The Rookies: Paul Gosar On the Rise in Arizona

Oct. 14, 2010 -- Paul Gosar is not your everyday candidate for Congress.

Asked if his opponent in Arizona -- Democratic incumbent Ann Kirkpatrick -- should fear him, he exclaims, "Afraid of me as a candidate? Danger, Will Robinson, danger!" quoting a catchphrase from the 1960s TV series "Lost in Space."

That was just one of many off-the-cuff quips from Gosar in a wide-ranging 30-minute interview with ABC News. It is clear that Gosar, a dentist for the last 25 years, is one of the most colorful candidates looking to secure a seat on Capitol Hill this fall.

Rated one of the Republican Party's "Young Guns" -- a group of the GOP's most electable challengers -- Gosar is making a strong push to unseat Kirkpatrick in Arizona's First Congressional District, running especially hard against the Democrats' most recent signature legislative achievement: health care reform.

"What better time to have a doctor in the house?" he says. "If it's meant to be, it's meant to be. Sometimes it's a leap of faith."

But ask him why voters should send him to Washington, he points to personal, rather than political experience.

"I'm a person that has lived in Main Street America," he explains. "I'm a family man. I've got a wonderful wife and family. I've got kids that have gone through the school districts. I've started two small businesses. I've built my own house. And I'm a healthcare provider. Oh my God! A lot of these things come home to roost. I'm self-made. I'm a citizen. And I live in this district."

Gosar might not be a seasoned politician, but that's not viewed as a bad thing these days. Now, having sold his practice to pursue his political goals, he is riding a wave of Tea Party momentum as far as it will take him. In a district that has been held by a Republican for much of the past decade, Gosar is hitting out at Kirkpatrick for voting in favor of the new health care reform law and the economic stimulus package.

In recent ads, Gosar has denounced Kirkpatrick as "a rubber stamp for the Obama-Pelosi agenda" and "another big spender who's turned her back on the voters." "It's time for her to go," he states.