HUBER HEIGHTS — Mayor Ron Fisher — a Democrat — announced Wednesday that he is backing Republican Congressman Mike Turner rather than Democrat Sharen Neuhardt in the race to represent Ohio’s new 10th District.

Fisher was quick to point out that he believes Turner, a 5-term congressman and former Dayton mayor, doesn’t need his endorsement to win the race against Neuhardt, who happened to speak to the Huber Heights Democratic Club Tuesday night.

“Mike has helped us along the way and his re-election will benefit Huber Heights,” Fisher said. “Working straight down the party lines is not my thing. I’ll vote for who I think is the best candidate.”

Huber Heights is the third-largest city in Montgomery County. Currently, part of the city is in the 8th District represented by House Speaker John Boehner. For the November election, the city has been redistricted into the new 10th District.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in April added the Neuhardt-Turner race to its list of 13 “Emerging Races” — races where candidates are becoming increasing competitive.

Neuhardt met Tuesday night with about 20 to 25 people, saying on her Neuhardt for Congress Facebook page that Huber Heights’ “inclusion in the new 10th District is part of what makes this race so competitive.”

“The only endorsement that really matters is the voters on election day,” said Neuhardt’s spokesman Michael McGovern after hearing about their fellow Democrat’s endorsement of Turner.

“Congressman Turner has to defend his record under his watch — 50,000 jobs lost in the Miami Valley, and he’s voted against military pay raises but voted to give himself five pay raises. The list goes on and on,” McGovern said. “That’s what people care about, and what people will be voting on come November.”

The 10th District includes all of Montgomery and Greene counties and northern Fayette County, which is currently represented by Steve Austria.

The 10th District is viewed as more Democratic than the current 3rd District that Turner represents because it adds in parts of Huber Heights, Dayton and Riverside, now represented by Boehner. Turner’s current district also includes heavily Republican areas such as northern Warren County and all of Clinton and Highland counties.

In December 2011, an analysis released by the Ohio Campaign for Accountable Redistricting declared the 10th District as competitive. Under the group’s criteria, a district is competitive if the political index is less than 55 percent. In the 10th District, the Republican index is 54.18 and the Democratic index 45.82.

“This election is about issues larger than that of Democrat vs. Republican,” Turner said in a release announcing Fisher’s endorsement. “I’d like to thank Mayor Fisher for his support, and look forward to working with him on behalf of the residents of Huber Heights.”

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2281 or smatthews@coxohio.com. Follow this reporter on Twitter @StevenWMatthews