SPRINGFIELD -- The race to replace state Sen. Norma Champion, R-Springfield, was officially joined Monday as Democratic candidate Michael Hoeman entered the race touting "real-world experience" as a physician.  Earlier in the day, Rep. Bob Dixon, Hoeman's likely Republican opponent if both survive primary elections in August, announced an endorsement from the Springfield firefighters' union.

Dixon has been campaigning for months, while Hoeman was the Democratic Party's third choice to run for the seat.  Both state Rep. Sara Lampe and former Springfield-Greene County Library director Annie Busch passed on overtures to run against Dixon.

In his campaign kickoff, Hoeman said he's better equipped than Dixon to deal with pressing issues like healthcare because he's able to see the impact up close.

"I have consoled patients in my office who have broken down in tears because their Medicaid had been taken away. Without it, healthcare was simply not possible for them," Hoeman said.

Pressed on whether the state could afford to expand health coverage for poor and disabled people in this economic environment, the doctor steered clear of a diagnosis.

"I think we need to look at what our priorities are for healthcare, not just address this piecemeal. I think we need to look at what our revenue situation is here," Hoeman said.

At a Springfield fire station, Dixon thanked firefighters for their support but declined to say how he voted on their most important issue this year -- a sales tax hike to shore up the police officers and firefighters pension fund.

"I did vote in the privacy of the voting booth but I did not ask people to vote a certain way.  I left that decision up to the voters and I do respect their decision," Dixon said.

Dixon will be mostly running on his seven-year record in the Missouri House, where he said one of his top accomplishments was a law he pushed through to protect children on the witness stand.

Dixon will have an inherent advantage in the Republican-leaning Senate district, which is roughly the same as the Springfield city limits.  A Democrat has not held the seat since 1942. With healthcare likely to continue to linger in the national spotlight, however, Hoeman thinks his experience can resonate.

"Whatever the final outcome, you can be sure that many key decisions will be pushed down to the state level. You want someone in the Senate who knows and understands healthcare issues," Hoeman said.

Get more VIDEO of Hoeman and Dixon from their announcements on the KY3 Political Notebook.

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