A second Billings Republican has formally entered the race for U.S. Senate.

Kirk Bushman, 41, announced Wednesday at stops in Billings, Bozeman and Kalispell that he will square off against Billings lawmaker Michael Lange in the June Republican primary election.

A Billings native and political newcomer, Bushman told supporters at his kick-off event in Billings that he supports sealing America's borders against illegal immigrants, balancing the federal budget, expunging the national debt and strong military spending.

In an interview later, Bushman said he favors doing away with so-called earmarks, or special pots of money lawmakers set aside for pet projects in their home states. Billings' Cobb Field athletic stadium was paid for, in part, with a federal earmark.

Although he has fond memories practicing Little League in that same park, Bushman said Cobb Field wasn't a wise use of federal tax dollars.

"I feel that was wrong," he said. "If Billings and the state of Montana want to fund a ball park, then we should do it."

Two areas Bushman does not favor cutting are Medicare and Social Security.

The eighth of 12 children, Bushman was only 16 years old when his father died, leaving his mother, Hazel, then a stay-at-home mom, with several children still at home to support.

Hazel Bushman, now 74, went to work at a department store to support her family, but she also received help from Social Security.

Although he doesn't want to cut such programs, Bushman said both Medicare and Social Security need some kind of government fix to survive long-term. So far, Bushman said, politicians haven't mustered the will to take on such big problems.

Bushman graduated from Billings Central Catholic High School and later earned a mechanical engineer technician's degree from Montana State University in Bozeman. He worked at industrial plants around the world, but returned home to Billings in 1995. Bushman works as an industrial facility designer at an engineer consulting firm in Billings.

He and his wife Jill have one son, Cooper, born just before Christmas.

So far, Lange is the only other Republican in the race. The victor of their showdown will square off against incumbent Democratic Sen. Max Baucus, who has already raised almost $9 million for the contest.

Eric Ohs, son of the late Lt. Gov. Karl Ohs who died in November, introduced Bushman at his opening kick-off event in Billings. Bushman said Ohs was one of the first people he talked with about entering politics. Ohs asked Bushman if he had a "fire in the belly."

At the time, Bushman said, he didn't know. Now, after traveling the state and talking to people, Bushman told his supporters that he could "feel something burning inside."