McMurray Independent announces bid for U.S. Senate race
A horticulturist and registered Independent announced he intends to join the race for U.S. Senate in the general election.
Brandon Hudock, 40, of McMurray, said he’s tired of feeling like there is no representation for the average person in Congress, and the two-party system is too often loyal to special interests.
Hudock faces an uphill battle to get on the ballot as an Independent. He never has been involved in politics and needs to secure about 66,000 signatures across at least 10 different counties by Aug. 1 to secure a spot in November.
The decision to run for office, he said, was spurred by negative rhetoric in the presidential campaign.
“We can do so much better than Donald Trump when it comes to policy and how we conduct ourselves. That type of negativity galvanized me to act,” Hudock said.
“The type of extraordinary service that happens at the state and federal levels comes from people who have worked all their lives and worked for something that matters; not someone who has been privileged their entire life.”
Reached by phone April 14, Hudock was in Market Square in Pittsburgh securing signatures for his nominating petition.
When asked about his potential opponents – Republican U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, and Democratic challengers Katie McGinty, John Fetterman and Joe Sestak – he started by praising most of them.
“But the thing is, they’re still beholden to a political party that’s not going to see much change happen over the next six years. Despite all the good these people have done, they’re committed to a party and able to be influenced by special interests. That won’t be me,” Hudock said.
Hudock said his priority if elected would be tackling the national debt.
“It’s the second-highest it’s been since 1790. We’re not too big to fail. We’re not exempt from debt. If we don’t do something about it, every sector of our governance could suffer – infrastructure, military, social programs – and no politicians want to get dirty and tackle this. We’re all going to fall if we don’t address this,” Hudock said.
The former Republican switched his registration to Independent nearly three years ago.
“But beyond the registration, I’ve always been independent. I don’t pledge allegiance to any party,” Hudock said.