One thing Congressman David McKinley and challenger Sue Thorn have in common, is their view of what this election is about. Not about foreign matters such as Libya. They agree it's about the local economy.

But what they differ on is how to fix it. Thorn says the government could put people to work by funding infrastructure improvements such as road and bridge construction and repairs. McKinley, elected to Congress two years ago, says only the private sector, not the government, can create jobs.

"They tried that during the ( Franklin D.) Roosevelt administration and it prolonged the recession. We tried it with the stimulus package, and it didn't work again," McKinley says. "Government can't create jobs, but what it can do is create an environment where the private sector can find comfortable in being able to create jobs."

Thorn maintains the stimulus did work, it just wasn't large enough to substantially improve the economy. as for the federal government's debt, she agrees with the Obama administration that the Bush-era tax cuts should be rolled back for high-income earners.

"We also need to end tax breaks for companies that are shipping jobs overseas," says Thorn, "and address the no-bid contracts that are being issued through the Defense Department, that have turned into war profiteering. We're allowing that to happen while we're also talking about cutting veterans benefits. That's wrong."

McKinley characterizes the current Congress by saying it's been too slow in approving measures that will grow the economy and reduce the debt.

Whether he wins or not, he'll still be a part of Congress that will have to address those issues before the year ends.