Erin Houchin defeated a crowded field of Republican candidates to pave her way toward the November election in Indiana’s Ninth Congressional District.
Matt Fyfe won a three-person race for the Democratic nomination.
Houchin, from Seymour, lost to Trey Hollingsworth in the 2016 primary. Hollingsworth served three terms but decided not to run for re-election.
Walking out to "Welcome to the Jungle" by Guns N' Roses and declaring victory well before an official race call, Houchin vowed "to take the fight to Washington."
Houchin celebrating with campaign staff now in Scottsburg. pic.twitter.com/c7s8zU7GmU — Brock E.W. Turner (@BrockEWTurner) May 4, 2022
She said the district voters benefited from former President Trump's policies. Though, she said there weren't plans to join him at this weekend's Kentucky Derby.
"I believe his policies were good for America," Houchin said. "We were certainly better under President Trump than we have been under the Biden administration."
She cited Trump's economic and energy policies as proof.
Houchin has been a reliable vote for the GOP’s super majority in the state Senate since she assumed office in 2014. She wrote legislation incentivizing private companies to expand broadband access in unserved communities.
This year, Houchin authored several bills and served as a Senate co-sponsor to an Indiana House bill to remove handgun license requirements.
She didn't comment on Politico reporting of a draft opinion leaked from the Supreme Court, but did reaffirm her pro-life choice.
"There are certain issues that we don't and bipartisanship isn't always us going to the left. Sometimes it’s the left coming to the right," she said.
Houchin said in an interview after declaring her candidacy that she is better prepared now than when she ran in 2016.
“I’ve learned a lot traveling across the district, across southern Indiana, meeting new people, hearing from them, learning about their struggles, and their stories, and their priorities," she said. "It's made me a better legislator.”
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Matthew Fyfe, from Bloomington, beat Isak Asare and Liam Dorris in the Democratic primary. He received 56 percent.
Fyfe said he is running for Congress because as a teacher he wants to represent people like him. In his campaign for the November election, he plans to prioritize education and health care.
“I’m a teacher, I’m going in tomorrow at 8 a.m. to teach these students and that’s the number one priority of this campaign,” said Fyfe. “We need to make sure that we have great schools.”
Fyfe also said he wants to make sure the district has jobs, good health care and a clean environment.
Libertarian Tonya Millis is also running in the 9th District race in November.
This story has been updated.
