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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