Election of the millennium: the fight for Indiana’s 5th Congressional District
LUKE HENKEL: Voters in Indiana’s 5th congressional district, myself among them, are gearing up for their first competitive House election in this millennium. In a microcosm of the nationwide political battle for the suburbs, centrist Democrat Christina Hale, my preferred candidate, is set to face conservative Republican Victoria Spartz.
These two are campaigning for the seat of retiring Republican Rep. Susan Brooks. The race is set in the northern suburbs of Indianapolis, some of north Indianapolis (where I live) and some nearby rural counties. The election’s newfound competitiveness reveals some profound shifts in American politics, while the candidates offer an illuminating view into their respective parties.
Democrats are making inroads in suburban communities across the country, and the 5th district provides a good example of this. In 2018, Brooks defeated her Democratic opponent by 13 percentage points, a closer margin by far than any previous years. Now, with her incumbency advantage gone, Democrats have a real chance to flip the district. Three major election forecasters (Cook Political Report, Sabato’s Crystal Ball and Inside Elections) rate the race as a toss-up, and spending on both sides is high. Whether online, on television, or in print media, residents of the fifth district see advertisements for this election every day.
This prevalence of political advertising and national attention is new to longtime residents of northern Indianapolis and its suburbs. I have long considered my House seat to be something of an afterthought and focused my attention on other, more hotly contested Indiana races. Now, though, I have the opportunity to participate in one of the most closely-watched and consequential House races in the country. And here, my vote will weigh much more than it will in other major races given the comparatively small size of a congressional district.
The national political dynamics of the race are particularly intriguing, giving me a personal window into each party’s strategies. While the race is not particularly important for control of the House (Democrats are expected to retain the majority), it is telling as a bellwether for each party’s strengths in traditionally red suburbs. If Hale can pull off a win, she will demonstrate the political dexterity of Democrats, while a Spartz victory would indicate the resiliency of Republicans.
The candidates themselves provide an insight into the makeup of their parties. Christina Hale, a lifelong Hoosier of Cuban descent, is running on the moderate, health care-oriented message that won Democrats the House in 2018. Meanwhile, Spartz uses her background as an immigrant from communist Ukraine to bring some diversity to the GOP and help argue her party’s case against socialism.
The problem for Spartz is that she doesn’t have much of a case to make here. I don’t mean to say that socialism should be instituted in the United States — that could easily be disastrous. But Hale is an unfitting target for the label of “socialist.” She cut her teeth in the deep red Indiana House of Representatives, managing to advance some of her priorities through bipartisan negotiation. She had enough success there to be tapped as her party’s lieutenant gubernatorial nominee in 2016. No Democrat attempting to compete statewide in Indiana can come from the left wing of her party, and while Hale’s ticket did in fact lose, they put up a respectable showing. What’s more, Hale ran on a decidedly moderate (though still recognizably Democratic) platform in her primary, something Spartz was unable to do.
This is not to say that Spartz is, herself, a weak candidate. She beat off more than a dozen competitors in her primary. While much of that had to do with generous self-financing, she could also rely on the strength of her message as an immigrant, business owner and conservative state senator. Spartz no longer has to rely entirely on her own money, able to count on the backing of the Republican establishment and the prominent pro-business Club for Growth. Further, Spartz enjoys a natural advantage in an area with strong Republican history.
Nonetheless, Spartz faces some real challenges, especially at the top of her ticket. President Trump is a polarizing figure, and Spartz may have some explaining to do for her full-throated embrace of him in her primary. His frequent attacks on democratic norms, press freedom and the rule of law drive my opposition to him as an independent voter, with spillover effects on candidates who support him. Additionally, Spartz’s potentially uplifting Reaganesque beliefs about personal freedom and limited government take a back seat to constant attacks on Hale and other Democrats.
Hale, too, is imperfect. She has not avoided the negative advertising strategy, and her tenure in the State House fell somewhat short of phenomenal. Many of her accomplishments were bills she signed onto rather than ones she wrote (something largely out of her control in a body with a Republican supermajority, but a weakness nonetheless). Despite these flaws, however, Hale has a platform I can get behind and has built her campaign on securing policy results for her district.
Later this month (yes, I’m voting early!), in one of the most competitive House elections in the country, I will be casting my vote for moderate, issue-focused leadership and against the negative Trumpism that has dominated American politics since 2016. It will be telling for the future of both parties if my fellow Hoosiers choose to do the same.
Luke Henkel is a proud Hoosier from Indianapolis, Indiana. He is studying government in the College and hopes to pursue a career in public service.