Six Republicans have five months to seize one chance to knock off incumbent Rep. Jerry McNerney. The competition began in earnest Monday, as the GOP-ers seeking the 11th Congressional District seat took to the stage in Manteca to separate themselves from the rest.

To my knowledge, it was the first public gathering of all six campaigners, who traded turns making their opening electoral pitches to the 250-odd people gathered at Crossroads Grace Community Church.

I went along for the ride in hopes of getting to know the candidates — or at least to see how they were positioning themselves for the stretch run leading up to the June 8 primary.

So — from left to right, as they were organized at the forum — let’s meet the candidates.

David Harmer

The man who lost a 2009 campaign for California’s 10th District seat in a special election wasted no time laying claim to the Reagan legacy at Monday’s forum.

Calling himself a “Reagan Republican” and a defender of private property rights, Harmer touted his past political connections — son of a California lieutenant governor, counsel alongside conservative Idaho Sen. Orrin Hatch, fellow of the College of Public Interest Law at Pacific Legal Foundation — in an attempt to claim the mantle of experience.

“I don’t just share your views and values, I’ve spent a lifetime putting it into policy,” he told the crowd.

Harmer railed against big-government conservatism as well as big-government liberalism, saying he could help reduce the size of government — one of many threads that would bind the candidates together.

Tony Amador

Amador is the law-and-order man of the group. A former police officer and U.S. marshal, he made no bones about touting his law-enforcement experience while trying to take up the politically important designation of The Outsider.

“I am not seeking a career in politics,” he insisted. “It will take a non-politician like me who is running as an outsider” to reduce the size and intrusiveness of government, he continued.

He was also the first to bring out tried-and-true rhetorical weapons, warning that “free-spending liberals” in Washington are moving the country “closer to socialism” and had “weakened the country.”

But he wasn’t the only candidate to cut the incumbent Democrat with that saw.

Elizabeth Emken

A longtime activist in Washington, D.C., for autistic children, Emken wove a narrative that she had both the insider savvy and the new-to-politics shine to defeat McNerney and hit the ground running upon taking the 11th District seat.

Emken explained that she would hope for a seat on the Energy and Commerce Committee in Congress, as she has past and present experience working with those representatives.

She also said more than once that, while observing the government, she “felt like I’m on the outside watching a train wreck.”

But she also expounded on her experience, saying “I know what works in Washington, and I know its manifest failures.” And by extension, she said, how to do better.

Emken also kicked off a popular theme of the evening, linking via voting record “follower” McNerney and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, the San Francisco-based Democrat who is no favorite among conservatives.

Brad Goehring

Having collected endorsements of elected officials from all corners of the district, the Lodi-based farmer is positioning himself as the only GOP candidate with the community support and political muscle to oust McNerney.

He also apparently tried to lay claim to the title of Mr. Constitution.

Returning to the principles of the U.S. Constitution was Goehring’s biggest theme throughout the night, and the candidate said he’d prefer people put political parties aside in favor of focusing on constitutional precepts.

“I mean ‘constitutional’ the way the Founding Fathers interpreted it to be,” he said in his opening statement, to enthusiastic response. And after equating property rights with freedom and liberty, he insisted that he “will not stray” from the Constitution as an elected representative.

Other candidates later echoed the strict-construction ideas he espoused, but to some confusion. More than one GOP-er referred to the Constitution as the great document of 1776. Of course, the Constitution was penned in 1787 and ratified in 1788, after the Revolutionary War — it was the Declaration of Independence that was inked in 1776, when the revolution was in its infancy.

Robert Beadles

The rags-to-riches, business-savvy, self-made-man candidate recounted his life story, which included accepting welfare and food stamps, working several jobs, attending school, and eventually opening his own construction company and founding other business endeavors.

But Beadles overshadowed his policy stances with a focus on character. He first posed the question to each candidate if they had ever hired illegal immigrants or cheated on their taxes. (Each candidate answered no and no, though Beadles himself never technically answered his own question.)

Then, in his closing statement, Beadles dropped a bombshell by accusing a business competitor of a “politically motivated” attack intended to bump him from the congressional competition. Beadles was referring to a Jan. 4 police raid of his business, which Beadles said was conducted because of the machinations of business competitor Farwest Safety Inc. (See Page 5 for that story.)

Beadles also insinuated that Goehring has some influence in the matter, saying: “Brad, would you please do something about this?” Goehring, for the record, told me after the forum that he’s run a clean campaign and wouldn’t sully his reputation with underhanded tactics.

Beadles has filed a lawsuit against Farwest owner Gary Anderson, alleging libel and slander.

Jeff Takada

With a rallying cry of “Take back the Hill!” the teacher from Manteca appeared as a libertarian-leaning Republican, telling the crowd that the federal government has overstepped its constitutional bounds.

Tacking his candidacy to limited government, sound monetary policy and personal freedom, Takada distinguished himself by tackling a local issue in a forum that featured mostly national topics.

Takada said he’s strongly in favor of protecting senior water rights and wants to ensure federal and state officials don’t destroy the Delta.

I take that as code that San Joaquin Delta-area farmers should have priority when it comes to Delta water over the mostly junior-rights-holding farmers who rely on the Delta-Mendota Canal and California Aqueduct, which also likely means opposing a peripheral canal that would ship water around the Delta.

Despite their noted differences, all six candidates staked out a mostly similar policy stance.

All said they had signed or would sign the “no-tax” pledge, favored smaller government, decried earmarks — which some regard as “pork” and others see as needed funding for local projects — and agreed that McNerney is too liberal.

Admittedly, this is a superficial overview, as forums like Monday’s tend to run long on rhetoric and short on specifics, and in primary elections they’re typically geared toward the party faithful. But at least we’re starting to get to know those who seek to make the 11th District red once again.

• Contact associate editor and columnist Jon Mendelson at jmendelson@tracypress.com.