By JOHN SENTS

Free Press Staff Writer

ELKO - Elko resident and Independent American Party candidate John Everhart has a simple promise in his run for U.S. Congress - he will vote 100 percent in line with U.S. Rep. Ron Paul,

R-Tex.

“I'm a passionate (Ron Paul) supporter,” Everhart said. “If (voters) support Ron Paul, they can vote for me and know how I'm going to vote.”

Everhart will run against incumbent Republican candidate Dean Heller and Nevada Democratic Party chairwoman Jill Derby for the state's Second Congressional District seat.

The Vietnam veteran said he was disillusioned with politics for years but Ron Paul “got me interested in saving this country.”

Like Paul, Everhart wants to “return the country to government by the constitution,” reduce the nation's debt and reduce the size and spending of the federal government.

He has never run for political office before and said he has not yet contacted Paul's office to seek support for his campaign.

Also like Paul, Everhart said he wants the country to take the military out of Iraq, but he said the United States should help Iraqis who support us settle in the United States or another safe country. He said troops in Iraq could identify those that have supported them.

From his service in Vietnam, Everhart remembers indigenous Montagnard tribesmen who supported the United States and saved his life who were slaughtered after our military left. He doesn't want that to repeat again in Iraq.

He believes the United States should intensify its efforts in Afghanistan and root out Osama bin Laden and the Taliban, and then bring the troops home as soon as possible.

He said he is in favor of immigration, but not illegal immigration - and said the federal government needs to get serious about removing the more than 11 million illegal migrants in the country. He proposes that if illegal immigrants or their employers could pay a $25,000 bond, they would be allowed to stay in six month increments where they would have to meet requirements to obtain legal status.

Everhart teaches math and GED classes at the Carlin Conservation Camp. Prior to teaching, he worked as an engineer in mines in Utah, Tennessee and Kentucky.