EDGEFIELD — With Third District Congressman Gresham Barrett throwing his hat into the race for South Carolina Governor in 2010, a variety of candidates are expected to announce their intentions to seek his seat in Congress.

S.C. Sen. Shane Massey, who represents Aiken, Edgefield, McCormick and Saluda counties in District 25, became the first candidate for Barrett’s seat last week as he announced his intention in a letter to his constituents.

In the letter, Massey promised to “shake up Congress with small town common-sense.”  

Massey says that Congress has lost touch with America’s working families and he promises to work harder than any elected official to create jobs and build our economy. Massey, who is a couple of months shy of his 34th birthday, admitted in his letter that he was surprised that there was interest in his seeking the seat in Congress since this is his first term in the South Carolina Senate.

“I mean, as far as elected officials go, I’m still the new guy,” Massey said in his letter. “Then as I watched this bailout mess unfold in Congress I became increasingly angry with what was going on. This corporate welfare for failed businesses and corrupt CEOs is bad policy that’s driving our nation into an even worse economic crisis.”

Massey said in his letter that the “Stimulus Plan” and the “bailouts” being offered by the federal government, “are hurting our economy and are driving our country toward a European socialist model where the government controls the economy.”

“Look, I’m sure France is a great place to visit, but I don’t care much about living there.”

Massey said he plans to fight against increased government spending and the creation of more government programs.

“Big government liberal policies will not move our nation forward,” he said in his letter. “They will only put us in more debt while killing job creation and true economic growth.  We live in a new age of technological advances and endless opportunities where the sky really is the limit. But success won’t happen by growing government. Success will come when we empower America’s working families and businesses.

“I disagree with the Washington approach of taking the easy way out by throwing money at the problem. America wasn’t founded with ease. It was founded on determination, sacrifice, and hard work. It was founded on small town common-sense, something obviously missing in Washington.”

So far this year in Columbia, Massey has been co-sponsor of several bills in the state senate, including the “Earmark Disclosure Act,” and another bill that would require that a woman seek an abortion be given a 24-hour “reflection period” before the process is performed.

Massey will seek the Republican Party’s nomination for the S.C. Third Congressional District seat.

Massey, his wife Blair, and his six-month-old daughter Carter live in Edgefield.