Three candidates from three parties are vying to be the next representative of Indiana’s 6th Congressional District.
James Sceniak, a Greenwood Libertarian and autism therapist, Jefferson Shreve, an Indianapolis Republican and business owner, and Cinde Wirth, a Columbus Democrat seeking her PhD, are vying for the 6th District seat in the Nov. 5 general election. The seat is open this year after three-term incumbent Rep. Greg Pence, R-Ind., decided against seeking reelection.
Sceniak is running because he believes Hoosiers “deserve a better choice.” His priorities include addressing inflation and “out of control” spending in Washington, D.C., he said.
He wants to reduce printing from the Federal Reserve, create better opportunities for business and securing the border in a manner that allows for legal immigration to increase, which he says will lead to a decline in illegal immigration while still securing the border. Sceniak also wants America to promote “more peaceful resolutions” across the globe, he said.
Shreve is seeking the office to “serve the people of the Sixth and our state” by being their voice on Capitol Hill. His priorities include improving America’s fiscal security and border security and fixing “our broken immigration system,” he said.
“[Our immigration system] is fixable, and we can get that done in the confines of the next Congress,” Shreve said. “But it’s going to take a team working over the next several years to begin to right the ship from a fiscal security standpoint. And so you’ll see a focus on those two priorities — fiscal security looming largest, and border security.”
One of the main reasons Wirth is running is because she believes women need to be in control of their own health care and decisions about their own body. She’s also running because she wants to preserve Social Security and Medicare, she said.
“Social Security was started so that Americans could retire with dignity and keeping that in place and protected is really important to me, because our strong middle class that we have had in the past depends on paying into that Social Security and getting that back out so that they can retire with dignity, and that allows them, in many cases, to age in place and choose where they decide they want to remain,” Wirth said.
Her priorities also include public education and to bring and understanding of “what it’s like to live as a real, human American, and not someone who doesn’t have to worry about paychecks or doesn’t have to worry about where the rent is coming from,” to Congress.
To help voters make their decision in this race, the Daily Journal asked the candidates questions ahead of the Nov. 5 election and early voting. The series builds on previous questions asked by sister newspaper The (Columbus) Republic.
Here’s a snapshot of what they said, edited for length, repetition and clarity:
It has often been reported how Congress is gridlocked. The most recent Congress got the least done in at least 30 years. How will you try to get legislation across the finish line if this occurs again next year?
Sceniak: As a third-party candidate, [it] puts me in a very unique position to be able to work with both sides and negotiate on behalf of Hoosiers instead of negotiating on behalf of a party. So with that being said, I can work with Democrats across the aisle; I can work with Republicans across the aisle to actually get things done. They’ll need my vote in gridlock, so they’re going to be willing to negotiate with a third-party candidate, and it gives me a unique opportunity to be on the table for the majority of discussions that happen in Washington, D.C., because they’ll need that vote.
Shreve: I use that term fiscal security, and … by that, I’m referring to a $35 trillion and growing deficit, managing from continuing resolution to continuing resolution. Congress hasn’t managed our fiscal affairs in the way we are constitutionally charged with approaching that responsibility. How will I work to overcome that gridlock that is debilitating? It clearly has been in the 118th Congress, by the numbers, the least productive Congress in at least 100 years. I’m going to bring my life’s experiences [from] over 30 years, in getting up every day to grow a business and to work with others to get things done. I’m going to weave into that the experience I’ve had from two terms, two stints on [the Indianapolis] city-county council. In both of those terms of service, it was under the constraints of a democratic majority, and so I learned from both my business career and from my civic experiences in municipal government to work with others, especially on the margins, to get things across the finish line. I think the legislative business of Congress can be an awfully slow-moving football game, but it’s important that people go into this arena prepared to work to move the ball down the field, in partnership with others, and working with those on the margin is going to be important … I’m confident that if hired for this job that I’ll prove out to be a congressional workhorse and not a show horse.
Wirth: As a teacher, one of the things I taught was collaboration and compromise, even in science, because when you’re working with students and you’re working with groups, you have to have those collaboration and compromise skills. I taught that, and I think that is sorely needed in Congress. It is the least effective Congress. Our own congressman admitted it’s the least effective Congress, but that’s the job we sent him there to do. I know how to do that job. … When I was a fellow on the Hill in 2018/2019, I got to write an original bill and had to learn the process of shepherding through that on both sides in a bipartisan way, and collecting signatures and support for that bill. I understand that process. I’ve been through that process. I was successful at that process, and that bill is now a law, so I know the job. When Hoosiers elect me, I’ll go to Washington and do the job. I won’t come home and say, ‘Yeah, it was really ineffective, and yeah, we should do something about it.’ I’ll do something about it. And that’s another reason why I’m running.
