Republicans vie for shot at Walorski's vacant 2nd District seat

Aug. 18—INDIANAPOLIS — A dozen hopeful Republicans are currently vying for the chance to fill the late U.S Congresswoman Jackie Walorski's vacant seat.

A Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives representing Indiana's 2nd District, Walorski, 58, was killed in an August 3 crash near Nappanee. Her current two-year term began Jan. 3, 2021, and runs through Jan. 3, 2023, and she was up for re-election in the Nov. 8 general election.

Following her death, Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb called for a special election to fill the vacancy, which will take place during the same day as the general election.

The special election will decide which candidate will take up the remainder of Walorski's current term until whoever wins the election takes over the position in January of 2023.

While the Democratic Party already has its nominee — Paul Steury, Goshen — who was chosen during the May primary, the Republican Party will need to hold two special caucuses — one for the special election and one for the general — to determine who will run for their party.

"Now less than 72 hours before the caucuses are to convene, the list of candidates who have filed to fill the vacancies in the upcoming special and general elections in the Second Congressional District is set," Luke Thomas, press secretary and digital director for the Indiana Republican Party, said in a Wednesday news release. Wednesday was the deadline for all interested Republicans to file for consideration in the upcoming caucuses.

THE CANDIDATES

A total of 12 Republican candidates are officially in the running for the upcoming caucuses, which will take place at 11 a.m. Saturday at Grissom Middle School, 13881 Kern Road, Mishawaka.

Included among the 12 candidates is former Attorney General Curtis Hill; Curtis Nisly, Indiana State Representative for District 22, who lost his bid for another term during the May primary; Christy Stutzman, former Indiana State Representative for District 49; and Rudolph "Rudy" Yakym III, finance director for Walorski's campaign.

Also throwing their hats in the ring are candidates Dallas Barkman; Terry Harper III; Michael Hogberg; Scott Huffman; Tiernan Kane; Daniel Koors; Marvin Layne; and Scott Wise.

On Monday, Walorski's husband, Dean Swihart, issued the following statement supporting Yakym for the position:

"I am confident that Jackie would want to weigh in on her successor to ensure that our voices continue to be represented in Congress. After deep reflection and deliberation, today I am supporting Rudy Yakym to represent the 2nd District of Indiana in Congress. Rudy has spent years working in public service alongside my beloved wife and will fight for our district to protect our faith, families and communities. Rudy is a political outsider who has what it takes to stand up to the Pelosi-Biden agenda. He will fight to do the right thing, just as Jackie did every day of her career. I encourage the precinct committeemen to support Rudy in this week's caucus."

For those interested in watching the caucuses, a Facebook Live stream will be available at www.facebook.com/indgop.

CAUCUS PROCESS

According to Thomas, the caucuses will be presided over by Indiana Republican Party Chairman Kyle Hupfer and be conducted in accordance with Indiana Republican State Committee-approved caucus rules and procedures.

"Each candidate will be given the opportunity to have an individual speak for two minutes by way of introduction, and each candidate themselves will be given three minutes to speak," Thomas said of the process. "Following candidate speeches, voting will then occur, beginning with the caucus to fill the ballot vacancy for the general election.

"Following each round of voting, if no candidate receives 50% + 1 of the votes of those eligible, present, and voting, the candidate or candidates who receive the lowest number of votes will be dropped," he added. "That same process will be repeated until a candidate receives 50% + 1, making them the nominee for the general election."

Following the selection of the nominee for the general election, selection of a nominee for the special election to fill out the remainder of Walorski's vacated term will then occur.

"Only precinct committeemen representing the current Second Congressional District will be allowed to participate in this process," Thomas noted. "The same voting procedures used during the first caucus will be used during the second. Once both nominees have been selected, Chairman Kyle Hupfer will submit a notice of nomination for each caucus to the Indiana Election Division."

John Kline can be reached at john.kline@goshennews.com or 574-533-2151, ext. 240315. Follow John on Twitter @jkline_TGN.