U.S. Rep. Victoria Spartz is in. What that means for the race for Indiana's 5th District

When Indiana U.S. Rep. Victoria Spartz threw her hat back into the race for the 5th Congressional District five days before the filing deadline last week, she upended an election that had been taking shape for months.

Eleven candidates, including Spartz, are running in the May Republican primary for Indiana’s 5th District seat in Washington D.C., according to official filings with the Secretary of State’s Office. Spartz, who in February 2023 said she would not seek reelection to Congress, announced last week she changed her mind.

But with Spartz back in the race, the next question for the 5th District is whether voters want to continue with the congresswoman’s leadership or elect a new representative in Washington.

Republican campaigns in the 5th District are already jockeying over what messages to send to voters. In the hours following Spartz’s announcement Monday that she would jump back into the race, mayors from three of the larger cities in the 5th Congressional District released statements on social media in support of state Rep. Chuck Goodrich, CEO of Gaylor Electric

“His proven track record as a successful entrepreneur and his visionary approach to addressing the needs of both the trades and our youth make him an ideal candidate to represent the interests of Marion in the United States Congress," Marion Mayor Ronald Morrell said in a statement posted to X, formerly known as Twitter.

But Spartz’s campaign said that her months of indecision on running again would likely not negatively impact her chances of reelection. Her staff shared polling with IndyStar that reflects support for the Noblesville congresswoman, even in the crowded primary field.In a statement to IndyStar, Spartz said choices and competition are “always good” for voters.

“I do not take these decisions lightly but a lot of my constituents were upset I was not running, as well as a lot of my colleagues, so in these challenging times I needed to give voters a choice of someone who will actually fight for them and conservative policies - not personal agenda,” Spartz said in the statement.

Who is running and what they’re saying

As of Friday’s filing deadline for the May primary, 11 Republicans and two Democrats are running for the 5th Congressional District. With Spartz’s return to the race, a lot of attention will be on the Republican primary.

The Republican candidates include Goodrich, who has served as the state representative for House District 29 since 2018. The Noblesville resident currently leads the field in fundraising after bringing in nearly $700,000 in 2023.

The additional nine Republican candidates include people with various political and business backgrounds. Outside of Spartz and Goodrich, the following people filed to run in the Republican primary.

• Jonathan D. Brown

• Raju Chinthala

• Max Engling

• Mark Hurt

• Scott A. King

• Patrick Malayter

• Matthew Peiffer

• LD Powell

• Larry L. Savage Jr.

As the race progresses, candidates will likely take steps to distinguish themselves from Spartz, which could include combing through her record in Washington as well as her months of indecision over whether to run, said Mike Wolf, acting director of the Mike Downs Center for Indiana Politics.

Already, Goodrich and Engling, who previously worked for former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, released negative statements last Monday criticizing Spartz's decision to jump back into the race. That's not surprising, Wolf said.

“There was a lot of ambition there,” Wolf said of the pre-Spartz 5th District race. “Obviously, this was the shot and it changes the race from demonstrating your promise and some of your political experience to then having to turn and deal with an incumbent. There's going to be a lot of negativity, because they have to convince people that voted for Representative Spartz to not do it.”

In addition to receiving endorsements from the mayors of Noblesville, Marion and Fishers, Goodrich also received shoutouts on X, formerly Twitter, from some fellow members of the Indiana General Assembly.

Noblesville Mayor Chris Jensen, who posted on X about Goodrich, told IndyStar that people in the 5th District are likely frustrated by the lack of accomplishments in the current Congress. Goodrich would bring a voice to Washington that reflects the needs of the 5th District right now, Jensen said.

“He’s the type of leader we need to move the ball forward in Congress,” Jensen said. “And I’m certainly not going to waver on that today regardless of what people do or what plans they change.”

Internal Spartz poll

But Spartz’s campaign points to a recent poll conducted by co/efficient, a Missouri-based polling company, that declares her “the clear front-runner” in the primary. That poll, campaign staff say, shows Spartz in a good position to jump into the race.

The poll memo provided to IndyStar shows that of 633 likely Republican primary voters polled between Jan. 30 and Feb. 1, 44% would choose Spartz and 8% Goodrich. But the memo also indicates that 45% of those voters are still undecided, which the Goodrich campaign said shows a need for change in leadership.

"A majority of Republican primary voters want a new member of congress fighting for them," the Goodrich campaign said in a statement provided to IndyStar. "5th District voters are tired of flip flopping on important issues from federal debt to keeping America safe."

Spartz campaign consultant Dan Hazelwood said the undecided number is not a concern at this point and the congresswoman's record will speak to voters on the fence.

"There's going to be a lot of other campaigns that need to run a lot of other advertising to attract those people," Hazelwood told IndyStar. "It's hard to get a message out in this district without running a real effort, and they're now going to be doing that in the face of the congresswoman running a real effort advertising on her own behalf talking about her record."

Time will tell how well the poll predicts the race's outcome. News site 538, which analyzes political polls around the country, gave co/efficient a 3.8 out of 10 on its transparency rating, based on the amount of information a pollster releases about the polls it conducts. The Spartz poll memo from co/efficient also included some names of potential opponents who did not file for the primary.

Engling, who last week said he would remain in the primary even with Spartz’s return, said conservatives want a candidate “who doesn’t shift with the winds.”

“There’s a long time until Election Day and Congresswoman Spartz has a lot to answer for,” Engling said in a statement.

While the Republicans battle for their nomination, Democrats will also have a primary race. Ryan Pfenninger and Deborah Pickett filed to run for the 5th District as Democrats.

The primary election is May 7 and the general is Nov. 5.

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.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Spartz is back. What that means for Indiana's 2024 5th District race