Editor’s note: The bill Wirth helped pass led to the creation of a monument for the 19th Amendment in Washington, D.C.
What should America’s role in the world be?
Sceniak: We have to take a step back from being the world’s police. We have to focus a lot on our issues and problems in America. But that being said, we can’t ignore our allies across the globe as well as promoting peace across the globe. We are in a unique position with trade and economics that we can promote peaceful resolutions, whether that’s in Israel or whether that’s in Ukraine. In regards to Israel, they are a strong ally in the Middle East. I want to see a peaceful resolution, and we can work together with Israel on that, but we also can’t ignore our allies. Ukraine’s … a little bit different, unique situation. I do believe that our spending in Ukraine is a little bit outrageous at the moment. I don’t think that we ignore Ukraine altogether, but we have to find better solutions to support Ukraine that benefit the American people. I mean the spending in Ukraine, with the lack of accountability, just it’s outrageous, and we have to do better on the Ukraine front.
Shreve: America matters. It has for the past century, and definitely does and will continue in the next century. I’m not in favor of isolationism. I’m not in favor of ‘tariffing up’ and closing our trade routes. I am in favor of engagement in the world. We’ve got an important, and in many respects, unique role to play on the globe.
Wirth: We have a responsibility to uphold democracy, and the rest of the world does look to the U.S. to help them safeguard democracy. I think that is our role. At the same time, we also have to remember that people are humans, and retaining that humanistic lens on things, and looking at what’s happening is also incredibly important. So when we’re looking at conflict, we need to look at the human toll. We need to look at, you know, where are the rights to defend nations? Where is democracy in all of this? And keep in mind that there are also other people involved. And if it is coming down to [harming] women and children, that’s not OK.
What should Congress’ role in regulating the economy be?
Sceniak: We should promote trade. We should create a free market. We should get out of the way of companies that provide jobs with minimal regulation. Obviously there’s gonna be some regulation where, you know, the concerns about environment or, but with that being said, we really need to create better a better atmosphere where businesses can thrive — and especially small businesses. Right now, we see bills hurting the most. Our economy needs to shift to where small businesses can grow and increase in profits can be made for small businesses, so reducing some of those regulations that harm them would be beneficial to not just Hoosiers, but the United States as a whole, so we can build better businesses across America.
Shreve: I would focus on the job that I’m running for when we refer to the government and say, a great big organization, and Congress has a constitutional lane to play in. The job that I’m applying for has, among its responsibilities, the thoughtful consideration and development of our budget for the United States, adoption and passage. We will play a regulatory oversight role, but regulation at the agency level is on the executive side.
Wirth: Most Hoosiers are not billionaires. There are 800 billionaires in the United States. There may be a few Hoosiers, but most of us aren’t — and we’re far, far from it. Congress has ways to safeguard things like antitrust, which provides increased competition, which means that taxpayers, consumers, and everyday people can win, and it can help lower prices. That’s one big thing. When we invest in those solutions for working families — tax credits for small businesses, things like that — those are things that increase growth, increase the economy and things that are realistic for most people in America. Tax cuts for the wealthy and well-connected leave most of us out, and those kinds of tax cuts are irresponsible, but I would focus on things that help working people, help small businesses — true small businesses, not the multi-million dollar companies that say, ‘Hey, I’m a small business.’ I think that’s something that people don’t point out that often, but as a small business person, I do because I look at these things and there’s no clear definition of small business in some people’s minds. I think to really help small businesses, we need to keep in mind the truly little guys who are the backbone of Main Street America.
What more can Congress do to help American families? Recent efforts to expand a child tax credit have stalled, for example.
Sceniak: Honestly, although the tax benefits there would be amazing for American families — and I’d actually support a bill similar to that — the biggest thing they can do is just reduce the overall tax burden to American families. Right now, the tax burden to American families between every tax combined is getting out of hand when you put in sales tax, income tax, state tax. So ideally, on the federal level, we can reduce those federal income taxes and make it more manageable so that that relief can be seen to the American people. Tax credits are one of the biggest ways we can do that.
