The independent candidate running in the 13th Congressional District was a virtual afterthought for his major party opponents, as all three met in a broadcast debate in Springfield Wednesday night.
John Hartman is an Edwardsville businessman who describes himself as "not on the left, not on the right, and not in the center." He got equal time to answer questions in the hourlong debate, but Republican Rodney Davis and Democrat David Gill turned their fire on each other, and did not respond to or challenge anything said by Hartman.
The independent candidate raised eyebrows at one point while discussing his support of same sex marriage. Hartman said that when he hears the voice of someone who's gay, he knows that, quote, "you could no more take the gayness out of that fellow than you could take the tallness out of me."
