Seven Republicans are seeking their party’s nomination in the May 7 primary for Indiana’s Sixth Congressional District.
The seat is open this year after three-term incumbent Rep. Greg Pence, R-Ind., decided against seeking reelection.
Candidates seeking the office are Jamison Carrier of Greenwood, Darin Childress of Richmond, Bill Frazier of Muncie, John Jacob of Indianapolis, Jeff Raatz of Richmond, Jefferson Shreve of Indianapolis, and Mike Speedy of Indianapolis.
The winner of this race will face Columbus Democrat Cinde Wirth in the fall election.
The 6th District includes Johnson County, Batholomew, Fayette, Hancock, Henry, Johnson, Randolph, Rush, Shelby, Union and Wayne counties, and the southern townships of Indianapolis.
The three AIM Media Indiana newspapers covering the district — Daily Journal, The Republic and Daily Reporter — collaborated to interview the seven candidates for a four-part series covering key issues of interest this election season. The parts of the series will be shared over the coming week.
Here is why they decided to run, with some edits for length, clarity, grammar and repetition.
Q: Why are you running to represent the Sixth District?
Carrier: I’m running because we need to make a difference now. We can’t wait to make the changes that need to be made. My wife and I lost a son to fentanyl poisoning and that fuels our passion. It’s been two years April 15. Joe was his name and he didn’t want to die. He didn’t want the fentanyl, but it is something that is coming from China. It’s going into Mexico and it’s going across the border, and so the border is important. That’s one of the reasons I’m running. Another reason I’m running is because we’re spending at a rate that is not sustainable. We’re not going to pass the American Dream on to the next generation if we don’t make some changes now. … We have a spending problem in Washington, D.C. We’ve sent people there who are spending money like it’s Monopoly money and it’s not. It’s our future at stake. So, we need to send business leaders to D.C. that will make the tough decisions.
Childress: To try to get the people’s voice or forgotten people’s voice of us … The government should go back to the way it’s supposed to be. The government works for the people, not the people for the government — like we are now. The government should get its nose out of a lot of people’s business. I want to be heard, and everything I express is for the people I’d be representing … So if I can get that out there, hopefully, the politicians will realize you need to get back to this — going down to the level of your people and talk to them, not ignore them and go to Washington and do what you want … It’s been like that for last probably 20 years now.
Frazier: I’ve got 34 trillion reasons why I’m running. (Thirty-four trillion dollars) is our national debt at the moment. We need to address that. The other concern is the open-border situation with Mexico. Those are two reasons why I’m running, plus I have grandchildren, and I have three great-grandchildren, so I want to leave them a better country than I’ve had.
Jacob: I’m a born-again Christian, and Jesus Christ is my Lord. He’s my savior, and I take my cues from him. … I do believe that he wants me to run. … I’m concerned about the direction of our country. … So to me, the left, the Democrats are pulling us down as a nation into a black abyss — into a dark hole. … Although I see the left is what’s doing that, I don’t ultimately lay the blame at their feet. I lay the blame at the feet of the Republican Party, politically. The vast majority of Republicans refuse to fight for the people and fight for what’s constitutionally right. I wholeheartedly believe in the Republican platform, I believe in our Constitution. But the vast majority of Republicans … just do the good ol’ boy system. They go along to get along. They’ll compromise to such a point that they’ll water something down in legislation many times to the point we get virtually nothing or something that’s incredibly weak.
Raatz: I’ve been in the Indiana General Assembly, this is my 10th year. I looked at this seat six years ago when Greg Pence got in the ring and that was — well there was no way a guy like me to go up against a Pence — especially since his brother was vice president or in the process of becoming vice president … Now the choice has become where we are today. Greg Pence, obviously, late in January, decided to take a pass; he was going to retire and get out. When the seat opened up … having watched it for a number of years and having many conversations about it, I decided this was a good time to jump in.
Shreve: The 6th District is my home. It’s where I was born and raised and where my wife Mary and l continue to call home. It’s where I learned the value of hard work and where I started and grew my business right out of college. Over the last three decades, I grew Storage Express into the largest self-storage company headquartered in Indiana. Today, we have 26 locations in the 6th and many more across the Midwest. I came to know the district long before running to represent it. We have serious challenges facing our country. We need conservatives who’ll work hard in Congress. The Biden administration is beholden to special interests of the left, unwilling to defend our southern border, our pocketbooks and our Hoosier values. I’ll draw upon my experience in business and my service in city/county government to get up and work hard every day for Hoosiers.
