3RD CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT — The primary field for the the 3rd Congressional District seat held by Republican Phil English is shaping up and it’s crowded.

Five Democrats want a shot at unseating English, a 7-term incumbent, in the fall, including Tom Myers, who said, “This race is not for the faint of heart.” English is “clinging to his political life and he’s more vulnerable now than probably since he was elected.”

English also faces a Republican challenger, John G. Drescher, who called the congressman weak in his support of the Iraq war.

And while it’s not a story in the primary, English’s two-time Democratic rival Steven Porter is back as an Independent and blasting both parties, which he says are beholden to special interests.

English said he welcomes the challenges, saying they give him a chance to explain what he’s done in Congress for the last 14 years, how he’s represented the public and how he’s going to make a difference.

Most of the Democratic candidates agree that re-energizing a sagging economy, getting out of the Iraq war and health-care reform are chief concerns.

Aside from that, they are trying to distinguish themselves by focusing on their diverse backgrounds.

• Mike Waltner, 32, a lay minister from Erie, said he was raised by his grandmother with no father in the picture and worked three jobs through college and seminary. “I haven’t had anything handed to me.”

His work on social issues like poverty, health care and domestic violence has put him in touch with people affected by those issues, he said. “You don’t get many candidates with backgrounds like mine in these kinds of races.”

• Erie County Councilman Kyle Foust focused on his elected experience and cited his family background, including his father who once chaired Erie County’s Democratic party and was a councilman.

Foust said he was taken to a Democratic picnic when he was just four days old and took his own son to one at two days old.

Foust, 39, of Harborcreek Township, said, “To our family, Election Day was the seventh game of the World Series, the Super Bowl and Christmas.” They knew the issues, he said, and public service was always important.

• Tom Myers said his legal experience sets him apart. “I am the only candidate trained in the law in this race. I have 21 years of successful legal experience and have represented over 2,000 clients to date.”

The 39-year-old from Millcreek Township, Erie County, said being in Congress is about making laws, and he has the experience to craft legislation that will help families instead of hurting them. “We have enough bad laws on the books.”

• Kathy Dahlkemper believes her depth and breadth of experience makes her the best candidate. At age 49, she is director of the Lake Erie Arboretum at Frontier Park and works with a landscaping company. She also worked in health care, owned a small business, started a nonprofit organization and volunteered with her church and school.

The Erie mother of five, ages 18 to 28, said she understands the problems families struggle with.

• Tom Lynch, Erie, a former accounting professor, said he was inspired to seek the nomination after seeing the discontent over how the country is being run.

Lynch, 70, promised not to take any campaign contributions, either before or after the election. “Buying legislation has to end,” he said. Lynch said his experience teaching and crunching numbers sets him apart from the other Democrats.

English, 52, said he feels he has “great grassroots support” throughout the district, particularly in areas where his opposition to tolling Interstate 80 has been important. The Erie Republican has represented the district since 1995.

English’s Republican challenger, John G. Drescher, 54, Butler County, called himself a small-government conservative who supports the Iraq war and would better back President Bush than English has. Drescher owns a computer consulting firm.

Dr. Steven Porter, a retired professor from Erie County, has challenged English twice before.

Porter, 64, has made the centerpiece of his campaign his upcoming book about how neither political party is able to serve its constituents because of special interests. “The people are just going to get shafted from now until doomsday.”