Victoria Spartz remains being a member of the United States House of Representatives from Indiana. A Republican, she was elected to Congress from the 5th District of the state, which includes Muncie.
It was thought that Spartz would soon be trying to move to the other half of the Congressional whole. That being the United States Senate. One of Indiana's U.S. Senate seats is scheduled for election in 2024. The anticipation was that Spartz would enter the Republican primary race for the open seat. But instead, it seems she no longer wishes to be a member of either half of Congress.
Announces her intention to retire from politics
Victoria Spartz will not run for the U.S. House or the U.S. Senate in 2024, report Politico and The Hill. She cites wanting to spend more time with her daughters as the motivation for her choice. Spartz was the second high-profile potential candidate in the race to opt-out. She follows former Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels, who made his decision publicly just a few days before.
At the time of Spartz's announcement, Republican U.S. Representative Jim Banks is the only candidate in the race. Banks is a member of the U.S. House from Indiana's 3rd District. Outgoing Governor Eric Holcomb is also considered a possible entry in the primary. Holcomb is term-limited from running in that year's gubernatorial election.
No Democrats have declared their candidacy thus far.
The current occupant of the U.S. Senate seat at stake is Republican Mike Braun. But Braun says he won't run for re-election to the Senate, choosing to run for governor of Indiana. He's one member of a Republican primary field that also includes sitting Lieutenant Governor Suzanne Crouch.
Whether or not Spartz's political retirement is permanent remains to be seen. Her statement did explicitly say she wasn't running for office in 2024. It also made mention of her daughters being in high school. Theoretically, that could leave the door open for a return to politics after her daughters were to graduate. But that would remain to be seen.
Is an immigrant from what is now Ukraine
The former Viktoriya Kulheyko was born in Nosivka, then part of the Soviet Union. The city is located near Chernihiv in modern-day Ukraine. There, she received a bachelor's degree and a master's degree from the Kyiv National Economic University.
In 2000, she married Jason Spartz and moved to the United States. Victoria Spartz would eventually become a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2006. She has also earned an additional master's degree from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis' Kelley School of Business. She later became a member of its faculty.
Spartz would become active in local politics before joining the Office of the Indiana Attorney General.
In 2017, she was appointed to the Indiana Senate. She was finishing the term of Republican Luke Kenley, who'd retired before its conclusion.
Spartz was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2020. She succeeded fellow Republican Susan Brooks, a former House Committee on Ethics chairwoman. In 2022, Spartz was easily re-elected.