Speedy: I’m running because I love my country, and I’m deeply concerned about the direction that it is headed. I’m uniquely positioned, being a successful businessperson and someone with some legislative experience, that I can be the most effective at pushing back and changing the direction that our country is going.
THE CARRIER FILE
Name: Jamison E. Carrier
Age: 48
Residence: Greenwood (White River Township)
Family: Wife Kathy; three children
Occupation: Founder/owner, Relentless Dealer Services
Education: Bethel Academy, Richmond; Indiana Wesleyan University
Military service: None
Political experience: First-time candidate
Memberships: National Rifle Association, Grace Assembly of God Church, National Little Britches Rodeo Association
THE CHILDRESS FILE
Name: Darin Childress
Age: 62
Residence: Richmond
Family: three children, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren
Occupation: semi-retired, mechanic for the military, trainer for IED convoy training
Education background: Richmond High School, some college
Military service: 14 years in Marines, 20+ years in Army
Political experience: First-time candidate
Memberships: Veteran organizations – AMVETS, VFW, Legion Marine Core league, Moose, Eagle and Mason
THE FRAZIER FILE
Name: Bill Frazier
Age: 87
Residence: Muncie
Family: Six children, seven grandchildren
Occupation: Farmer
Education background: BA, Ball State University
Military service: Paratrooper, Sgt. U.S. Army 82nd Airborne Division
Political experience: Indiana State Senate, District 14, from 1968 to 1970; Republican nominee for Muncie-area U.S. congressional district in 1976, 1978, 1980 and 1992
Memberships: Chicago Board of Trade, Mid-America Commodity Exchange, Sons of the American Revolution, Disabled American Veterans, Grace Baptist Church of Muncie
THE JACOB FILE
Name: John Jacob
Age: 57
Residence: Indianapolis
Family: Wife Angie; six children; five grandchildren
Occupation: Owner, Vicci Design
Education background: Roncalli High School, Indianapolis; IUPUI
Military service: None
Political experience: Unsuccessfully ran in Indiana Senate District 36 caucus, 2023; Indiana State Representative for District 93, 2020-2022
Memberships: None provided
THE RAATZ FILE
Name: Jeff Raatz
Age: 60
Residence: Richmond
Family: Wife Lisa; two daughters
Occupation: business owner, Raatz LLC
Education background: Baker College of Muskegon, BA in Business; Indiana University, MA in Management
Military service: U.S Army
Political experience: State Senator for District 27, 2014-present
Memberships: IU East Advisory Board and IU East Business Graduate Program, member; Cross Power Ministries Board, member; Every Child Can Read Board, member
THE SHREVE FILE
Name: Jefferson Shreve
Age: 57
Residence: Perry Township, Indianapolis
Family: Wife Mary, no children
Occupation: Founder of Storage Express
Education background: BA Indiana University, MA University of London, MBA Purdue University
Military service: None
Political experience: Indianapolis City-County Councilor, 2013-2019; GOP nominee for Indianapolis mayor in 2023; IMPD Police Staffing Commission; commissioner on the Indianapolis Metropolitan Development Commission
Memberships: National Chairman and board member of the Indiana University Alumni Association, 2011-2016; Executive Dean’s board member of IU’s College of Arts and Sciences; IUPUI Chancellor’s Board; board and executive committee member of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce
THE SPEEDY FILE
Name: Mike Speedy
Age: 55
Residence: Indianapolis
Family: Wife Amy; three children
Occupation: Real estate developer, American Village Properties LLC
Education background: Loy Norrix High School, Kalamazoo, Michigan; Indiana University School of Business; IU School of Law
Military service: None
Political experience: Indianapolis City-County Council, 2003-2010; Indiana House of Representatives, 2010-present
Memberships: Licensed attorney – Indiana Supreme Court, Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 1354, National Rifle Association, Bargersville Rotary Club, Aspire Johnson County, Johnson County Bourbon Club, Aeronautical Center of Technology, Living Word Bible Church
ABOUT THE JOB
U.S. House of Representatives District 6
Term: Two years
Duties: Representatives draft and vote on legislation brought before the U.S. House of Representatives, including matters of the interior, national security and the nation’s budget.
Salary: $174,000 (2023)
AIM Media Indiana reporters Noah Crenshaw of the Daily Journal, Andy East of The Republic and Lacey Watt of Daily Reporter contributed to this report.
