THREE CANDIDATES SEEK NOMINATION FOR 8TH DISTRICT CONGRESSIONAL SEAT

Richard Kline ran for Congress as a Republican two years ago. This year, he's running again, but as a Democrat.

Thad Bullock is running for Congress for the ninth time since 1968.

Tony Heckemeyer served eight years as a state representative and 17 years as a circuit judge. Now, he has set his sights on Congress.

The three men are vying for the Democratic nomination for the 8th District congressional seat in next Tuesday's primary. The winner will face incumbent Republican Jo Ann Emerson in November and Libertarian candidate John Hendricks of Jackson.

Heckemeyer, 59, sees himself as the front-runner in the Democratic primary. The Sikeston Democrat hasn't talked about his two Democratic opponents.

He has leveled his remarks solely at Emerson. "She is the one I am running against," said Heckemeyer.

Emerson has a home in a Washington suburb and another in Cape Girardeau.

But Heckemeyer has charged that Emerson has no real ties to the district. "She is a carpet bagger," he said.

Heckemeyer said that his family would remain in Sikeston if he is elected. "I will not become a Washington insider," he said.

"I have a past. I have a present and I have a future here," Heckemeyer said.

Bullock, a former piano store operator from Cape Girardeau, said Heckemeyer shouldn't be looking beyond the primary.

"He is talking like he has already won the nomination," said the 81-year-old Bullock.

Bullock is running for Congress for the ninth time. He ran in 1968 and every 8th District primary election since 1984.

In 1992, he won the Democratic primary in a field of six candidates. He lost to then-congressman Bill Emerson in the general election.

Jo Ann Emerson is the widow of Bill Emerson, who died in 1996 from lung cancer.

Bullock said he is the most well-known Democratic candidate in the race. "They all know me," said Bullock, who frequently plays the piano at senior citizen centers during his campaigns.

Bullock said he knows the needs of the district and his primary opponents don't.

A World War II veteran, Bullock said he wants the nation to secure the return of American soldiers listed as prisoners of war or missing in action from the Vietnam War.

He said he has the business experience to help bring industry to Southeast Missouri.

Bullock has difficulty hearing over the telephone. But he said that wouldn't hamper his ability to serve in Congress. "I have hearing aids," he said.

Kline, 58, of Gipsy makes no bones about why he switched parties.

In August 1996, he won the GOP primary for the 8th District seat following the death of Bill Emerson.

But party leaders turned their backs on Kline and backed Jo Ann Emerson, who entered the race as an independent candidate.

"I got extremely angry and said, `Heck with you,'" Kline said.

His agenda has remained the same, with the exception of his call for universal health care.

He stresses God, prayer in public schools and a flat tax. He wants to make government more accountable.

"Our 10 commandments are not suggestions," he said.

Kline wants to exempt the first $25,000 of an individual's earnings from the federal income tax.

He said citizens should be left alone to live their lives with less government interference.

But he wants universal health care in which the government would pay for medical care.

"We cannot afford health care today," said Kline. "If you go in for major surgery, you better have some sort of insurance or you will lose your home."

A retired veteran, Kline has suggested closing Veterans Administration hospitals and allowing veterans to receive government-financed health care at regular hospitals through Medicare.

Kline said the VA hospitals could be turned into veterans homes.

Heckemeyer stresses his rural roots and his farming background.

The Heckemeyer family raises everything from milo and wheat to cattle and chickens. He also has a 1,400-acre tree farm.

Heckemeyer said the Republican-crafted Farm Bill has stripped away the government-subsidies that have provided a financial safety net for farmers for decades.

"They are basically dismantling the agricultural connections to Washington," he said.

"In my opinion, the farmers are on the threshold of a great depression and no one knows it but them," Heckemeyer said.

Like Kline, Heckemeyer wants affordable health care. But Heckemeyer favors establishment of health insurance pools that would allow private insurers to offer affordable health-care coverage.

As to Social Security, Heckemeyer wants Congress to use budget surpluses to restore the trust fund to a healthy financial state.

Heckemeyer said politicians must quit spending money out of the trust fund. He wants it to be managed by a private board.

"It needs to be operated so that politicians cannot dip into the fund to build trinkets for themselves so they can get re-elected," Heckemeyer said.

8TH DISTRICT CONGRESS

Richard Kline

hometown: Gipsy

age: 58

Democrat

Education: Attended college in Memphis and also received two years of college credit for his military experience.

Job History: Served in the navy from 1958 to 1962 and then in the Coast Guard. He retired in 1980. He moved to Gipsy in 1986.

Previous political office: He has never held any political office. He ran for Congress two years ago, winning the Republican primary prior to Jo Ann Emerson getting into the race.

Family: He and his wife, Lucille, have four children.

Thad Bullock

hometown: Cape Girardeau

age: 81

Democrat

Education: Attended Southeast Missouri State University and Washington University in St. Louis.

Job History: He owned a piano store in Cape Girardeau for about 40 years. He still owns the family farm in Dunklin County.

Previous political office: He has never held political office. This is his ninth run for Congress.

Family: He and his wife, Ruby, have four children.

Tony Heckemeyer

hometown: Sikeston

age: 59

Democrat

Education: A bachelor of science degree in agriculture and a law degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Job History: He is a former lawyer. He has a large farming operation and owns a Halloween costume shop in Sikeston.

Previous political office: He was elected to the Missouri House of Representatives in 1964. He served eight years as a state representative. He served as a circuit judge for 17 years. He was elected in 1980 in a special election and was re-elected in 1982, 1988 and 1994. He resigned in February to run for Congress.

Family: He and his wife, Betty, have five children. One son, Joe Heckemeyer, D-Sikeston, is a state representative.