The three candidates seeking Indiana’s 6th Congressional District in the upcoming election shared what their priorities would be if elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and their views on border security and abortion.
The seat is open this year after three-term incumbent Rep. Greg Pence, R-Ind., decided against seeking reelection.
Candidates seeking the seat in the Nov. 5 election, in alphabetical order, are Libertarian nominee James Sceniak, Republican nominee Jefferson Shreve and Democratic nominee Cinde Wirth.
The 6th District includes Johnson County, as well as all or parts of Bartholomew, Fayette, Hancock, Henry, Randolph, Rush, Shelby, Union and Wayne counties, and the southern townships in Marion County.
This is the first of The (Columbus) Republic’s two-part series on the 6th District candidates and their views on key national and global issues. The second installment in this series is planned for Thursday.
The Daily Journal expects to publish its own series of questions closer to the election.
Here is what the candidates say their priorities would be if elected, as well as their thoughts on immigration and abortion.
Q: If elected, what would be your top priorities for the 6th District and the nation?
Sceniak: My top priority is representing the Hoosiers of the 6th District of Indiana. We need representation that desires to be a public servant, listening to the concerns and needs of the communities across this district. My desire is to protect our constitutional rights, create more economic stability for our nation and to minimize the federal role in individual lives.
Shreve: My priorities will be fiscal and border security. I’ll focus on securing our country’s southern border and fixing our broken immigration system. Kamala Harris has failed as our country’s “border czar” — we have much work to do toward securing our southern border, and I’ll continue to support our law enforcement so they have the tools to keep our communities safe. I’ll work with Republican leadership to rein in inflation and stop reckless federal spending. Our ballooning national debt is up to $35 trillion. Congress must address government spending and reduce the debt burden on future generations while also passing a budget and addressing the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that will expire in 2025.
Wirth: Restoring and making reproductive rights permanent is of the utmost importance. All people deserve the rights and freedoms to decide their own fertility and healthcare treatments with their selected healthcare provider. Without this basic freedom, no one is free. Permanently preserving and protecting Social Security, a critical safety net for over 65 million Americans, is another priority. Social Security and Medicare were built on the promise that American workers can retire with dignity. I will fight for both Social Security and Medicare to remain strong so that all Americans can look forward to a secure and healthy retirement. Social Security is not a lending bank for the government, which is how it’s been treated. It was made to be sustainable and can be if it is operated as intended. Our non-religious, tuition-free pre-K-12 public school system, built on the premise that all students can receive a quality education, is critical to the health and stability of our communities. Our democracy depends on an educated population and, since our students become citizens of our communities, our public schools need to be supported and protected. As a public school graduate and teacher, I am committed to upholding our public school systems for all of our children.
Q: What specific policies should Congress pursue in the next term to address concerns related to immigration and border security? What role, if any, should local law enforcement play in enforcing federal immigration laws?
Sceniak: Immigration is a top priority. We are a nation of immigrants and a melting pot of unique cultural diversity. Just as a castle has a moat, we need to protect our nation with a vetting process. Our drawbridge should be wide and welcoming, allowing for any peaceful person who seeks freedom and prosperity to come to America. I will promote and vote with policies that allow for those who want to live, work and contribute to our society and economy to have access through work visas and accept refugees from oppressive regimes like Venezuela. We need a strong wall, with a wide gate that permits those wanting freedom and the values in America to come and flourish.
Shreve: We must secure our southern border. We must fix our country’s broken immigration policies. The Biden administration has been unwilling to fix the lawlessness. (Vice President) Harris has failed as our country’s “border czar.” We must complete the border wall, end catch-and-release policies and put an end to the fentanyl trafficking that’s flowing over our southern border. Local law enforcement bears a heavy burden from the border crisis. It’s depleting their resources and putting added stressors on their departments. It’s the responsibility of our federal government to act on this issue.
Wirth: In May 2024, a bipartisan bill to strengthen border security and give the Department of Homeland Security the resources it needed to solve the border crisis was stopped by a handful of federal politicians with no rational reason why. Even though the U.S. border is over 1,000 miles away from Indiana and, according to multiple data sources, illegal border crossings are not the major source of fentanyl and other drugs containing it entering our country, our immigration system does need to be updated. I stand with the 86% of American voters who believe that we need to provide a path to citizenship for Dreamers, those persons who were brought to the U.S. as young children and to whom the U.S. has always been their home. Strengthening and modernizing the asylum process, updating training for our U.S. Border Patrol and Customs agents and eliminating loopholes exploited by dangerous cartels also need to be passed into law. Since 1996, U.S. Customs and Immigration have delegated occasional specific authority to local law enforcement. Increased or expanded involvement of our state, local, and county law enforcement officers in federal immigration work undermines trust they build within our communities, as well as puts our communities and officers in potential positions of financial and/or legal risk.
Q: Do you support an individual’s right to access abortion? Why or why not? Would you support a federal ban on abortion rather than allowing states to make individual decisions on the issue?
Sceniak: I certainly consider myself personally pro-life, but banning and criminalizing simply does not work. Abortions will still be performed and often with even greater risk, thus losing more lives. Our end goal should always be to preserve life. This can only be done by increasing society’s support for life. My plan for reducing abortions involves supporting adoption through substantial tax breaks and continuing to subsidize the cost of adoption, supporting foster care, ensuring every individual has the opportunity and freedom to pursue happiness by ensuring we fight inflation and waste and to ensure we educate young men and women in safe sex practices.
Shreve: I believe we must do all we can to protect human life. I will work to protect the unborn as well as the health of expectant mothers.
Wirth: All healthcare is a private matter between provider and patient. Miscarriage, IVF, contraceptives and abortion are all healthcare matters and should remain private, supported and available, as necessary or desired and decided on by patients and their healthcare providers. I support the right for anyone to choose restriction-free abortions and unrestricted access to contraception, OBGYN care and IVF procedures. Legislators and politicians have no business in the patient exam room or making decisions about other people’s healthcare or bodies. Restrictions on accessing healthcare, such as abortion, puts women and girls’ lives and health at risk. It also leads to increased maternal mortality and morbidity, as well as maternity deserts, unnecessary death due to lack of OBGYN care and reduces access to all forms of maternal healthcare due to fear among providers. I will work to ensure patient choice in all healthcare matters and oppose a federal ban on abortion. When abortion, a critical healthcare procedure, is left up to the states it creates a patchwork effect where those persons who cannot afford to travel out of state are needlessly put in dangerous personal healthcare situations when they cannot receive what has, in the recent past, been safe, routine healthcare.
James Sceniak
Party: Libertarian
Age: 35
City of residence: Greenwood
Previous elected offices held: None
Education: Bachelor’s degree in human services from Bethel University
Jefferson Shreve
Party: Republican
Age: 57
City of residence: Perry Township, Indianapolis
Previous elected offices held: Indianapolis City-County Councilor, 2013-2019
Education background: Bachelor’s degree from Indiana University, master’s degree from University of London, MBA from Purdue University
Cinde Wirth
Party: Democratic
Age: 55
City of residence: Columbus
Previous elected offices held: None
Educational background: Bachelor’s degree in biology and Spanish from the University of Evansville, master’s degree in anthropology/archaeology from Indiana University, Ph.D. candidate in educational policy studies at Ball State University, completed Women’s Executive Leadership Program at Cornell University
By Andy East — The (Columbus) Republic is a sister newspaper to the Daily Journal.
