HEBRON — Putting to rest months of speculation, Boone County Republican Geoff Davis, the owner of a business consulting firm who has never held or run for office, has formally filed to run for Northern Kentucky's 4th Congressional District U.S. House seat.

        Mr. Davis is taking on a far better-known and more-experienced politician in U.S. Rep. Ken Lucas, the Boone County Democrat and former local government officeholder who will seek a third term in 2002.

        “We have been exploring this race for over six months, talking with supporters, meeting with key people and gaining support throughout the 4th District, and I must say I am very encouraged,” Mr. Davis said.

GEOFF DAVIS

• Age: 42.    • Profession: Owner, Capstone Inc., a 9-year-old management consulting firm in Hebron.    • Family: Married, wife, Pat. Six children.    • Education: Bachelor's of science, United States Military Academy, West Point, N.Y., 1981.    • Military service: Served in the 82nd Airborne Division. Completed Army Ranger training and learned to fly assault helicopters.

        “After discussing it with my advisers and my family, we believe now is the time to run and win this congressional race.”

        Marc Wilson, the Florence GOP strategist advising Mr. Davis, said a campaign rally will be held later.

        U.S. Rep. Anne Northup, a Louisville Republican who represents Kentucky's 3rd Congressional District, was going to introduce Mr. Davis at a political announcement and press conference the Davis campaign was planning for mid-September.

        But those plans were changed after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.

        “We filed quietly because the attention of the country needs to be on President Bush right now,” Mr. Davis said. “But make no mistake about it, we will aggressively pursue this race to win Kentucky's 4th Congressional District.”

        A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, where he studied national security issues, Mr. Davis is a former Army Ranger. He flew assault helicopters and served in peacekeeping missions in the Middle East during the 1980s.

        He said his military service will be an asset to the people of the 4th District, a sprawling 22-county area that stretches from the West Virginia border to near Louisville and includes all of Northern Kentucky.

        “I understand the issues involved,” Mr. Davis said. “I understand the cultural geography of the world ... and what is in our best national interest strategically for the long term.”

        Mr. Lucas, 68, also has done military service. He served in the Air Force from 1955 to 1957 and the U.S. Air National Guard from 1957 to 1967.

        Bob Doyle, Mr. Lucas' Washington-based political consultant and fund-raiser, said the Lucas campaign “has and will take Mr. Davis very seriously.

        “But obviously things have changed in the country,” Mr. Doyle said Wednesday. “People in Northern Kentucky and throughout the 4th District are going to be reluctant to change leadership while the nation is in this conflict, and we have provided the leadership people want and need at this time.

        “Folks are comfortable with the bipartisan approach Ken Lucas has offered,” Mr. Doyle said. “That is a strength of ours and we need experienced leaders to chart our future and make us more secure.”

        Mr. Lucas has supported President Bush and the Republican agenda in Congress on several votes, including those on tax cuts. That has frustrated area GOP leaders, who struggle to find issues that differentiate Mr. Lucas from Republican candidates and officeholders.

        Mr. Davis said he believes he can overcome his lack of name recognition in an area where he has lived for less than a decade. Mr. Lucas was born and raised in Northern Kentucky, worked as a financial planner and business consultant and also served in Boone County government.

        Building name recognition for Mr. Davis will take money. The campaign has raised nearly $100,000, according to Mr. Wilson.

        In a report filed with the Federal Election Commission, Mr. Lucas reported raising $290,305 during the first six months of the year. He had $310,656 cash on hand as of June, according to the report.

        On the issues, Mr. Davis said he would push for local control of education with a diminished role for the federal government and more emphasis on treatment for drug abusers.

        “I'm not saying we don't enforce the law,” Mr. Davis said. “We really need to refocus on dealing with the demand side of things.”

        Mr. Davis also said he opposed gun control and abortion, would push for lower taxes and the elimination of the so-called marriage penalty tax, supports the creation of private investment accounts for people paying into Social Security, and would try to bring more high-paying jobs to the 4th District.

        Fort Mitchell lawyer Charlie Pangburn, the outgoing chairman of the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, said Mr. Davis is “an outstanding businessman who has a very strong grasp of the issues that affect working families and small businesses in this region.”

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