Runyan says what's he's for, against

Likely Republican U.S. House candidate Jon Runyan took questions on the issues for about an hour yesterday, saying little more than what he's for and against.

Runyan, a former Eagles offensive lineman, plans to announce his candidacy tonight.

He is generally against government spending but supports spending for military operations and funding "legitimate" projects in the Third Congressional District, which runs through Burlington and Ocean Counties and includes Cherry Hill in Camden County. He did not say what those projects would be.

With marginal opposition so far in the June 8 primary, he hopes to run against freshman Rep. John Adler (D., N.J.) in the fall. It is expected to be one of the most closely watched races in the country.

Runyan has secured endorsements from the three county Republican machines, avoiding a costly primary battle between the powerful Ocean County and Burlington County GOP organizations.

Many Republicans believe the bitter 2008 primary hurt the party's chances of holding onto the traditionally Republican district.

Runyan has chosen the Eagles' green, white and black for his campaign colors, according to signs lining the walls of his campaign headquarters in a storefront at a Mount Laurel strip mall. He met with reporters there yesterday morning.

In addition to fund-raising, Runyan said, he would use his own money for the campaign, but would not say how much.

On social issues, he said he opposes same-sex marriage but generally favors abortion rights.

Marriage, he said "is between a man and a woman." Abortion is a decision between a woman and her doctor - with restrictions, he said.

He said the bank bailout had not worked because banks are not lending money to stimulate business growth. He said he would support a proposed consumer-protection agency to protect people from unethical lending practices.

Health care, he said, "does need to be fixed," but not by the overhaul of the system being contemplated in Congress.

"There are many simplistic ways to do it. The first is portability across state lines, which will let more people in the system. That brings down the costs for everybody," he said.

He said he favored letting people buy insurance from out-of-state companies.

Runyan said uncertainty about federal health care legislation is keeping employers from hiring.

"Part of the unemployment thing right now is the health-care bill hanging over peoples' heads. What are employers going to be mandated to do for employees? I think people are holding off and trying to see what the cost of employing someone is," he said.

But he could not say whether there would be an increase in hiring if the legislation were to fail. He said, though, that "there's a level of anxiety that will go away."

Beach replenishment is "a huge issue," he said, but he did not say whether he would spend money to preserve the state's beaches.

Nuclear power "has a lot of bad history but recent technology has cleaned it up," he said, adding that nuclear power would help the nation gain energy independence.

Runyan has spent most of his adult life as a professional athlete and is running in this race as an outsider.

He said he had more research to do on the district and its issues.