7 Republicans running for opportunity to unseat US Rep. Mrvan
Seven candidates are seeking the Republican nomination for the 1st Congressional District race in Indiana’s May 3 primary.
U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan, D-Highland, was elected to the seat in 2020. He replaced longtime Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-Gary, who retired after more than three decades in the House.
The seven Republican candidates seeking their party’s nomination are: Jennifer-Ruth Green, Mark Leyva, Martin Lucas, Blair E. Milo, Nicholas Pappas, Ben Ruiz and Aaron Storer.
Green is a U.S. Air Force Air Reserve Component, according to her campaign website, and she describes herself as “a battleproven leader, a trailblazer and a selfless servant.”
Green served the military for 12 years, which included a deployment to Baghdad, and she currently serves as the chief information officer/commander for the Indiana Air National Guard, her website says. She is also the founder of MissionAero Pipeline, a nonprofit reaching at-risk youth to inspire STEM careers and to learn about the aerospace industry, according to her website.
Some of the issues important to Green, according to her website, are: a free-market economy, limited government regulations, addressing national security and cybersecurity, secure borders and attainable citizenship and anti-abortion policies.
Leyva, of Highland, won the Republican nomination in the 2020 GOP primary, but lost to Mrvan in the general election. Leyva also ran in the 2018 general election and the 2014 general election, according to Ballotpedia, losing to Visclosky.
Leyva is a “fiscal conservative” who has been a union carpenter and a union steelworker, according to his campaign website, and his goal is to “drain the swamp, less government and less one-party power in Northwest Indiana.”
Leyva is pro-Second Amendment,
anti-abortion, supports free and fair elections and school vouchers, and would push for energy independence if elected, according to his campaign website.
Martin Lucas has lived in Schererville with his wife and daughter for the past 17 years, according to his campaign website. He works at IBM in the consulting division, according to his campaign website.
Lucas supports charter schools, is anti-abortion, states workers should have a choice to join a union, supports the Second Amendment and opposes transgender women competing in female sports, according to his campaign website.
Milo, the former mayor of LaPorte, has served as a Navylieutenant commander for 13 years, which included multiple deployments and service at the Pentagon, according to her campaign website.
She is currently the Indiana secretary of Career Connections and Talent, and she was appointed to the position by Gov. Eric Holcomb in August 2017. Under her tenure, the office has helped more than 50,000 residents receive new career certifications, according to her campaign website.
Her platforms include policies that emphasize work, decrease spending and inflation, ensure students have in-person instruction and that parents have “a place in every discussion” around curriculum and is anti-abortion, according to her campaign website.
Nicholas Pappas has not yet filled out Ballotpedia’s 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
Ben Ruiz is an “America first and Make America Great Again” candidate, according to his campaign website, and his platform is to continue the policies of former President Donald Trump.
Ruiz is a husband and father whose family has been involved in public and military service, according to his campaign website.
His platforms are giving parents more control over the public school system, addressing illegal immigration and passing reforms to eliminate outside interference with elections, according to his campaign website.
Storer has lived in Northwest Indiana the majority of his life, and he graduated from Crown Point High School, according to Ballotpedia.
In 2015, Storer received a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Purdue University Northwest, according to Ballotpedia.
Storer has worked as a senior paid search analyst with Omnicom Media Group, as a paid search analyst with Spark Foundry and a local television and radio negotiator with Zenith, according to Ballotpedia.
His campaign platforms are decreasing spending and inflation, restoring faith in law enforcement and “honoring our promises” for national security, according to Ballotpedia.
Early in-person voting in the primary is underway, and voters can cast their ballot early on weekdays, the next two Saturdays or May 2 in 11 locations throughout the county.