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U.S. Rep. Victoria Spartz overcame eight challengers and a late start to her campaign to win the Republican primary for Indiana’s 5th Congressional District on Tuesday.
Spartz, a two-term representative who reentered the race in February almost exactly one year after she said she would not run for reelection, was ahead with 39% of the vote compared with State Rep. Chuck Goodrich at 33%
The Associated Press called the race with 77% of the vote counted.
“My victory in this election is a testament to the American people and my fellow Hoosiers that money and lies do not buy elections,” said Spartz in a statement to IBJ. “I am honored to represent Indiana and ready to get back to work to get our great Republic back on track.”
In the general election on Nov. 5, Spartz will face Democrat Deborah Pickett, who defeated Ryan Pfenninger in the Democratic primary. Pickett had a 60%-40% lead with 75% of the vote counted.
The GOP primary also included Max Engling (9.7%), Raju Chinthala (6.6%), Mark Hurt (5.8%), Larry Savage (2%), Matthew Peiffer (1.7%), Patrick Malayter (1%) and L.D. Powell (0.9%).
Spartz’s late decision to run for reelection shook up a crowded primary and angered many of her opponents, including Goodrich, whose campaign slammed her decision to enter the race as misleading to voters and potential candidates.
Spartz, who first won election in 2020 to represent the 5th District, said in February 2023 that she wanted to spend more time at home in Noblesville with her two high-school-age daughters. But she changed course almost exactly one year later because she said she did not think any of the candidates looking to succeed her were the right person for the job.
The race became heated as Spartz and Goodrich released negative ads against each other throughout campaign. Goodrich’s ads accused Spartz of putting her native “Ukraine first,” while Spartz released an ad against Goodrich in which she said he voted to allow Chinese companies to buy Indiana farmland.
Spartz’s late entry into the primary meant she had to play from behind in fundraising. According to campaign finance reports released in April by the Federal Election Commission, Spartz raised $357,718 between Feb. 6 when she reentered the race and March 31, while Goodrich raised nearly $1.74 million this year thanks to a $1.6 million loan he provided to his campaign.
Laura Merrifield Wilson, a political science professor at the University of Indianapolis, said Spartz has been helped by her status as an incumbent and because people know her name.
“People underestimate how valuable name recognition is and how important that is for voters who haven’t really been paying attention, but they look at the list, and in this case, the long list of candidates and are like, ‘OK, I remember this one,’ and they select that [candidate],” Wilson said before Tuesday’s results were counted.
Goodrich is CEO of Noblesville-based Gaylor Electric and represents Indiana House District 29, which includes Noblesville.
A Purdue University graduate, Goodrich worked at Gaylor for nearly three decades before purchasing the company in 2014. The electrical contractor has more than 1,300 employees in eight Indiana offices and locations in Alabama, Florida, North Carolina and Tennessee.
Indiana’s 5th Congressional District includes Anderson, Carmel, Fishers, Kokomo, Marion, Muncie, Noblesville and Westfield.
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Was tired of the inaccurate, negative ads from both candidates…both had their flaws, and both had their positive attributes. Had to hold my nose as it was a complete turnoff to hear how they twisted details about each other’s records instead of addressing their plans to help their constituents.
Shreve and Speedy not much better…when Speedy pulled out that last ad it was desperation and using his cancer diagnosis to elicit some sort of voter sympathy was classic. Can we just find some folks that talk about what they’re going to “try” to accomplish without hyperbole?