5th Congressional District seat stays with GOP
Late Tuesday night, with thousands of absentee ballots still to be counted today and possibly tomorrow in Indiana’s 5th Congressional District, Victoria Spartz had a comfortable enough lead to declare victory.
At seven points ahead, with a 24,000-vote lead, supporters at Carmel’s Hotel Carmichael cheered when current Congresswoman Susan Brooks introduced your presumptive next 5th District Representative: Victoria Spartz.
Brooks opened her comments to the assembled crowd by saying, “As a person who has had the honor and privilege of representing the 5th District for the last eight years, I have watched Victoria work tirelessly. She has traveled all eight counties day-in and day-out since she declared she was running for this seat. She is the American Dream story. Coming from Ukraine 20 years ago and fulfilling the dream, getting involved in the Hamilton County Republican Party at the grassroots level and working her tail off on behalf of this country – not just for the Republican Party, because she cares about everybody.”
Brooks was very clear that absentee ballots are still left to county in Hamilton County, in Marion County and some in Madison County, but she and the party were confident enough to call this one a victory.
In an exclusive interview, Brooks told the Reporter she is both pleased and proud that Spartz will be taking over her seat.
“I have watched her work so incredibly hard to earn this seat,” Brooks said. “I am very proud that this amazing woman – businesswoman, farmer, mom, wife and strong State Senator – is going to now take my place. She will actually go into Congress with more legislative experience than I had. I had not served in a legislative body, but she has. She has seen what a good legislative body and what good state government can do. That will serve citizens of the 5th District and the country well.”
Both Spartz and Brooks spoke of the incoming Congresswoman’s status as a naturalized citizen of the United States who immigrated from Ukraine as a strength.
“Because of her background she also has a deeper sense of freedom and liberty than maybe I did when I ran because of her upbringing in Ukraine,” Brooks told The Reporter. “I love her story and I love her passion for the country and protecting the Constitution. Many who were immigrants and became citizens often have a deeper appreciation for our democracy than people who were born here.”
In her remarks to her supporters, Spartz first thanked her husband, her two daughters, everyone at the event and everyone who helped at every level of the campaign. When she spoke about coming to America, she did it with a touch of humor.
“I came here 20 years ago with one suitcase – which was lost when I came through Chicago,” Spartz said. “I was young, adventurous, just graduated from college and I thought, ‘If my husband doesn’t meet me, I’m in trouble!’”
In her public remarks, Spartz said, “I feel that I can give back and I want to give back to this community. I want to ensure that our promises are kept and that we can deliver great results.”
After the event, when speaking exclusively to the Reporter, Spartz said it will be a relief for her and for the entire country when all the votes are counted, and this election has been decided across the country.
“I feel relief that we are getting through the election,” Spartz told the Reporter. “There has been too much politics and we need to get through the election because we have a lot of challenges we have to work on. We have real issues on the ground with the virus; we need to make sure we get small businesses back on track; we need to ensure that people have good jobs, good education, good healthcare. It has been a very challenging year. We still have some votes to count and I fully agree they all need to be counted. But the closure is coming soon, and it is good.”
As a state senator, Spartz had a record of working for her constituents even when that may have frustrated members of her own party.
“I always said that I never represented the government, I always represented the people of my district,” Spartz told the Reporter. “I’ll continue doing the same. I think it’s important. I will challenge my party when they are wrong and go with them when they are right.”
Spartz said she is both a Republican woman and an independent thinker when it comes to getting the results Hoosiers want and need.
“I worked on some issues that were very bipartisan and very broad,” Spartz said. “I understand the importance to get people together. Like in any good business contract, when one side is very happy and another is very unhappy, usually that is not a good contract. When all of the sides are a little bit unhappy, but happy enough to back the contract – that’s how it works in business and that’s how it really works in politics when people want to get things done. There is no, ‘My way or the highway,’ because that just doesn’t work.”
Spartz said her work at the state level will be an asset moving forward because, in her view, people do expect Congress to deliver results.
“What I can really bring to the table is my understanding of the state legislative branch and my relationships with a lot of my legislators,” Spartz said. “I can work together with them to be able to deliver good policies on the ground and to actually implement them. A lot of challenging issues will take collaboration with the federal government, state government, local government, business communities and the non-profit communities. If we can collaborate together, we can get this done. That’s what it takes. A legislator has the ability to convene a lot of stakeholders and bring them to the table. That is an important role. I did it in the state senate and I have more ability now to bring more people to the table.”