After only 15 months on the job, Congressman Scott Murphy is back on the campaign trail, this time as the incumbent. On Sunday, the Democrat representing New York's 20th District officially launched his re-election campaign, while his opponent Chris Gibson, held a rally of his own less than a mile away.

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"Thank you so much for being here," Murphy told the crowd.

Right up the road at his own campaign office, Murphy's opponent, retired Army Colonel Chris Gibson, staged a campaign rally of his own.

"What we're here to do today is welcome him to the race," Gibson said.

Both men spoke for roughly 20 minutes, focusing mostly on the same issue; the lagging economy and how they plan to fix it.

Murphy highlighted his record as a fiscal conservative, recently being named one of Congress's most "centrist members," by the National Journal Magazine; a title his opponent doesn't believe he deserves.

"That health care bill that we believe we're going to see higher premiums, higher taxes, more regulation and continuing growth of big government, that's not fiscal conservative government," said Gibson, in reference to Murphy’s support of the legislation.

Murphy says his record proves otherwise, citing Congressional Budget Office estimates that healthcare reform will lower the deficit over the next decade and highlighting his appointment to the President's Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform.

"That's what I'm excited about being a part of,” Murphy said. “That's what we're trying to work on in Washington and that's what we need to do to get this country moving."

One issue the two men agree on, Congress's lack of a budget will only further stunt economic growth.

At the end of his speech, Gibson called on Murphy to meet him in a series of ten town hall debates, one in each of the district's counties, so the two can take their messages right to voters.

"Our voters, our voters have the right to hear directly from us what our plans are to restore this republic," Gibson said.

"There's clear differences between me and my experience as a small businessman and his experience and what he's pushing for the country,” said Murphy, who added his staff and Gibson’s staff are working to coordinated dates for the debates. “So we're definitely going to get out there and talk to people."