It might not seem like it, but Hoosier voters across Indiana’s 5th Congressional District have nine candidates to choose from in the Republican primary election just weeks away. 

Much of the Republican race for the 5th District has centered on incumbent U.S. Rep. Victoria Spartz, who turned the primary upside down in February when she reversed her 2023 decision to not seek reelection. Spartz was first elected in 2020 to represent the 5th Congressional District, which stretches from Hamilton County north to Grant County.

Since February, internal polling from both campaigns shows the race appears to be a battle between Spartz and Noblesville state Rep. Chuck Goodrich, who has led the entire field in fundraising with million-dollar personal donations to his campaign. The two have gone head-to-head in attack ads this election cycle with Goodrich’s campaign attacking Spartz’s previous support for aide to Ukraine while Spartz has claimed Goodrich “puts China first.” 

5th District GOP primary: U.S. Rep. Victoria Spartz has an uphill climb to reelection amid massive campaign cash gap

But while Spartz and Goodrich take swipes at each other, there are seven other candidates also fighting for Republican votes. The winner of the primary will face either Ryan Pfenninger or Deborah Pickett who are competing in the Democratic primary next month.

Here is what you need to know about the Republicans running in the 5th Congressional District primary on May 7. (IndyStar has listed the candidates alphabetically based on their last name.)

Raju Chinthala

Home: Carmel

Occupation: speech pathologist, founder and president of the Indiana India Business Council

Campaign Website: rajuforcongress.com

Money raised/spent: Per federal campaign finance reports, Chinthala has raised $274,000 and spent just under $45,000.

Notable: Chinthala, who was born in India, was endorsed earlier this year by former Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard, who led the city for nearly three decades.

Max Engling

Home: Cicero, but currently lives in Fishers.

Occupation: Full-time candidate

Campaign Website: maxforindiana.com

Money raised/spent: Per federal campaign finance reports, Engling has raised just over $200,000 this election cycle and spent about $125,000.

Notable: Engling previously worked in Washington D.C. in the role of director of member services for former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who was ousted from the chamber’s leadership role in October 2023.

Chuck Goodrich

Home: Noblesville

Occupation: State Representative, CEO of Gaylor Electric

Campaign Website: gowithchuckgoodrich.com

Money raised/spent: Per federal campaign finance reports, Goodrich has raised $3.4 million and spent $3 million this election cycle. Goodrich has donated $2.6 million to his campaign.

Notable: Goodrich, who is the CEO of Gaylor Electric, started as an intern at the company in the early 1990s. Goodrich’s leadership role with the company and at the Statehouse has been a conduit for the state representative to carry bills tied to apprenticeships and work-based learning, part of a movement in state government to prepare students for career paths beyond higher education degrees. While those bills have been celebrated, there remain questions from some groups, such as the Indiana Fiscal Policy Institute, about additional funding and resources needed for such programs to actually be successful.

Mark Hurt 

Home: Kokomo

Occupation: Lawyer

Campaign Website: markhurt.org

Money raised/spent: Per federal campaign finance reports, Hurt has raised about $147,000 and spent just under $120,000 this election cycle.

Notable: According to his campaign website, Hurt has worked on health care policy for politicians such as former Iowa Congressman Fred Grandy, former Michigan Gov. John Engler and former U.S. Senator Dan Coats, an Indiana senator who served as the director of National Intelligence from 2017 to 2019 in the Trump administration.

Patrick Malayter

Home: McCordsville

Occupation: Former accountant and consultant to accounting firms

Campaign Website: patrickmforcongress.com

Money raised/spent: Per federal campaign finance reports, Malayter has raised $6,700 and spent no money yet this election cycle.

Notable: Maylayter’s key issue on the campaign trail has been establishing term limits for members of Congress. According to his campaign website, Malayter believes there should be eight-year limits on how long federally elected officials can serve in Washington D.C.

Matthew Peiffer

Home: Muncie

Occupation: President of A Voice for Kids, a foster children advocacy nonprofit

Campaign Website: Peiffer does not have a campaign website, but posts about his involvement in the community on Facebook at the page Muncies Smile Man.

Money raised/spent: Per federal campaign finance reports, Peiffer has not raised or spent any money this election cycle.

Notable: Peiffer is a former foster child and has told media outlets he does not expect to win the primary election. At a League of Women Voters forum in Anderson in early April, Peiffer said he threw his hat into the race to make people more aware of issues he believes actually affect everyday Hoosiers, including mental health care for children in foster care systems and insurance for living donors.

LD Powell

Home: Carmel

Occupation: Businessman

Campaign Website: ldpowellforcongress.com

Money raised/spent: Per federal campaign finance reports, Powell has raised just under $39,000 and spent about $35,000 this election cycle. Powell donated $35,000 to his campaign.

Notable: Powell is the only veteran in the Republican primary. He served in the U.S. Navy and is also a certified flight instructor.

Larry L. Savage Jr.

Home: Anderson

Occupation: Property management

Campaign Website: Savage does not have a campaign website but is posting about the election on the Facebook page Larry Savage for U.S. Congress Indiana District5.

Money raised/spent: There are no federal campaign finance reports for Savage’s campaign.

Notable: Savage describes himself as a “grassroots guy” and calls himself the “MAGA candidate” on his campaign Facebook page. Savage said he is pro-marijuana legalization and knows people that need access to marijuana to deal with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Victoria Spartz

Home: Carmel

Occupation: U.S. Representative for Indiana’s 5th Congressional District

Campaign Website: spartzforcongress.com

Money raised/spent: Per federal campaign finance reports, Spartz has raised $358,000 and spent $133,000 since rejoining the 5th District primary in February.

Notable: Spartz grew up in Ukraine and immigrated to the U.S. in 2000 after meeting her husband. Spartz has drawn headlines about her ties to the country since February 2022 when Russia further invaded Ukraine, from an emotional press conference in March 2022 condemning violence from Russia to criticism of Ukrainian leaders. Spartz voted no on the House’s recent approval of aide to Ukraine that passed the chamber on April 20.

Contact IndyStar’s state government and politics reporter Brittany Carloni at brittany.carloni@indystar.com or 317-779-4468. Follow her on Twitter/X @CarloniBrittany.