Haggard looks to unseat Congressman Baird

A former Indiana State lawmaker is looking to head to Washington and standing in his way is a veteran politician. 

Craig Haggard, who represented Indiana House District 57, is looking to unseat Republican incumbent Jim Baird in the upcoming May Republican Primary for the 4th Congressional District seat in Congress. 

"I really enjoyed it. I never wanted to be one of the knuckle headed politicians, but I am one now. I'd like to say I am more of a public servant than a politician. Politics is just something I have to deal with. I really enjoyed the constituent service piece outside of authoring legislation. I have enjoyed continuing to serve and continuing to fight," Haggard told The Putnam County Post. 

Haggard said a little over two years ago he was approached to explore his interest in running for Congress. 

"I put together an exploratory then, and I had said at time if he was going to run again, I wouldn't and I didn't. I ran for my current position. Prior to the last campaign, the word around town was he was retiring, so I changed it to a full time campaign, and that is what I have been doing ever since. I suppose he is running, and so am I. I have put my heart and soul into this," Haggard said. 

As he looks at today's political landscape, Haggard said he hopes to see some of the rhetoric and behavior locally and across the country start to be toned down. 

A year ago, Haggard and his wife were victims of a deepfake AI pornographic video that allegedly a staffer in the Lt. Governor's Office created. The video was allegedly modified from an existing video of Haggard's wife singing at a talent show for charity. 

"I hope civility isn't gone. People say the country has never been more divided, and I look back at history and in the late 60's and early 70's, we were pretty divided. I am hoping we come back to some civility. I took an oath to a Constitution and not a party. We can beat each other up during the race, and that is fine, and I don't mean in a negative way or attack families, but once the race is over, we get back to fighting for families," Haggard said. 

Haggard said what "disgusts" him currently is the "childish" attitude out of Washington, D.C. where if one side doesn't get its way, it shuts the government down. 

"What disgusts me right now is we are in a war, and whether you like the war or you don't like the war, we are in a war with a country that is a proxy for terrorist cells around the world and we have a childish, self serving fight in Congress not to fund DHS right now. I get it. People don't like this, are mad at that, don't like ICE doing this, but playing pawns with the not only the safety of our own lives, but the safety of people who do that job and don't get paid a lot. You will hear people complain they are delayed at the airport. Well, you are delayed at the airport because you have child in D.C. that just don't get in there and say it needs fixed. This continued shutdown and continued resolutions, I had to deal with this as a commander and it sees to be the norm. They are playing with the lives of people in our states and hometowns. When the children can't get along, I say Congressmen shouldn't take any money and shouldn't get to leave Washington. They need to sit there and get this figured out," he acknowledged. 

With that said, Haggard wants to go to Washington and make a difference. 

"We still need to fight. It's tough right now, and it looks crazy. I know I am not going to go there and change the world by myself. I guarantee you I will screw something up, I will learn from it and I will never do it again. We need people who are honest, and when they do screw up, let's work together and figure it out for the American people. We all believe in the same goal and have different ways of getting there, but we need to work towards that," he said.

Haggard said over the last two years, he has heard from a lot of people about issues, as well as garnered over 100 endorsements from various people and organizations. And, along the way, he has heard a constant theme of issues facing the district. 

"I know it sounds cliche, but the affordability is the biggest thing. From groceries to gas to energy, you keep hearing about affordability. Now, with that said, I am not going to blame this administration or even the last one. I am going to blame multiple administrations for the energy crisis. We have been beating up on private energy production for years in the name of an ideology, which, by the way, is not there yet. We do not have the battery technology. The tariffs have worked themselves out. Affordability is probably the big thing, and then border security, safety for their kids and public safety.," he said. 

However, he also said another major issue is people feeling like they are not getting help when they ask across the district. 

"When people do need help across the district, they need someone who will actually do something and return a phone call. I have a tremendous amount of people across the 4th, now call me with federal issues because they cannot get a call back. That is just wrong. That is your job. I have been blessed to help people," Haggard said. 

Haggard said when he looks back on his time in the General Assembly, he is proud of the veterans bills, sex trafficking bills and firefighter bills, as well as the deepfake pornographic bills he was able to help push across the line. 

When it comes to human trafficking, Haggard said Indiana has a lot of work to do. 

"We are one of the top five states in the country for human trafficking and that involves the sex side and worker side. People don't see that when they make the argument about sending people home. People want to ask are you going to pick your tomatoes? So, you want your tomatoes 25 cents cheaper and you want to incentive human trafficking. I worked for 11 years in Central Mexico with those families and families in that area went to North Carolina to work in the fisheries. We ought to make it easier to get visas for people to work in the factories and fisheries. What you are doing now is incentivizing the cartel to tell people to make money for their families and can be paid off, which never happens. They wind up raping or killing the family and it is an indentured servant system. People don't understand how the human trafficking is incentivized in this state," he said. 

In addition, Haggard said he was proud of helping author HB 1200, which is a BMV agency bill aimed curbing illegal truck drivers.

"When the law goes into effect July 1, all tests will be in English. We aren't trying to make that our national language, but all the signs are in English. We've had instances where people backed up and killed others. There will be an additional fine and criminal time for the driver and companies who hire these folks, there will be a $50 thousand fine. Nobody has gone after the companies before. We are requiring DHS and BMV on a regular basis to make sure drivers are on a legal status that is current. We found a lot of instances were they do not have current legal status or just fake CDL paperwork. It is an issue. People knew you could come to Indiana and go to a "CDL School," and now that is over," he said. 

Haggard said if people are ready for someone who will fight for the 4th Congressional District, he is their candidate.

"I think people need someone who will continue to fight, who can fight, who can show up, who can do the job. I want to have the most robust constituent services staff. I want to make sure they have someone in D.C. who is accountable to the people, will admit when he screws up, that will listen and take their concerns to D.C. and get people the help the need. I will continue to fight, and i have the energy to do so," Haggard said.