Shelli Yoder, a Democrat and Monroe County Council member, announced her candidacy for a seat in the United States House of Representatives on Monday.
Yoder, who is well known for earning the title of Miss Indiana in 1992, is the first Democrat to announce candidacy for Indiana’s 9th District Congressional seat.
She currently works as a lecturer at the Kelley School of Business.
In 2012, Yoder won the Democratic nomination for the same seat. She then lost to Rep. Todd Young, R-9th District, with 43 percent of the vote.
Young announced in July he would be vacating the seat to run for the Senate in 2016.
“I’m running because I still am committed to finishing that passion that I started in 2012,” Yoder said. “As a working mom and as an educator, I see that our district is being left behind when it comes to opportunities for young people and when it comes to protecting our seniors and young people.”
Yoder said education will be one of the main focuses of her campaign.
“I love working at Kelley, and now I have a chance to really begin to have an impact on tomorrow’s job creators,” she said.
Yoder said she hopes to address student debt by lowering the cost of education and creating a system in which graduates can pay off their debt in increments proportional to their salaries.
“I want to make sure we come up with a solution of how we’re going to educate our next generation and do so responsibly and not at the risk of strapping our next generation with debt,” she said. “We need to come up with a way for them to pay it back that is reasonable and doesn’t knock them off their feet before they even have a chance to live the American dream.”
Yoder, a native Hoosier, obtained a bachelor’s degree from IU-Purdue University Fort Wayne.
She later earned a master’s degree in counseling and human services from IU-South Bend and a master’s in divinity from Vanderbilt University.
Other candidates include State Sen. Erin Houchin, R-Salem; State Sen. Brent Waltz, R-Greenwood; and Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller, another Republican.
Although the race is currently dominated by Republican candidates for the seat, Yoder said she does not want her campaign to revolve around her political affiliation.
“I think that, right now, people want to move beyond the bickering of parties and really find someone who’s willing to work hard to bring a collaborative spirit to Washington,” she said.
