INDIANAPOLIS — It's nearly impossible to turn on your TV without seeing an ad for Christina Hale or Victoria Spartz in the race for Indiana's 5th Congressional District.
The race has gained national attention, and with so much focus on a Congressional race in our state, 13News decided to take a closer look at what the candidates stand for.
Republicans have firmly held the seat has been held firmly since 1993. That's in question this year, though, in the hotly contested race that's seen attack ads from two of the candidates.
Democrat Christina Hale and Republican Victoria Spartz have both served in the Indiana Statehouse. Hale was a state representative and Spartz was a state senator. The Libertarian candidate in the race, Ken Tucker, is a former grade school and middle school teacher who is now a stay-at-home dad.
The candidates sat down for Zoom interviews and discussed a variety of topics.
How the federal government has handled the coronavirus pandemic
Hale: "We had early warning and could have been much better prepared, and I believe the federal government and this administration should have been more strategic in deploying the federal stockpile of missing PPE and ventilators and other equipment that we needed to mitigate the spread of the disease."
Spartz: "What I really like is that the federal government let states have some flexibility and discretion to deal with issues and provided support where it was necessary, not kind of one size fits all approach because there is a difference between Indiana, California, or North Dakota."
Tucker: "I think in a nutshell, they dropped the ball to begin with and now we're all kind of playing catch up in terms of keeping our public safe."
Which issues they would give priority to if they make it to Congress
Hale: "Health care. Health care. Health care. Health care. I already mentioned the 329,000 people in our community in this district who have pre-existing health conditions, and so many people living without health insurance during this pandemic. We have to provide an option for them now."
Spartz: "I promised everyone that I'm gonna fix health care. I'm gonna fix it. It's going to be good and affordable and it's a heavy lifting, but I’m going to get it done because I spent a few years on it. I understand a lot of the challenges. I understand what needs to be done."
Tucker: "I've got three things that if anyone in the 5th District votes for me, every day, the other 434 members of Congress are gonna hear from Ken Tucker about: equality, education and our environment. Outside of that, it’s whatever the big issues are of the day."
