In a previous version of this story, Jeff Petermann was listed as having dropped out of the race. Petermann recently indicated he is running as a Constitutional Conservative.
The midterm election is Nov. 4. All U.S. Representatives from Indiana in each of the state’s nine districts are up for reelection. If chosen, a candidate will serve for two years in the House of Representatives. Below are all the candidates vying to represent their district in Washington, D.C. Personal background and platform information was gathered from candidates’ websites.
DISTRICT 1
Peter Visclosky (D)
Visclosky has represented District 1 since 1985. He is a member of the Appropriations Committee, Defense Subcommittee and Energy and Water Subcomittee. He is a supporter of the Affordable Care Act. He also wants to expand the South Shore Rail Line, which runs from South Bend to Chicago.
Donna Dunn (L)
Dunn is a former U.S. Marine from Hammond, Ind. Dunn is in favor of reforming the tax code for large companies to pay larger taxes on their profits and imposing tariffs on steel imported from other countries, according to her website.
Mark Leyva (R)
Leyva is a first-generation American immigrant from Mexico, according to his website. He supports stronger border control and the repeal of the Affordable Care Act. He is also in favor of cutting income tax and collecting federal revenue solely from sales tax. Leyva ran against Visclosky in 2010 and received 38 percent of votes.
DISTRICT 2
Joe Bock (D)
Bock, a former humanitarian aid worker through the American Refugee Committee and Catholic Relief Services, is a professor at Notre Dame’s Eck Institute for Global Health. He is in favor of raising the minimum wage, becoming energy independent and implementing tax credits to businesses that hire veterans.
Jeff Petermann (L)
Petermann dropped out of the race as a Libertarian in late July. He is now running as a Constitutional Conservative.
Jackie Walorski (R)
Walorski, a South Bend native, replaced now-Sen. Joe Donnelly as District 2 representative in 2012. She serves on the Armed Services, Veterans’ Affairs and Budget committees. She has sponsored 11 bills this term, ranging from the addition of a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution to the the prohibition of transferring Guantanamo Bay detainees to Yemen.
DISTRICT 3
Justin Kuhnle (D)
Kuhnle, a Purdue University graduate, is in favor of creating national educational standards, implementing loan pay-off programs with hospitals to attract more students into the medical field, investing in small businesses and tax reform.
Scott Wise (L)
A Columbia City resident, Wise has run multiple times to represent District 3. He seeks to end political partisanship.
Marlin Stutzman (R)
Stutzman, from Howe, Ind., has served District 3 since 2010. He serves on the Financial Services committee. Stutzman co-authored the 2012 Farm Bill, which made reforms to farm subsidies and welfare programs. He also favors tax reforms such as single rate sales tax or different income tax rates.
DISTRICT 4
John Dale (D)
Dale is a a teacher at Western Boone High School in Thorntown, Ind. He supports federal investment in education, creating jobs by investing in renewable and clean energy and giving stronger legal support to veterans who have been victims of crimes such as sexual assault.
Todd Rokita (R)
Before serving as representative of District 4, Rokita was Indiana’s Secretary of State for eight years. He is currently the chairman of the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education. He believes the educational system should be ran by state and local entities.
DISTRICT 5
Shawn Denney (D)
Denney, a history teacher for Indiana Connections Academy, supports equal pay for women, increased minimum wage and job growth.
John Krom (L)
Krom, from Wabash County, Ind., does not support tax increases or large government.
Susan Brooks (R)
Brooks serves on the Education and Workforce, Homeland Security and Ethics committees and chairs the Subcomittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response and Communications. She served on the committee to investigate events involving the attack in Benghazi, Libya, on the American embassy on Sept. 11, 2012.
DISTRICT 6
Susan Hall Heitzman (D)
Heitzman, once the owner of a small business and a teacher and currently a homemaker, is running an all-volunteer campaign in the hopes of representing Indiana’s 6th District as an anti-corporatism representative. Other issues Heitzman feels strongly about are protecting the environment, fighting for gender equality and protecting online freedom.
Luke Messer (R)
Messer has represented District 6 since 2012. He wrote a bill while in the Indiana State House that helped raise the high school graduation rate from 71 percent to 88 percent , and he currently serves on the Committee on Education and the Workforce along with the House Financial Services Committee.
DISTRICT 7
André Carson (D)
Having represented Indianapolis and the 7th District in Congress since being elected 2008, Carson holds many titles in the House, including Senior Whip for the House Democratic Caucus and member of the Congressional Black Caucus’s Executive Leadership Team. Carson wrote two bills signed into law: the Service Members Mental Health Screening Act and the Military Families Financial Preparedness Act. Carson also lobbied for the Affordable Care Act.
Chris Mayo (L)
Mayo is running as a Libertarian candidate in Indiana’s District 7. A veteran of the U.S. Air Force, Mayo currently works as a Lead Avionics Technician at the Indianapolis International Airport. He believes power should be returned to the lowest possible level of government rather than maintaining the power currently held by the federal government.
Catherine Ping (R)
Ping, an army veteran of 33 years, is looking to serve Indiana’s 7th District. Ping supports Christian values and has lived in Indianapolis all her life.
DISTRICT 8
Tom Spangler (D)
Spangler, campaigning to represent Indiana’s 8th District, says issues he believes need attention are governmental transparency, raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour, boosting public education, protecting the environment and equality for women. Before campaigning for Congress, Spangler was a small business owner.
Andy Horning (L)
Horning, the District 8 Libertarian candidate, is a medical businessman and illustrator specializing in cardiovascular health care. Horning believes the Constitution should be followed verbatim, Obama’s healthcare bill should be nullified and “pork fat” on legislation should be gotten rid of.
Larry Bucshon (R)
Bucshon, an Illinois native, spent his life before Congress as a doctor, performing hundreds of heart surgeries. Starting as a representative in 2011, his work has a focus on healthcare reform, and he’s also working towards the completion of Interstate 69 to reach from Evansville to Indianapolis.
DISTRICT 9
Bill Bailey (D)
Bailey, the Democrat candidate for the 9th District spot in the House of Representatives, came to Seymour, Ind., to teach high school students in 1970 but then changed career paths into owning his own businesses, both of which are now sold. He served on the Seymour City Council for four years and then as mayor for two terms, before serving in the Indiana House of Representatives for 10 years. Bailey believes in congressional term limits and job creation.
Mike Frey (L)
A graduate of IU’s Kelley School of Business, Frey has worked as a businessman for the Kimberly Clark Corporation. Frey calls for a flat tax system with highly reduced paperwork that could be completed in 10 minutes, and he aims for a smaller central government.
Todd Young (R)
Young, a Bloomington resident and current representative of Indiana’s 9th District, elected in 2010, is campaigning for re-election in the 2014 election. Young is a Marine veteran, and he earned his J.D. from Indiana University. He’s currently a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, and before being in Congress, he served as a legislative aide in the U.S. Senate and also worked as a management consultant.
