Soldier will stay in state House race

James Walker, the Democratic challenger in state House District 24, will stay in the race even though he will be sent back to military service in Iraq in the fall of 2007

Walker, 33, is running against three-term incumbent Rep. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala. Walker enlisted in the Army after the Sept. 11 attacks and served as an infantry sergeant in Iraq in 2003-4. He received orders last week to return to training in June 2007. Next fall, he said he will be deployed a a civil affairs specialist - a liaison between the Army and private firms contracted to rebuild Iraq.

News reports of Walker's call-up apparently brought increased attention to his campaign. "I just got dozens and dozens of calls and e-mails from people I never met before urging me to stay in the race," he said. "I talked it over with my family and my wife supported it, so I stayed in."

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