Shreve: If we take a big-picture look at this, which is important for members of Congress to do, we’ve got to think generationally in terms of how we help our families. Generationally, the most important thing that we can do is to ensure the solvency of our country and that we are not passing down this ever-growing, looming deficit to the next generation that they’ve got to pay off, and their children have to pay off. It’s with that broader focus I will go in and work with colleagues on the Republican side of the aisle, in the middle, to try to keep our fiscal house in order and to keep that sane and manageable for the next generation, not for those of us in the here and now. That’s far more important than crafting a tax credit that will sunset in five years for this policy or that policy. It’s more important that we not set the stage for this mountain of debt that young people are going to have to struggle with and that will tax our economy over the next several decades. I will look at every policy issue or decision in part through that fiscal lens … I don’t feel like we have that under control today, and it’s not a feeling. If you look at the trend line in terms of our national deficit, it’s scary. It’s not sustainable. How do you help families? You set the stage for a vibrant, solvent, U.S. economy.
Wirth: Those child tax credits are incredible; gave a lot of people breathing room. That’s what the American public needs — breathing room from a lot of things that are going on. The tax cuts also help for the middle class. Looking at livable wages is one of the biggest things that will help everyday Americans, and livable wages mean you don’t have to work two or three jobs to put food on the table and pay your rent. When I was teaching, I had so many students whose parents, their entire lives, these students’ entire lives, their parents had worked two and three jobs, and when the students came of age to work, students had to go to work to pitch in. That makes life tough for people, and that’s why I want to go to Congress to look at solutions for those so we can strengthen the middle class again and give people breathing room, give them time off the clock so they can relax and have family time. I mean, that’s what life’s about — to enjoy it. That’s something that’s missing, and we need to put it back.
Is there anything else you want voters to know about you?
Sceniak: As your candidate, I’m going to support your constitutional rights. I may support a growing economy, and I’m going to protect Hoosiers as we deal with economic hardships, as well as complicated situations that really hurt the growth in America. So as your candidate, I am going to fight in Washington, D.C., for you and for the people, and I respectfully want to earn your vote in November.
Shreve: Some people know me or know of me, but I’ve worked hard over this campaign to move around the 11 counties that make up the Sixth District. We took a tally to it, and I’ve had over 300 meetings since I got into this race in February, across the 11 counties of the Sixth District. I am doing this to both introduce myself, moreover to listen, to learn and prepare for the job so as to hit the ground running and to do good work for the citizens of the Sixth as that baton is passed from Congressman Pence to our next representative. I’m working very hard to get hired by the voters of the Sixth [District] for the job and to be prepared to do good work for them.
Wirth: I do want to let voters know that I grew up with guns; I grew up hunting. I grew up in central Indiana. … I’ve been through the NRA safety classes in the 70s. So I’m not against guns, but as a teacher, I am against having weapons of war on the street by people who are not trained effectively to use them, even the military locks up weapons of war when they’re not being used. I think these common sense solutions for guns could help protect our students and our teachers and our community members, because now it’s not just schools, it’s grocery stores, it’s shopping malls — it’s everywhere. We have a responsibility as a society to make sure that everyone is safe and protected, and that means taking weapons of war off the street and making a place for them that is safe and secure — not on our streets. Because when 14-year-olds are giving them as gifts, and then we see people’s lives end because of it, it’s irresponsible of us to let it continue.
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)
Area: The district includes all of Johnson County and all or parts of Bartholomew, Fayette, Hancock, Henry, Randolph, Rush, Shelby, Union and Wayne counties, and the southern townships in Marion County.
THE SCENIAK FILE
Name: James Sceniak
Party: Libertarian
Age: 35
Residence: Greenwood
Family: N/A
Occupation: Behavioral therapist, Life Skills Autism Academy
Education background: Pleastantwood Christian Academy (homeschooled), Goshen; Bachelor’s: Bethel University, Mishawaka
Political experience: Ran for Greenwood City Council in 2023, not elected; Ran for U.S. Senate in 2022, not elected.
THE SHREVE FILE
Name: Jefferson Shreve
Party: Republican
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
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.
THE WIRTH FILE
Name: Cynthia “Cinde” Wirth
Party: Democrat
Age: 55
Residence: Columbus
Family: Husband, Trey; two children
Occupation: Doctoral student in Cultural & Educational Policy Studies, Ball State University
Education background: Columbus North High School; Harlaxton College, Grantham, England — British Studies & Archaeology; Instituto Cultural Oaxaca — Certificate in Spanish Conversation & Mexican Culture; University of Evansville — B.A. in Biology & Spanish Language & Culture; Indiana University – Bloomington — Graduate Certificate in Underwater Cultural & Biological Resource Management; IU Bloomington — M.A. in Anthropology/Archaeology; Cornell University — Graduate Certificate in Executive Women in Leadership; Ball State University — Ph.D. Candidate in Cultural & Educational Policy Studies
Political experience: Previously ran for 6th District in 2022, not elected; Ran for Indiana State Senate District 4 in 2020, not elected.
Daily Journal reporter Jayden Kennett contributed reporting.
