Tipton announces congressional bid

CORTEZ — A second run could prove the charm for Scott Tipton, who announced yesterday his hope to unseat incumbent U.S. Congressman John Salazar.

Salazar, D-Manasa, defeated Tipton for the 3rd Congressional District in 2006. Tipton was elected to the state Legislature in 2008. The Cortez Republican currently represents District 58, which encompasses Montrose County.

He said he hadn’t initially planned to run for Congress, but that he changed his mind because of what he saw happening in Washington, D.C.

“Over the course of the last eight months, we’ve seen the national debt triple. We’ve passed a stimulus package that has not created jobs,” Tipton said.

“The straw breaking the camel’s back was government healthcare and the public option. Our congressman (Salazar) has apparently played an integral part in it.”

He said that while healthcare reform is necessary, Washington Democrats seemed afraid of encouraging competition and insurance policy-shopping across state lines. He also said current healthcare legislation does not address tort reform and comes with a $1.2 trillion price tag.

Salazar spokesman Edward Stern said Wednesday the congressman was deferring comment on Tipton’s intended run.

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