Representative Victoria Spartz is reversing her retirement decision and running for re-election in Indiana’s 5th Congressional District.
“The country is too much in trouble,” the Republican told Politico about her decision on Monday. “I will issue statement shortly.”
Spartz said she would file paperwork for her candidacy later this week. The official filing period opened last month and will close on Friday. Indiana’s primary elections will be held on May 7.
The congresswoman first announced that she would not run for re-election or any other office during the 2024 election cycle in February of last year, but hinted in December that she would walk back on that decision. In an email to IndyStar, the Republican said that she was reconsidering a re-election bid after House Speaker Mike Johnson won the gavel.
At least eight Republicans have already filed to run for Spartz’s seat.
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Spartz was first elected to the House in 2020 after Republican Representative Susan Brooks announced she would not run for re-election. The race was projected to be a “toss up” by the Cook Political Report. Spartz defeated her Democratic opponent by four percent. She was re-elected with 60 percent of the vote in 2022.
Spartz had initially cited her children for her decision to retire from Congress, saying in a February statement that while she had “won a lot of tough battles for the people” and while she planned to do so for the rest of her term, “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.”
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.