Raatz
A state senator has thrown his hat into the ring for Indiana’s 6th Congressional District race.
Sen. Jeff Raatz, R-Richmond, filed for candidacy Friday in the Republican primary for Indiana’s 6th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. The 6th District is composed of all of Fayette, Hancock, Henry, Johnson, Rush, Shelby, Union and Wayne counties, along with portions of Bartholomew, Marion and Randolph counties.
“Our nation is at a tipping point,” Raatz said in a news release announcing his candidacy. “If we do not dramatically change course in Washington D.C. – very quickly – the United States of America will no longer be the land of the free and the home of the brave. It’s a sobering thought and something I think about on a daily basis. I am deeply concerned about the future of our United States, and that is why I am running to represent Indiana’s 6th District in the U.S. House of Representatives.”
A small business owner and licensed insurance agent, Raatz is currently the chairman of the Senate Committee on Education and Career Development, a member of the Senate Committee on Appropriations and a member of the Senate School Funding Subcommittee. He also serves on the boards of several organizations including the Indiana University East Advisory Board, Every Child Can Read Board and the Governor’s Workforce Cabinet, according to the news release.
He currently represents District 27 in the Indiana State Senate, which includes Henry, Union and Wayne counties and a portion of Franklin County.
Raatz grew up “believing in this country” and the importance of giving back to fellow Americans, he said in the news release. He has a “servant’s heart,” which is what compelled him to run to first run for office in 2014, the news release said.
“Serving in the State Senate is truly an honor and a privilege, and I am grateful for the opportunity to give back and keep our state moving forward,” Raatz said. “I am proud to have played a role in Indiana’s many success stories: honestly balanced budgets, lower taxes, record funding for K-12 education and educational choices for parents and students. Indiana is on the right track, but our nation is headed in the wrong direction. And I want to be part of the solution.”
Raatz says officials need to get serious about fixing the economy, something that has been accomplished in Indiana, showing it is possible. “Fiscal sanity” needs to be restored in Washington, D.C., so that “our children and grandchildren have the opportunity to live the American dream,” he said in the news release.
“We must close our southern border and stop the massive influx of illegal immigrants who are threatening our national security,” Raatz added. “We must stop the woke agenda that threatens to indoctrinate our children with liberal ideology. We must restore law and order by supporting law enforcement and first responders. We must uphold our cherished values of protecting the sanctity of human life and preserving our First and Second Amendment freedoms.”
Raatz and his wife Lisa reside in Richmond and are members of Covenant of Peace Church, where he is on the church board. They have two grown daughters and one son-in-law.
He is the third candidate to file and remain on the ballot for the Republican primary. Current officeholder Rep. Greg Pence, R-Indiana, is not seeking reelection. Other candidates running in the GOP primary are State Rep. Mike Speedy, R-Indianapolis, Darin Childress of Wayne County, and Sid Mahant.
Whoever is selected in the Republican primary will face Democrat Cinde Wirth, who also ran for the 6th District seat in 2022. Wirth is currently uncontested in the Democratic primary, although this could change as the filing deadline approaches on Feb. 9.
