all the counties, making phone calls, paid off,” he said.
Boyd, who once before ran unsuccessfully for the 3rd District nomination, will face a daunting challenge in trying to compete with Stutzman, who beat his last Democratic foe by almost 30 percentage points in 2010.
The first-term incumbent also will go into the fall campaign with a huge cash advantage over Boyd in a heavily Republican district.
Boyd said he will start campaigning right away for the Nov. 6 election, including a stop Wednesday in Blackford County. His campaign will blame Stutzman and other House Republicans for the gridlock in Congress, he said.
“We're going to point out Rep. Stutzman has been on the side of dysfunction and what's wrong with Congress,” Boyd said. “That's what we're going to say, and that's what we're going to run on.”
Five other Democrats ran for the nomination. They included Tommy Schrader, who last year won a spot on the Democratic at-large Fort Wayne City Council ticket but later was kicked off the ballot because of residency issues.
