The candidates for U.S. Representative in Indiana’s First District discussed how they would address inflation, a potential War resolution, the SAVE America Act, and immigration policy if elected to Congress.
U.S. Representative Frank Mrvan, D-Highland, is seeking reelection and will face LaVetta Sparks-Wade in the Democratic primary. In the Republican primary, Barb Regnitz, Ben Ruiz and Jim Schenke will be vying for the nomination.
Mrvan said he’s seeking reelection to build on the successes he’s been able to deliver for Northwest Indiana and to continue to advocate for economic development projects, like the South Shore Line double-tracking project and public safety technology.
Mrvan, who is running for his fourth term as U.S. Representative, said he is also seeking reelection to remain co-chair of the steel caucus to ensure the steel industry, and by extension its workers, thrive, he said.
Sparks-Wade, the former Gary parks director who was let go after being accused of harassment and ghost payrolling and a former Gary councilwoman, said she’s running for U.S. Representative because of her disappointment in the way Mrvan has been representing the district.
In particular, she claimed that he hasn’t spoken up for residents’ constitutional rights or when major events occur, like when federal government workers, many of whom were Black women, were terminated and after ICE and CBP agents fatally shot two U.S. citizens in Minnesota.
Mrvan said he has voted against ICE funding after the fatal shootings in Minnesota. Mrvan said he has a record of speaking out against any cuts to federal workers and union workers.
Regnitz, a Porter County Commissioner, said she decided to run for U.S. Representative after seeing years of “how policies and political agendas have negatively impacted the American people.”
If elected, Regnitz said she would work to ensure prosperity for Americans, strong border policies and smarter government spending.
Ruiz said he decided to run for Congress because of “the direction the country is heading in,” including a difficult economy and political feuding in Congress.
Since President Donald Trump became politically active in 2015, Ruiz said he became more involved in politics as a Make America Great Again Republican. He’s run for Congress twice, Ruiz said, and he’s currently a vice precinct committeeman and former Indiana State Convention Delegate.
Schenke said he was inspired to run for Congress based on a combination of Trump and conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot in September. Kirk lost his life and Trump has risked his reputation, lifestyle, freedom and his life to make the U.S. “better, safer and more prosperous than it has been,” Schenke said.
Schenke has a pending driving with a suspended license charge in Porter County, but he recently clarified with a Tippecanoe County court that his license is in good standing as of April 6.
Schenke said he served as a precinct committeeman and state delegate and ran for State House of Representatives in District 26 in 2024 against incumbent Chris Campbell, D-West Lafayette, and lost.
Economy and the war in Iran
The candidates differed on Trump’s handling of the economy — from tariffs to spiking gas prices amid the U.S.-Israel war in Iran — as the U.S. saw the largest monthly jump in gas prices in 60 years and a sharp spike in inflation in March.
Mrvan said the Trump administration’s tariffs have been burdening farmers, which has translated into an increase in the cost of food in grocery stores. The cost of gas can translate into an increase in the cost of goods as transportation costs increase, Mrvan said.
“If you want to lower inflation, you absolutely, positively have to find a way to end President Trump’s war in Iran as quickly as possible so that we can bring down the cost at the gas pump and the cost at the grocery store,” Mrvan said.
The House rejected a resolution earlier this month requiring Trump to withdraw U.S. forces from the war with Iran unless Congress authorizes military action. Mrvan said he would vote in favor of a war powers resolution that would allow Congress to wage war and pull back the president’s authority over the war.
Under the War Powers Act of 1973, Congress must declare war or authorize use of force within 60 days — a deadline in the Iran war that will arrive at the end of April. The law provides for a potential 30-day extension, but lawmakers have made clear that they want the Republican administration to soon lay out a plan for the war’s end.
Sparks-Wade said she would fight back against Trump’s tariffs and the war in Iran, which has led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and caused a global economic crisis, by voting against any resolution that gives Trump more war powers. The war has resulted in the deaths of U.S. servicemembers and civilians, she said.
Ruiz said “there are already enough resolutions.” Trump attacked Iran to prevent the expansion of its nuclear arsenal, he said.
“I don’t think stopping our president from defending the United States of America is going to solve anything,” Ruiz said. “I would vote in support of President Trump.”
Regnitz said the time to discuss war powers “is before or after a conflict.” Every president since President Ronald Reagan has opposed a nuclear-armed Iran, she said.
“I support the men and women in harm’s way, our president and the goal of achieving an American victory,” Regnitz said.
The U.S. has been involved in a conflict with Iran for 47 years, Schenke said, and in that time the U.S. has had “one if not both of our hands tied behind our back.”
“President Trump has not started a war; he’s finally fought back,” Schenke said. “I don’t think (a war powers resolution) is necessary for what has transpired so far.”
