Spartz: Tight Congressional race benefits district

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Victoria Spartz believes competition is a good thing.

After decisively winning a crowded Republican primary, she’s running for the 5th Congressional District in what could be the tightest federal race in the state. Once a Republican stronghold, the district is now considered a “toss up” by nonpartisan The Cook Political Report.

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Spartz

And that benefits constituents, Spartz said.

“Having a district with good competition between two parties and ideas makes us work harder and deliver more results,” she said. “When one party dominates, sometimes it can actually make it a little bit lazy.”

Spartz took her first public office in 2017 when a Republican caucus selected her to finish the remainder of retiring State Sen. Luke Kenley’s term. In her first general election, her main challenger is Democrat Christina Hale in the race for a seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. Susan Brooks, a Republican who is retiring from office. Brooks defeated Democrat Dee Thornton in 2018 with nearly 57 percent of the vote.

Spartz, 41, emigrated to the U.S. in 2000 after meeting the man who would become her husband on a train in Europe. She grew up in the Ukraine during Soviet rule, an experience that led to her strong belief in limiting government and strengthening the free market.

Before joining the Indiana Legislature, Spartz worked as a CPA and finance executive. She served as president of the Hamilton County Republican Women and vice-chairman of the Hamilton County Republican Party and has helped with a variety of political campaigns, including for President Donald Trump.

Spartz said she supports many of Trump’s policies but that she isn’t afraid to vote against him.

“There are some things the president does that are great and some things he needs to work on, and that’s OK, too,” she said. “We need to be an extremely independent Republican legislature.”

Among the reasons Spartz decided to run for Congress was the frustration that many major issues affecting Hoosiers, such as health care, can’t be adequately addressed at the state level. She supports returning many powers to the state.

“If I’m going to give back to the country I love and did so much for me, I need to do it at a level where I can bring the most value,” she said.

Spartz said that Congress is spending too much time on politics instead of policymaking, which can have devastating consequences. For example, she believes previous federal COVID-19 relief efforts have led to Congress handing out “blank checks” to states. She is concerned that some states that didn’t have a healthy reserve fund — as Indiana did — are using the federal assistance “to deal with issues that have accumulated not due to the virus but due to the mismanagement of their finances.”

“Taxpayers of Indiana should not be bailing out bad political and fiscal decisions of people in Illinois,” Spartz said.

Spartz and her husband, Jason, live in Noblesville with their two daughters. They own a farm and several other parcels of land. Spartz is the top contributor to her own campaign, having donated more than $1 million.

Learn more at spartzforcongress.com.


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