The new congressman from the 8th District is Larry Bucshon, a Republican elected in 2010 to the seat of Democratic Rep. Brad Ellsworth, who ran unsuccessfully for the Senate that year. Bucshon (Boo-SHON) was raised in the rural town of Kincaid, Ill., southeast of Springfield. His mother was a nurse and his father a coal miner; both tended to vote Democratic. Bucshon developed his own ideology as an undergraduate at the University of Illinois, however, where he says that meeting people from other parts of the country “made me realize my personal values were more conservative than my parents.’” His rightward beliefs were solidified during the 1980s, when he became enamored of President Ronald Reagan. While still in high school, Bucshon decided on a career in medicine, inspired by the surgeons he met at the hospital where his mother worked. After college, he enrolled in medical school at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He went on to complete a residency at the Medical College of Wisconsin and landed a fellowship there specializing in cardiothoracic surgery. It was during his residency that he met his wife, Kathryn, a medical student at the time. Bucshon then enlisted with the Naval Reserve, serving for nearly a decade. After spending three years in private practice in Wichita, Kan., in 1998 he joined Ohio Valley HeartCare, one of the largest cardiology and cardiovascular surgery practices in the tri-state region. Five years later, he became its president. Read More

The new congressman from the 8th District is Larry Bucshon, a Republican elected in 2010 to the seat of Democratic Rep. Brad Ellsworth, who ran unsuccessfully for the Senate that year. Bucshon (Boo-SHON) was raised in the rural town of Kincaid, Ill., southeast of Springfield. His mother was a nurse and his father a coal miner; both tended to vote Democratic. Bucshon developed his own ideology as an undergraduate at the University of Illinois, however, where he says that meeting people from other parts of the country “made me realize my personal values were more conservative than my parents.’” His rightward beliefs were solidified during the 1980s, when he became enamored of President Ronald Reagan. While still in high school, Bucshon decided on a career in medicine, inspired by the surgeons he met at the hospital where his mother worked. After college, he enrolled in medical school at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He went on to complete a residency at the Medical College of Wisconsin and landed a fellowship there specializing in cardiothoracic surgery. It was during his residency that he met his wife, Kathryn, a medical student at the time. Bucshon then enlisted with the Naval Reserve, serving for nearly a decade. After spending three years in private practice in Wichita, Kan., in 1998 he joined Ohio Valley HeartCare, one of the largest cardiology and cardiovascular surgery practices in the tri-state region. Five years later, he became its president.

Having harbored desires to run for national office for years, Bucshon took advantage of the open seat left by Ellsworth’s Senate bid, announcing his candidacy in October 2009. “I didn’t feel like [Ellsworth] was representing our district, which leans conservative,” Bucshon said. With help from the National Republican Congressional Committee, he prevailed over seven other candidates in the May GOP primary with 33% of the vote, edging out second-place finisher Kristi Risk, a tea party-backed candidate, by 4 percentage points.

In the general election campaign, he faced Democratic state Rep. Trent Van Haaften, who fit Ellsworth’s mold, and who was regarded as an ideal Democratic candidate for the Republican-leaning district. He was a prosecutor in rural Posey County for several years and was praised there for his work fighting a regional methamphetamine epidemic. In the campaign, he emphasized his law-and-order background over his legislative experience to avoid being tagged an “insider.” Bucshon campaigned on curbing spending and repeal of the national Democrats’ health care overhaul. Republicans targeted Van Haaften for opposing a property tax cap proposal in the legislature and Democrats accused Bucshon of favoring privatizing Social Security.

Bucshon raised and spent $1 million, compared to $762,000 for Van Haaften. He won with 57.5% of the vote to Van Haaften’s 37%.