Indiana
Congressional primary victors emerge from crowded Indiana races
by Leslie Bonilla Muñiz, Indiana Capital Chronicle
May 7, 2024
Hoosiers locked in their November general election ballots on Tuesday, uplifting a handful of primary election victors from out of crowded fields of candidates.
Three out of the state’s nine seats will have new faces after two GOP incumbents retired and another left to pursue a higher office.
In the Third Congressional District, former U.S. Rep. Marlin Stutzman, a Republican, may return to Capitol Hill after leading his closest competitor by about 1,300 votes with 94% of the vote counted. He eked out a victory Tuesday night over seven others, including Christian administrative nonprofit CEO Tim Smith, Judge Wendy Davis and state Sen. Andy Zay.
Stutzman, who served in Congress from 2010 to 2017, will face Democrat Kiley Adolph in November. She beat out Phil Goss with a commanding 63% of the vote. Incumbent Rep. Jim Banks left his seat to run for U.S. Senate.
In the Sixth Congressional District, left vacant by retiring GOP Rep. Greg Pence, Republican businessman Jefferson Shreve claimed victory over state Rep. Mike Speedy and five other hopefuls with just 28% of the vote.
Shreve, who in 2022 sold his self-storage business for nearly $600 million, poured more than $13 million into a failed Indianapolis mayoral bid last year that saw him take several moderate stances to woo a largely Democrat electorate.
He loaned his congressional campaign another $4.5 million, flooding the airwaves and mailboxes alike with advertisements that took a decidedly hard-right turn.
Democrat Cynthia Wirth, who ran uncontested, will counter him in November.
In the Eighth Congressional District — incumbent Republican Rep. Larry Bucshon retired — state Sen. Mark Messmer nabbed a plurality of the GOP vote: about 39%. He defeated John Hostettler, who previously represented the district from 1995 until 2007, and six other hopefuls. That includes two other current and former state lawmakers.
General election voters will choose between Messmer and Democrat Erik Hurt, who defeated three other hopefuls with about 45% of the vote.
Challengers to incumbents finalized
In the First Congressional District, Democrat U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan won his uncontested race. He’ll face Republican Randy Niemeyer in November, who beat out opponents Mark Levya and Ben Ruiz with about 62% of the vote.
‘Huge shift’: Incumbent exits prompt crowded U.S. House primary races
In the Second Congressional District, uncontested Republican U.S. Rep. Rudy Yakym became his party’s nominee. He’ll face Democrat Lori Camp, who also ran uncontested, in November.
In the Fourth Congressional District, Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Baird easily defeated GOP challengers Charles Bookwalter and John Piper with about 65% of the vote. Democrat Derrick Holder won his party’s nomination with about 64% over opponent Rimpi Girn.
In the Fifth Congressional District, Republican U.S. Rep. Victoria Spartz pulled out a victory over several GOP hopefuls who entered when it was still an open race. Spartz said last year that she’d leave Congress but jumped into the race just before a filing deadline.
She beat back state Rep. Chuck Goodrich, former congressional staffer Max Engling, speech-language pathologist Raju Chinthala and five other challengers with just 39% of the vote.
Democrat Deborah Pickett won her party’s nomination, beating out Ryan Pfenninger with about 60% of the vote.
In the Seventh Congressional District, Democrat U.S. Rep. André Carson crushed two challengers, Curtis Godfrey and Pierre Pullins, with a whopping 91% of the vote.
The race to face him in the general election was at razor-thin margins Tuesday night: Republicans Jennifer Pace and Catherine Ping were within a couple hundred votes of each other but had pulled ahead of two other competitors.
In the Ninth Congressional District, Republican U.S. Rep. Erin Houchin handily beat out GOP challenger Hugh Doty with about 80% of the vote. General election voters will chose between her and Democrat Timothy Peck, who defeated Liam Dorris with 66% of the vote.
Catch more of the Indiana Capital Chronicle’s election coverage here.
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Indiana Capital Chronicle is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Indiana Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Niki Kelly for questions: info@indianacapitalchronicle.com. Follow Indiana Capital Chronicle on Facebook and Twitter.
Indiana
Indiana ethics panel approves Jennifer-Ruth Green settlement; possible criminal charges pending
Indiana
Bears consider move to Indiana with effort to secure public funding for stadium in Illinois stalled
CHICAGO — The Chicago Bears say they’re mulling a move to Northwest Indiana with their efforts to secure public funding they say they need to build an enclosed stadium in Illinois stalled.
Team president Kevin Warren insisted Wednesday in an open letter to fans that the team still prefers to build a new home on a tract of land it owns in suburban Arlington Heights, Illinois. He also said the Bears are not using the threat to cross state lines as leverage.
