Cheney campaigned for GOP Friday

INDIANAPOLIS -- Vice President Dick Cheney, on a four-state tour to shore up support for GOP congressional candidates, urged Indiana voters to do the same as he is asking the rest of the nation: Vote Republican.\nAs the campaign to decide which party controls Congress entered its final weekend, Cheney stopped in Indianapolis to seek votes for former congressional aide Brose McVey in his quest to unseat Democratic Rep. Julia Carson.\nMcVey is locked in a tight race with Carson, who is seeking election in central Indiana's 7th District to her fourth term.\nCheney praised McVey's experience and his plans to improve education and create jobs.\n"He's a person of principle, a clear thinker, a man who knows the 7th District and the people who call it home," Cheney said.\nCheney spoke at a fundraising breakfast Friday for McVey at a downtown Indianapolis hotel. He was making stops later in the day in Minnesota, South Dakota and Colorado.\nDuring the 18-minute speech, Cheney reviewed the Bush administration's economic record and urged that tax cuts approved by Congress and the president last year be made permanent.\n"We understand that jobs are created when people have money to spend and entrepreneurs have money to invest," Cheney said. "A pro-growth, pro-jobs policy requires that Americans be allowed to keep more of the money they earn."\nCheney also pledged to continue the war on terrorism and confront Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein about suspected weapons of mass destruction.\nRepublicans tapped McVey to make the most serious challenge yet to Carson's dominance of the district, which takes in most of Marion County.\nThe district's changing population -- as well as McVey's aggressive campaigning and fund-raising talents -- have combined to make this the most competitive election contest in years.\nRepublicans have reason to hope because the district was redrawn following the 2000 census and now includes more than 100,000 voters who are accustomed to sending a Republican, not a Democrat, to Congress.\nSurveys have shown the race virtually even, but Carson has enjoyed broad support among constituents and used it to quietly defeat all challengers since 1996, giving her a reputation unmatched in Indiana for mobilizing supporters on Election Day.\nThe only comment Genie Dunn, Carson's campaign manager, had on Friday was that Carson "looks forward to working with" Cheney after the election.\nA new poll released Friday showed Carson favored by 43 percent, while McVey was at 42 percent. Libertarian Andrew Horning had five percent support, and 10 percent of participants were undecided.\nThe poll of 400 likely voters for The Indianapolis Star and television station WTHR was taken on Tuesday and Wednesday. It had a margin of error of five percentage points.\nBesides political support, Cheney's visit was also expected to generate money for McVey's campaign.\nA copy of the invitation indicated it would cost $100 to attend the breakfast and $2,000 to have a photo taken with the vice president.\nCheney's visit came a day after President Bush stopped in South Bend to campaign for GOP congressional candidate Chris Chocola, who is competing with Democrat Jill Long Thompson for the 2nd District seat in northern Indiana.