Former Indiana AG Hill seen as frontrunner among candidates to replace Walorski in Congress

A former state representative who resigned her seat weeks after being reelected, a current state representative who lost in the May 2022 primary and a former Indiana attorney general who was suspended from the practice of law for one month over allegations of sexual misconduct are among those who have filed so far to run as the Republican candidate for Indiana’s 2^nd Congressional District.

Elkhart County Republican Chair Dan Holtz said Monday the number of calls he has been receiving from people interested in the open seat has become “rather tiresome.” He said some did not have any experience serving in government, could not identify the counties comprising the district and sometimes did not even live in the district.

At least five have filed paperwork declaring their candidacy to fill the vacancy created by the death of U.S. Rep. Jackie Walorski, who was killed in an auto crash Aug. 3 in Elkhart County.

Gov. Eric Holcomb has scheduled a special election to fill Walorski’s remaining term to coincide with the Nov. 8 general election.

GOP precinct committee members are scheduled to hold two caucuses starting at 11 a.m. Aug. 20 at Grissom Middle School in Mishawaka, according to Republican Party officials. Because the 2^nd District has been redrawn, Republicans will have to select a candidate to fulfill Walorski’s remaining term and a candidate to run in the general election.

The general election candidate will face off against Democrat Paul Steury.

One person could be picked to run in both races or precinct members could choose two different candidates.

To date, former State Rep. Christy Stutzman, current State Rep. Curtis Nisly, attorney Tiernan Kane, associate at Cooper & Kirk, and Walorski’s former campaign finance director, Rudy Yakym, have all filed their candidacy paperwork. Also, according to Indiana Capital Chronicle, former Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill filed Monday.

Walorski’s husband, Dean Swihart, issued a statement Monday endorsing Yakym, who worked on the congresswoman’s first successful campaign for Congress.

Of those running, Holtz said he believes most people would consider Hill the frontrunner. He declined to say whom he was supporting, citing Walorski’s advice of “don’t ever give away your vote.”

Hill was the first full-time prosecutor in Elkhart County, serving four terms before being elected as the state’s attorney general in 2016. Hill faced allegations of sexual misconduct after attending a party of state lawmakers and subsequently lost his law license for one month. He then lost the chance to run for a second term when Republican party members chose Todd Rokita to run for attorney general in 2020.

Holtz said his personal view of Hill’s trouble while in state office is that the attacks leveled against the former attorney general were “nearly identical” to the type of attacks that were leveled at former President Donald Trump.

The caucus race, Holtz speculated, could likely be between Hill and Yakym. Described as a “political outsider who has what it takes to stand up to the (House Speaker Nancy)Pelosi/(President Joe)Biden agenda,” Yakym’s LinkedIn page lists him as the finance director for Walorski for Congress from January 2011 through December 2012. Currently, he is the director of growth initiatives at Kem Krest in Elkhart.

Holtz characterized the competition as between Yakym, “a gentleman with rather limited exposure beyond Elkhart and South Bend,” and Hill, whose experience as prosecutor and attorney general has given him the skills “necessary to take on the unbridled corruption of the Democratic Party in Washington.”

Like Walorski, who was a state representative for three terms, Stutzman and Nisly both have experience in the Statehouse.

Stutzman, R-Middlebury, served from November 2018 to December 2020, stepping down after winning reelection. She cited the demands of running her family’s business under COVID-19 restrictions as the reason for her decision to leave public office.

Stutzman’s husband, Marlin, went to Congress after winning a special election to fill the seat vacated by former Republican Rep. Mark Souder. Serving from 2010 through 2016, Marlin Stutzman was defeated in the primary by now-Sen. Todd Young. The former congressman’s tenure in office was marred by an ethics investigation  into his spending of campaign donations.

Nisly, R-Milford, has served in the Indiana House since 2014. During that time, none of the bills he has authored have been passed by the General Assembly.

Kane is an Indiana attorney who, according to the Indiana Roll of Attorneys, works from his home in South Bend for Cooper & Kirk in Washington, D.C. The law firm’s website identifies him as earning a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 2018 and expecting to complete a Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame in 2023.