“This is not about leverage,” Warren said. “We spent years trying to build a new home in Cook County. We invested significant time and resources evaluating multiple sites and rationally decided on Arlington Heights. Our fans deserve a world-class stadium. Our players and coaches deserve a venue that matches the championship standard they strive for every day.”
Warren did not say where in Northwest Indiana the Bears would look to move.
The letter comes just days before Chicago hosts rival Green Bay in a game with heavy playoff implications. The Bears (10-4) hold a slim lead over the Packers (9-4-1) in the NFC North. In their first season under coach Ben Johnson, they are trying to secure their first postseason appearance since 2020.
“The Bears have called Chicago home for more than a century,” Warren said. “One certainty is that our commitment to this city will not change. We will continue to provide unwavering support to the community. We need to secure a world-class venue for our passionate fanbase and honor the energy you bring every week.”
The Bears’ focus for a new home has fluctuated between a tract of land they own in Arlington Heights to the Chicago lakefront, and then back to the suburb. They have said they plan to pay for the stadium construction on the site of a former racetrack about 30 miles northwest of their longtime home at Soldier Field, though they would need assistance to complete the project.
According to a team consultant report released in September, they are seeking $855 million in public funding for infrastructure in order to build a stadium in Arlington Heights that could host Final Fours and Super Bowls. The Bears were also hoping the Illinois legislature would pass a bill in October that would freeze property taxes for large-scale construction projects such as the stadium, allowing them to begin construction this year. But that didn’t happen.
“For a project of this scale, uncertainty has significant consequences,” Warren said. “Stable timelines are critical, as are predictable processes and elected leaders, who share a sense of urgency and appreciation for public partnership that projects with this level of impact require. We have not received that sense of urgency or appreciation to date. We have been told directly by State leadership, our project will not be a priority in 2026, despite the benefits it will bring to Illinois.”
In September 2022, the Bears unveiled a nearly $5 billion plan for Arlington Heights that also called for restaurants, retail and more, when they were finalizing the purchase of that site 30 miles from Soldier Field. Their focus moved toward building a new stadium next to Soldier Field after Warren was hired as president two years ago to replace the retiring Ted Phillips. The plan to transform Chicago’s Museum Campus got an enthusiastic endorsement from Mayor Brandon Johnson but a tepid reception from Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and state legislators when it was announced in April 2024.
Last spring, the team announced it was turning its attention back to Arlington Heights, citing “significant progress” with local leaders.
Since moving to Chicago in 1921, the Bears have never owned their stadium, whether playing at Wrigley Field from 1921 to 1970 or Soldier Field since then.
Are Christmas cards going extinct?
Fewer Christmas cards are being sent these days — a 2024 poll found 6 in 10 adults received fewer, and 3 in 10 planned to skip sending them altogether. Gen Z may be moving away from the tradition, but many still keep cards as sentimental keepsakes.
LAFAYETTE, IN — Hopes for a white Christmas are fading quickly in Indiana.
“I know earlier in the month we were thinking we might have a higher chance of a white Christmas,” National Weather Service meteorologist Cody Moore said, “but unfortunately, I have some bad news for you. A lot of long-range guidance has been consistent showing a pattern on Christmas Day featuring much warmer than normal temperatures for the region and the chance for some rainfall.
“It does look like we’ll be above average, temperatures at least in the 40s, maybe 50s,” Moore said on Wednesday, just three days after subzero temperatures pummeled the area.
With still eight days until Christmas, the forecasts closer to Dec. 25 might bump the expected high temps up even into the 60s, Moore said.
Normal temperatures this time of year for Lafayette are 36 for a high and 22 for a low.
“It looks like you might be able to keep your heavy winter jackets in the closet for now,” Moore said.
How will a Christmas with temperatures in the 40s, 50s or even 60s compare to Christmases past?
In 1982, Lafayette’s record-warm Christmas was 64 degrees. Its record cold temperature was 12 below zero in 2000.
So now that the dreams of a white Christmas appear dashed, what about January or February?
The Climate Prediction Center published a three-month forecast in November, and an update is expected in the next couple of days.
But last month, center’s forecast for January, February and March was for Hoosiers to have an equal chance of above and/or below average temperatures.
“We’ll see how that translates with the storm track,” Moore said.
The Climate Prediction Center forecasts warmer than normal temperatures in the southern United States and below normal temperatures in the Northern Plains.
“That puts the storm track right through Indiana, which makes sense because the Climate Prediction Center has Indiana as a bullseye for a pattern favoring above-normal precipitation,” Moore said. Temperatures will decide whether that precipitation falls as rain or snow — or ice or freezing rain.
Reach Ron Wilkins at rwilkins@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @RonWilkins2.
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