Cranley gets Blue Dog support

The Blue Dog Coalition, a group of 37 conservative and moderate Democrats in Congress who focus on fiscal responsibility, announced Friday that they’ve endorsed Democrat John Cranley for Congress.

Cranley, a Cincinnati city councilman who has balanced the city’s budget as finance chairman, is challenging Rep. Steve Chabot, a Republican, in the 1st District.

Cranley has pledged not to accept a congressional pay raise until the current federal budget deficit is erased and supports restoring pay-as-you-go budget rules.

Here’s what the co-chairmen of the Blue Dog PAC had to say about Cranley:

Rep. Allen Boyd, D-Fla., said: “For too long, Congress has been indulging an addiction to deficit spending while the Blue Dogs have been trying to put a stop to it. John Cranley knows that our economy cannot sustain these structural deficits, and he'll work with us to institute PAYGO spending policies and common sense budget reforms that will bring our books back into the black.”

Rep. John Tanner, D-Tenn., said: “The Blue Dogs are proud to endorse John Cranley as the next congressman for the 1st District of Ohio. His leadership capabilities, his values and his fiscally responsible commitment to fighting for a balanced budget make him qualified to be a leader in the United States House of Representatives. We look forward to working together with John Cranley to find practical, solution-oriented answers to the questions facing our country.”