SAVE America Act
Republicans have pushed for legislation that would require Americans to prove they are U.S. citizens before they register to vote and to show identification at the polls, among other things. Trump has said he won’t sign other bills until the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act — also known as the SAVE America Act or the SAVE Act — is passed.
The bill would require voters nationwide to provide proof of citizenship when they register and to show accepted voter identification when casting a ballot, create new penalties for election workers who register voters without proof of citizenship, require states to hand voter data over to the Department of Homeland Security, and ban most mail-in ballots.
Democrats and many groups that champion voter access say there is little evidence of noncitizens voting and say the bill would disenfranchise millions of voters — including Republicans — by creating new burdens to prove citizenship.
Mrvan voted against the SAVE Act because it suppresses the right to vote, like for married women who would have to carry a passport or birth certificate as proof of their name change after marriage, he said.
Further, the bill makes it harder for service members overseas to vote and anyone without a passport would have a challenging time casting a ballot, Mrvan said. U.S. elections are safe and secure, Mrvan said, where only citizens can vote.
Sparks-Wade said she would vote against the SAVE Act or similar legislation because it suppresses voters. As a divorced woman, Sparks-Wade said her birth certificate does not match her voter registration, Social Security number or her driver’s license.
“It’s a stupid act, we know it’s a stupid act, and another distraction from the Epstein files. Everything is a distraction from the Epstein Act as far as I’m concerned,” Sparks-Wade said.
Regnitz said she would vote in favor of the SAVE Act because it will ensure voter integrity by requiring voters to show their identification at the polls similar to “picking up a prescription or boarding a plane.”
“We need to give Americans confidence that our elections are transparent and reliable. A fair voting system is the foundation of our republic, and ensuring that only eligible citizens vote is common sense,” Regnitz said.
Indiana requires voters to show a REAL ID at the polls, but under the SAVE America Act, that may not be an adequate form of ID because it denotes residency not citizenship, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Ruiz said he supports the SAVE Act because it will protect U.S. elections. Ruiz criticized Democrats who have opposed the SAVE Act as doing so to allow undocumented immigrants the ability to vote. Under federal law, undocumented immigrants can’t vote in U.S. elections.
“It should have been passed a long time ago. It’s common sense,” Ruiz said. “It’s a shame that Congress has failed repeatedly to pass it.”
The SAVE Act doesn’t discriminate against married women, Ruiz said.
“Married women need only their marriage certificate, which they can get, and their birth certificate, which proves it, and that’s it. It’s worth safeguarding our voting booths,” Ruiz said.
Schenke said he agrees with the conclusion that voting machines aren’t the answer to election integrity because the machines are computers and no computer can be completely secure.
“These computers are not particularly sophisticated and they are run by people who are not particularly sophisticated or experts,” Schenke said.
Immigration enforcement
When it comes to immigration legislation and enforcement, the candidates fell along party lines.
Mrvan said he is opposed to open borders and supports e-verify of federal contractors. After the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens in Minnesota, Mrvan said he has voted to withhold funding for ICE until reforms are put in place.
“Until we have guardrails that ensure that we can see what the training is, that the masks come off, that those officers have badge numbers and names, who are not in high security situations, … when that happens then we will begin to fund it properly,” Mrvan said. “Until those changes happen, I will not support funding them.”
Sparks-Wade said she would support legislation that would abolish Trump’s ICE and “start over again.”
Under Trump, ICE agents have been hired in record numbers, with minimum training, and many of the people ICE detained have been in the process of obtaining citizenship or U.S. citizens, Sparks-Wade said.
“We do need border protection. You need to come into this country legally,” Sparks-Wade said. “Let’s find a path to citizenship for those folks who are having to hide in the shadows at this point.”
Biden created the current immigration crisis, Regnitz said.
“When elected to office, I will continue to support the policies that have stopped the mass migration and are keeping American citizens safe. I will also hold the departments accountable to ensure that Americans are being protected and laws are being properly enforced,” Regnitz said.
The U.S. needs “true immigration reform,” Ruiz said, to prevent undocumented immigrants from receiving benefits or obtaining fraudulent identification cards.
Ruiz said he would support making it a felony to cross the U.S. border illegally and thorough background checks of those entering the country legally.
Schenke said he’d support legislation that would require asylum seekers to wait outside the U.S. until their asylum is approved, limit chain migration, and put into law any immigration executive order Trump has signed, among others, he said.
“I don’t think we need new laws and ICE doesn’t need to be reined in,” Schenke said. “I don’t know that we need any new legislation because ICE and the administration are attempting to enforce laws that already exist and need to be enforced.”
The Associated Press contributed.
