US Rep. Spartz won’t seek Indiana Senate seat — or new term

Rep. Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., listens to proposed amendments as the House Judiciary Committee holds its first meeting under the Republican majority, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023, at the Capitol in Washington. Spartz said Friday, Feb. 3, 2023, that she would not seek reelection to her Indiana seat next year or jump into the Republican primary for the state’s open U.S. Senate seat. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Rep. Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., listens to proposed amendments as the House Judiciary Committee holds its first meeting under the Republican majority, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023, at the Capitol in Washington. Spartz said Friday, Feb. 3, 2023, that she would not seek reelection to her Indiana seat next year or jump into the Republican primary for the state’s open U.S. Senate seat. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

 
Share

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Republican U.S. Rep. Victoria Spartz said Friday she would not seek reelection to her Indiana seat next year or jump into the Republican primary for the state’s open U.S. Senate seat.

Spartz’s decision further solidifies the chances of U.S. Rep. Jim Banks for the Senate seat from the Republican-dominated state, after former Gov. Mitch Daniels declined earlier in the week to become a candidate.

The Senate scramble started with current GOP Sen. Mike Braun’s move to make a 2024 run for governor, but Banks has consolidated support from former President Donald Trump and the Senate Republican national campaign organization. Banks has become a combative defender of Trump since first being elected to Congress from a heavily Republican district in northeastern Indiana in 2016.

Spartz, 44, said in her statement Friday that “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.”

The Ukrainian-born Spartz, who won her second term from a central Indiana district last fall, has been critical at times of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s government since the Russian invasion began last February, primarily regarding alleged high-level corruption.

READ MORE
FILE - Protesters attend a rally against a death sentence given to a popular rapper in Iran and to support to the women of Iran, in Berlin, Germany, April 28, 2024. Lawmakers are introducing legislation targeting Iranian officials involved in the prosecution and planned execution of rapper Toomaj Salehi, who rose to fame with lyrics about the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini and for criticism of the Islamic Republic. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File)
US lawmakers push to sanction Iranian officials over death sentence for rapper Toomaj Salehi
U.S. Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin, center, walks out after a bilateral meeting with China's Defence Minister Dong Jun on the sidelines of the 21st Shangri-La Dialogue summit at the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore Friday, May 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
Top US and Chinese defense officials seek to restore communications as tensions rise in Indo-Pacific
FILE - In this Oct. 10, 2018, file photo, President Donald Trump arrives to speak at a campaign rally at Erie Insurance Arena, in Erie, Pa. President Donald Trump's campaign rallies once had the feel of angry, raucous grievance sessions. More than 350 rallies later, gone is the darkness, the crackling energy, the fear of potential violence as supporters and protesters face off. Perish the thought, have Donald Trump's rallies gone mainstream? (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
Donald Trump is convicted of a felony. Here’s how that affects the 2024 presidential race

Spartz faced a tight and expensive campaign to first win the seat in 2020, but a Republican redrawing of congressional districts shifted the Democratic-leaning north side of Indianapolis out of the district and gave it more GOP-friendly rural areas north and northeast of the city. She received 61% of the vote last fall in defeating an under-funded Democratic candidate.