5th District race: Spartz & Ford agree on need for AI regulation

By GARRETT BERGQUIST
WISH-TV | wishtv.com

Both candidates for a north central Indiana congressional seat say Congress must establish guardrails for artificial intelligence.

Rep. Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., seeks a fourth term representing Indiana’s 5th Congressional District. The district covers Hamilton, Tipton, Howard, Grant, Madison, and Delaware counties. It is one of only two Indiana congressional districts with a single-digit partisan voting index rating from the Cook Political Report, currently at R+8. On Friday, the Cook Political Report changed its projection for the race from “Safe Republican” to “Likely Republican.” This means analysts still do not consider the race competitive but believe it has the potential to become so.

Spartz faces a challenge from J.D. Ford, a Democratic state senator. In 2018, Ford flipped party control of the 29th Senate District, which includes portions of Carmel and Zionsville as well as the west side of Indianapolis. Although Hamilton County is historically a Republican stronghold, the suburbs close to Indianapolis have drifted toward the Democratic camp. Donald Trump’s electoral margin there shrank between 2016 and 2024.

Both candidates sat down for interviews with All INdiana Politics.

Spartz frequently criticizes health care costs and hospital pricing policies. She blames those costs for the U.S. national debt topping $40 trillion. Spartz wants to strengthen a price transparency law Congress passed two years ago.

“There’s a lot of flaws in that bill. So that bill has to be fixed,” she said. “I was hoping we can get it done in September. Maybe after the election, Democrats will actually work better with us.”

Spartz, who became a U.S. citizen through naturalization, supports the Trump administration’s deportation strategy. She said some recent controversies regarding immigration raids happen because of the high number of people believed to be in the country without legal documentation, estimated at 12 million. In some cases, raids have affected U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents. She said her office is ready to help if that happens.

Spartz said Congress needs to provide regulations for AI. She said previous data privacy legislation would have addressed some concerns about AI, but Congress missed an opportunity to lead on the issue.

“We have to have a serious conversation because there are a lot of threats with national but international threats because this could be also by our adversaries,” she said.

Ford said he is running because too many people struggle to pay for gas and groceries. He attributes that problem partly to the war in Iran. Ford said Congress has failed to meet its responsibility under the War Powers Act and needs to use its control over spending to limit the conflict.

While Ford supports the idea of enforcing immigration laws, he believes the Trump administration’s deportation efforts are excessive and racially motivated. He said Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents should wear body cameras and obtain warrants before making arrests. He also said agents should not wear masks. Ford said he supports a path to citizenship for people brought to the country as children and for those who have been working and paying taxes.

“They’ve demonstrated that they’ve been good citizens to our country, but yet, people are being arrested for showing up to court hearings,” he said. “They’re being arrested for just simply existing and I don’t think that’s right.”

Ford, who served on the Indiana General Assembly’s AI task force, said Congress should pass legislation to regulate AI. He said he is willing to work with anyone in that body, regardless of party. Ford criticized Congress for going on recess after AI CEOs warned that unchecked technology could pose an existential threat to humanity.

“AI does good things but can also be used for nefarious reasons and we want to make sure we put some guardrails around that,” he said.

On the national debt, Ford said the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, was a good idea in theory but suffered from poor execution. He said the government can rein in the debt by cutting waste and avoiding conflicts like the war with Iran.

Early voting is underway through noon Nov. 2 at local election offices. Election Day is Nov. 3 at polling places.

All INdiana Politics airs at 9:30 a.m. Sunday on WISH-TV and at 11:30 p.m. Sunday on WRTV.

This story was originally published by WISH-TV at wishtv.com/news/5th-district-race-spartz-and-ford-agree-on-need-for-ai-regulation.