COLUMBIA CITY - District 13 State Sen. Marlin Stutzman was selected during a caucus Saturday to be on the Republican ballot to fill the 3rd district congressional seat.
More than 400 precinct officials from across the 3rd district met Saturday at Indian Springs Middle School, Columbia City, to select the Republican nominee for the congressional seat. The caucus location was changed due to flooding at Columbia City High School.
There were 56 out of 58 eligible Republican precinct committeemen and women who cast votes Saturday from Kosciusko County, according to Randy Girod, Kosciusko County GOP chairman.
Stutzman (R-Howe) will likely face Democrat Tom Hayhurst (D-Fort Wayne) on two ballots Nov. 2.
One will be a special election to fill the remainder of former U.S. Congressman Mark Souder's term, which runs through Jan. 3, and the other will be for a new two-year term that starts after that.
Democrats meet Thursday in Fort Wayne to choose a candidate for the special election.
The Republican caucus Saturday was needed after Souder resigned May 21 after admitting to an affair with a staffer.
During Saturday's caucus, each of the 15 candidates had three minutes to speak about why they were seeking the seat. A person also was designated to speak in support of the candidate for two minutes.
Each candidate spoke in order by which they filed their declaration of candidacy.
The first round of voting eliminated 10 candidates because they did not receive 5 percent of the votes.
The top five candidates to receive the most votes during the first round of votes were Randy Borror, 67 votes; Liz Brown, 46 votes; Ryan Elijah, 43 votes; Marlin Stutzman, 180 votes; and Bob Thomas, 21 votes. There were 406 votes cast, including the five candidates going on to round two voting and the 10 that were eliminated.
The second ballot results were Stutzman, 229; Borror, 69; Elijah, 46; Brown, 39; and Thomas, 17.
Stutzman's wife, Christy, spoke about her husband during the caucus.
"I've watched as Marlin has represented us at the statehouse and he has listened to us and fought for our values, honored our veterans and defended our Constitution," Christy said.
Marlin said patriotism is not a short burst of emotion, but a long and steady dedication of a lifetime.
He said the country's founding principles have taken some tough hits recently, but we cannot forget the cause.
"We must regroup and sharpen ourselves for the time ahead and it will take determination, ideas and solutions and a spirit of kindness," Marlin said.
He said we must remind America that big government is not the answer, but that personal freedom requires personal responsibility.
He said he will work to send a message to Washington that refuses bailouts, rejects government takeovers and reverses government-run healthcare.
Stutzman is a fourth-generation farmer. As 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).
A group of Kosciusko Silent No More members attended Saturday's caucus to show their support for Stutzman.
Monica Boyer, Kosciusko Silent No More founder, said although Stutzman won the caucus, it means the tea party has a lot of work to do."We are going to be working very hard and know it is an uphill battle and we have our work cut out for us," Boyer said.
She said it is encouraging that Stutzman won the Republican caucus since the Silent No More group endorsed Stutzman due to his values.
"We just crossed the first hurdle and there were a couple of liberals running and it was important we supported a conservative candidate," Boyer said.
Kathy Stutzman, a Warsaw precinct committee woman, cast her vote Saturday in support of Marlin.
"I have found a lot of people excited about Marlin and he is a family man and that is what the Republican party is all about, bringing in those with strong character and integrity," Kathy said. "I think we have a strong candidate that will be running against Hayhurst."
