Spartz will seek another term, reversing retirement plans

Feb 05, 2024

Rep. Victoria Spartz is reversing her retirement decision, telling POLITICO she plans to seek her seat in Congress again.

The Indiana Republican announced she would leave Congress early last year. But in recent months, she began waffling on that decision.

Republicans in the state increasingly began to suspect a run for reelection last week, pointing to signs of a campaign getting underway. She, however, remained non-committal until now.

“I will file this week. The country is too much in trouble,” Spartz told POLITICO on Monday morning.

In a statement later Monday morning, she added: “As someone who grew up under tyranny, I understand the significance of these challenging times for our Republic, and if my fellow Hoosiers and God decide, I will be honored to continue fighting for them.”

The announcement will certainly shake up the primary for the seat. Several of her competitors, including state Rep. Chuck Goodrich and businessman Raju Chinthala, vowed to stay in the race Monday morning despite Spartz’s decision.

Spartz cited “two high school girls back home” when she announced her initial decision to retire last February. She also briefly weighed a potential Senate bid to replace Mike Braun, who is running for governor, but ultimately decided against that.

Some Republican state officials say Spartz is driven by balancing the budget and dealing with the nation’s debt, arguing she can’t help the conservative fight on this from outside the nation’s legislative body.

Spartz has formed a reputation of see-sawing on issues, including confusing GOP colleagues by casting protest votes against a bill only to change positions in the same vote series, prompting some to wonder if the moves are for attention. The back-and-forth decision-making over running again is no different, with some privately saying they prefer her outside D.C. rather than inside the Capitol building.

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