Indiana
Here’s who is running against Spartz and Goodrich in Indiana’s 5th Congressional District
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.
INDIANAPOLIS (WRTV) — Indiana saw a significant decline in veteran homelessness last year, despite the total number of homelessness rising across the state.
According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) annual estimation of the homeless population, known as the Point in Time (PIT) count, Indiana saw an 18.7% decline in veteran homelessness in 2025 compared to the year before.
That marked the second-largest decline of any state by percentage.
Helping Veterans and Families (HVAF) of Indiana specializes in assistance for veterans facing homelessness. CEO Emmy Hildebrand told News 8 the formula that’s finding success is the same that works with any at-risk group: housing and wrap-around services.
Hildebrand said that the formula needs support from the state.
“There is no state funding supporting homeless services in our state,” Hildebrand said. “And very little local funding outside Indianapolis.”
Safety net programs have faced budget cuts, with lawmakers eliminating funding for the Housing First program in 2025. It supported organizations helping people secure stable housing.
And housing advocates have criticized Indiana’s public camping ban as essentially making it illegal to be homeless.
HVAF client Terri Massey, a 34-year-old Navy veteran, said the stigma of being homeless was the most difficult challenge to overcome.
“I’m still trying to provide for my kids,” Massey said “I’m (not) out here being lazy or not trying to do better.”
Massey was working, supporting her children, but found herself sleeping in cars and hotel rooms because she didn’t have stable housing. “Going to that work, working 10 hours, leaving, going to sleep in my car.”
HVAF helped place Massey in a permanent apartment. HVAF also placed Massey in a different kind of “bootcamp” years after her time in the military, learning job skills. She’s looking for a job, but thankful to do it from a place she can call home.
“I am beyond grateful and thankful. I literally pray and thank God every day,” Massey said. “Because for the longest I felt like I was alone. And I had to figure everything out by myself. I didn’t.”
It’s estimated that seven percent of Indiana’s homeless are veterans. Hildebrand said there are federal funds for organizations working with veterans, which support HVAF’s programs.
Still, finding permanent housing is a struggle.
According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, for every 100 extremely low-income households in Indiana, just 34 rental homes are affordable and available.
“There are so many people on the bubble that are just one emergency away from living in their car, staying with friends and family, or living on the streets because we don’t have the appropriate system here in Indiana,” Hildebrand said.
Hildebrand said lawmakers assured her they would work to support homeless services, but she hasn’t seen any drafted legislation that might be introduced in the next legislative session.
Across the country, about one in 25 people experiencing homelessness previously served active duty in the armed forces, according to numbers from HUD. Veteran homelessness declined 56% between 2009 and 2025.
The Indiana Department of Environmental Management has issued an Air Quality Action Day for July 8th in Northwest Indiana.
Ozone levels are expected to be in the Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups range, also known as the “orange” level. While not everyone will notice or be effected by the conditions, and while they may not be as severe as recent wildfire smoke events, individuals with asthma, COPD, and other health issues should proceed with caution when exercising outside.
Ozone levels are expected to be in the Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups range, also known as the “orange” level. (WSBT Photo)
The affected area is all of Northwest Indiana, including the cities of: Crown Point, Gary, Hammond, Kentland, LaPorte, Michigan City, Portage, Rensselaer, Valparaiso and all other cities in the region, especially those near Lake Michigan.
Warm temperatures, mostly sunny skies, and light and varied winds coming off of Lake Michigan are expected to contribute to elevated ozone levels.
To stay up to date on issuances and quality levels in Indiana, visit SmogWatch.IN.gov.
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