Congressman Peter Welch has been railing against partisan bickering for nearly his entire term in the U.S. House. And Welch's challenger, Republican Mark Donka, says if elected he would find a way to bypass the party-line stand-offs on crucial issues like the budget.

Mark Donka of Hartford is running as the Republican candidate for U.S. House. He said in his announcement speech Monday that Congressman Peter Welch has not done enough to curb the growing national debt.