District 13 State Sen. Marlin Stutzman announced this morning that he will seek the 3rd Congressional District seat being vacated by Republican Mark Souder.
Souder announced his resignation Tuesday after it came to light that he had an affair with a female staffer who worked in his northern Indiana district office. Souder's last day in office is Friday.
Stutzman (R-Howe) made the announcement at Elkhart County GOP headquarters, Goshen, this morning that he will seek the congressional seat.Stutzman also made a stop at Swick Communications, Angola, this morning, and will make stops this afternoon at KPC News, Kendallville, Allen County GOP Headquarters, Fort Wayne, and at a 3rd district Republican meeting tonight in LaGrange.
During a phone interview prior to the announcement in Goshen this morning, Stutzman said he decided to seek the congressional seat after seeing the overwhelming support from voters.
He said he will focus on the same issues for his congressional run that he addressed in his run for senate, and that is jobs and the economy.
"Especially coming from the 3rd district we have a strong manufacturing base and a lot of people are out of work and it's because of bad policies in Washington and someone needs to go fight for our friends, families and neighbors," Stutzman said.
He also said we need to get the country turned around and stop government spending and get back to the federal government's role of a smaller government.
He said the government is overreaching whether it is the health care or stimulus bills, cap and trade, or the bailout.
"We've got to stop spending our children's future," Stutzman said.
He said his campaign plans from here are to focus on the caucus and talk to precinct committeemen across the district and build on the attention his Senate campaign gained.
He is a fourth-generation farmer. As a co-owner with his father, Albert, he runs Stutzman Farms and is owner of Stutzman Farms Trucking.
Stutzman was first elected to the Indiana House of Representatives in 2002, at age 26. He served as the youngest member of the legislature until 2006. In 2009 he was elected to the Indiana Senate representing the 13th district.
Stutzman ran for the U.S. Senate seat in the May 4 primary, and was defeated by Dan Coats (R-Fort Wayne).
Other Republicans likely to be nominations for the congressional seat are Bob Thomas (R-Fort Wayne), Phil Troyer (R-Fort Wayne), State Rep. Randy Borror (R-Fort Wayne), and Republican Fort Wayne City Councilwoman Liz Brown.
Other possible candidates are Republican Fort Wayne councilman Mitch Harper and State Representative District 83 Matt Bell (R-Avilla).
Tom Hayhurst (D-Fort Wayne) also is seeking the seat.
A special election will be held to select a replacement for Souder, but the date of the election has not yet been determined. Governor Mitch Daniels will set a date for the special election.
The winner of the election will complete the remainder of Souder's term that ends in January.
In a separate procedure, a Republican caucus will select a candidate to replace Souder on the ballot in the upcoming November election.
During a phone interview this morning, Monica Boyer, Kosciusko Silent No More founder, said the group is endorsing Stutzman to fill the congressional seat.
"We've compared the possible names who are seeking the seat and looked at political realities of what's happening in these campaigns and we feel Marlin's values most closely relate to the Kosciusko Silent No More's values," Boyer said.
Boyer said she is planning on attending Stutzman's announcement tonight in Fort Wayne at the GOP headquarters.
Boyer said the group sent out an e-mail last night informing members that Stutzman would make an announcement today.
Boyer said she has had the privilege of following Stutzman's work while he has served as a senator, and she was there when he was sworn in to the House of Representatives.
"I saw what he stood for five years ago in the House of Representatives and moving over to the senate so I find comfort in knowing where he stands," Boyer said.
She said she also got to know Stutzman during his senatorial campaign and saw his integrity.
"There were behind-the-scenes moments people didn't see when he showed integrity and with the congressman situation, integrity is important," Boyer said.
