Congressman Bobby Bright, D-Montgomery, said he isn’t worried with campaigning. He’s just doing his job.

“This is not a campaign as far as I’m concerned. Being a congressman is a way of life,” Bright said.

Nonetheless, Bright, the Democrat incumbent in congress, will face the Republican victor of the June 1 primary. The contester will be Rick Barber, Stephanie Bell, Martha Roby or Beau McKinney.

Bright, originally from Daleville, said he brings uniqueness to the congressional race that starts with his roots.

As a fourth generation Wiregrass man, Bright started his political interest at the age of 7 or 8 listening to “grownups” sit and talk politics. Bright spent the first half of his life in the Wiregrass area and the latter half in Montgomery, where he served as the mayor of Montgomery for nine years.

“Not a single of my opponents have lived in any part of the district but Montgomery,” Bright said.

Bright said if reelected to the seat, he will continue to do what he has for his last term — “make sure their opinions are heard and that I speak for them.”

“The people are my boss. They tell me how to vote, and I vote that way,” he said.

Bright said he has done just that with a record that’s been dubbed by national publications as “right of center.”

“What I have more than anyone else is a proven record. I promised people to live a certain way, and I’m for speaking for them and not a political party,” he said.

Bright, though a Democrat, has voted against the national health care plan twice.

“There’s no question I thought it was too expensive, too massive,” he said.

But, now that the legislation is in place, he said the answer is not to repeal it completely.

“What I’m determined to do is change it, modify it and make it more affordable to the future.”

He said the cost of the bill is what has people most concerned in his opinion, but he believes there are ways to make the bill more affordable.

Bright has introduced a balanced budget amendment in Congress that if passed would require the House and Senate to pass balanced budgets, something he hopes will help with excess spending.

“We’ve got to quit spending unless it’s paid for,” he said.

Bright said he also wants to work on immigration issues.

“I’ve always felt our borders were too lax,” he said. “It’s not good for our economy, for our safety.”

But at the same time, he said he said he supports immigration as long as it is done legally.