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After mulling a U.S. Senate run, Rep. Victoria Spartz of Indiana shocked her followers Friday when she announced she was getting out of politics altogether.
The Ukranian-born Republican from Indiana’s 5th Congressional District said she does not plan to run for political office in 2024. The district includes the eastern and northern suburbs of Indianapolis, Anderson, Muncie, Marion and Kokomo.
While she never made her Senate run official, her decision not to run for a third term in the House comes as a surprise to political observers.
It also leaves the 2024 GOP primary election wide open for Rep. Jim Banks, who made his Senate bid official in January and is thus far the only Republicans candidate in the race to replace U.S. Sen. Mike Braun, who is leaving his seat to run for governor in 2024. No Democrat has announced their candidacy in the race.
Spartz, a Republican, said in a press release Friday that she wants to spend more time with her two daughters.
“It’s been my honor representing Hoosiers in the Indiana State Senate and U.S. Congress and I appreciate the strong support on the ground,” Spartz said in written remarks. “2024 will mark seven years of holding elected office and over a decade in Republican politics. I won a lot of tough battles for the people and will work hard to win a few more in the next two years. However, being a working mom is tough and I need to spend more time with my two high school girls back home, so I will not run for any office in 2024.”
Spartz moved to the U.S. from Ukraine in 2000 and became a U.S. citizen in 2006. A certified public accountant, she ran her own consulting business before taking a job as chief financial officer for the Indiana Attorney General in 2017. Later that year, she was appointed to the Indiana Senate to replace Luke Kenley in the 20th district.
In 2020, she won election to represent Indiana’s 5th District in the U.S. House. She had contributed more than $1 million of her own finances to partially fund her campaign, money she and her husband, Jason Spartz, earned through successful real estate investments.
More recently, she was known for breaking ranks with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy during his dramatic and contentious bid to represent the GOP in the chamber, voting “present” on three occasions before eventually siding with McCarthy.
She also publicly criticized his decision to oust two Democrats from the House Oversight Committee.
Correction: The original version of this story incorrectly said the 5th District included the north side of Indianapolis. That is no longer the case, as of Jan. 3, due to redistricting.
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Her running was always about a future money grab…she will now leverage who contacts and experience and become a high paid consultant. Would have been much better to have someone representing our district that worked for the people and knew how to govern…good riddance.
Amen. Couldn’t have said it better.
Good riddance
Never liked her.
I respect her decision if that’s sincerely why but wonder on the heels of her very out of sorts defense of USA and Israel foe Omar in the House, if the change of heart isn’t something sinister coming her way expected of her she’s washing her hands of.
Glad to see the positive comments so far. I wish her well and thank Spartz for her continued service.
Shes a friend of Marjorie Taylor Green; pictures of them together with their arms around each other. I wrote to her about this and got the canned “while i may not agree with her policies ….blah blah”
Strong, intelligent, successful, immigrant, woman – oh and conservative. That’s why the Dem comments above are negative.
Actually, she was a completely ineffective communicator in a recent interview I saw. And I’m not talking about her accent or possible limited vocabulary due to her ESL.
I sure wish our other representatives would follow her lead!
Odd she would leave at this time but its fine with me. Now if Jim Banks would just make the same decision. I hope his brand of politics doesn’t sit well with a broader group of Hoosiers.
Unfortunately Jim Banks is always looking for the next piece of power he can grab, so seeing him leave is not going to happen. He is and always will be a totally ineffective person, let alone politician.
Her leaving the 5th means there is a real shot Beckwith runs again. We don’t need an anti Vax anti school/teacher , election denier representing the wealthiest County in Indiana.
Boone county is actually wealthier than HamCo at a per capita basis – which is how such things are measured 🙂
Respectful, but total disagreement. Beckwith is not anti-teacher. He is not for indoctrination of children. Nor is he pro-groomer.
I don’t know Thomas T. from a hole in the ground but I know that he is ignorant based on his comment.
She is my representative. I did not support her, but in this instance, I understand her stance in challenging Speaker McCarthy’s actions. I do wonder what happened when she met with McCarthy — and soon after declared she’s leaving politics.
She has opposed him — as she said, “Speaker McCarthy needs to stop ‘bread and circuses’ in Congress and start governing for a change.”
The debt ceiling looms over us; the stakes are far too high for posturing. And yet, here we go again.
That was quick change of plans.
Very quick. Guess while she watched the current Republican Party and realized the writing is on the wall. But I don’t blame her for not wanting to be a part of that mess.
I have known her and her family for quite some time. They are a class act. If Victoria tells you she’s going to do something then she is going to do it. She will not succumb to the pressures of special interest groups that will attack her for following her convictions. Too bad more of the politicians in Washington D.C. are not like her!
Wow! A Republican with a conscience. Who knew?
EXCELLENT news. That made my day.
Isn’t this the woman who “invited” herself to join a congressional delegation made up of members from the House Foreign Affairs Committee which traveled to the Ukraine border last year? Who just showed up and then forced her way into meetings where she was combative and generally unhelpful?
The article is incorrect. The 5th District no longer includes the northside of Marion Co.
More evidence of the failure of Inside Indiana Business to offer quality journalism.
The 5th district was redesigned to exclude as many Democrats as possible by the power-hungry GOP. Not to say Dems wouldn’t do something similar if they had control. Redistricting is not something to be left to the political parties.
Morton, you are correct. On Jan. 3, the north side of Indianapolis was dropped from the 5th District due to redistricting. We have corrected the story.
Mail order bride.