Congressman John Barrow kicked off his 2008 re-election campaign in Statesboro with a reception Saturday at the Averitt Center for the Arts.

            Seeking his third term in Georgia’s District 12, Barrow said he’s running for the same reason he ran for election in the first place.

            “I care about the issues confronting the people I represent and I feel like it’s important for all of us to try and make life better for people in this country, especially the middle class families I represent that are struggling to make ends meet,” said Barrow.

            According to Barrow, he has crossed the aisle to vote with Republicans more times than any other Democrat in the House. He said he’s keeping his promise to look at all sides of an issue and then do what’s best for his constituents.

            “If more members of Congress approached the job the way I did, I think they’d have higher approval ratings,” said Barrow. “If folks could see Congress was more interested in solving problems than scoring points for their team against the other team, they’d have a higher opinion of Congress.”

            The Barrow campaign is very encouraged by the support he has already received. Just an hour after qualifying closed, the Democratic house and senate delegation from Augusta/Richmond County endorsed him.

            Barrow faces a tough Democrat opponent in the July 15 primary. State Senator Regina Thomas announced her candidacy in April. Thomas, who lives in Savannah, was elected to the state senate in 2000, and served in the state House from 1995-98.

            When she announced she was running, Thomas said: “This is not about John Barrow, but about what I can do for the people in the 12th Congressional District. I like John, but I think I can do a better job.”

            Barrow first won the seat in 2004 when he defeated Sylvania Republican Max Burns. He narrowly defeated Burns again in 2006, despite a huge Republican effort to take back the seat, including bringing President Bush to Statesboro to campaign for Burns.

            Three Republicans are opposing each other in the upcoming July 15 primary – Ben Crystal of Savannah, Ray McKinney of Rincon and John Stone of Hepzibah – to see who will face the Democratic candidate.

            House District 12 consists of all or part of 21 southeastern Georgia counties and stretches from Savanna to Augusta to Milledgeville to Vidalia.