By Taylor Wooten and Daniel Bradley
Indiana Business Journal
Two central Indiana congressional races are led in fundraising by candidates who provided large loans to their own campaigns, according to election finance reports released this week.
Former Indianapolis mayoral candidate Jefferson Shreve is “paying his own way” in the 6th Congressional District, while incumbent 5th District Rep. Victoria Spartz trails Gaylor Electric owner Chuck Goodrich after a late start and Goodrich’s own contributions.
In a seven-person GOP primary race for Indiana’s 6th District, Shreve gave his campaign a $4.5 million loan to top his closest competitor, State Rep. Mike Speedy, who loaned his own campaign $1.3 million. Greenwood businessman Jamison Carrier boasts the highest amount of individual contributions since the beginning of the year, at $104,180. He also contributed to his own campaign with a $750,000 loan.
Speedy raised $39,465 in individual contributions, while Shreve had raised nothing outside of his own loan.
Meanwhile, in the 5th District, Spartz is trailing challenger Goodrich, who loaned his campaign $1.6 million. Spartz raised $357,718 between Feb. 6 and March 31, according to campaign finance reports released by the Federal Election Commission. That’s compared to nearly $1.74 million that Goodrich raised this year thanks to a $1.6 million loan he provided to his campaign.
Fifth District
Since last year, Goodrich has loaned $2.6 million to his campaign. A Purdue University graduate, Goodrich worked at Noblesville-based Gaylor Electric for nearly three decades before purchasing the company in 2014.
He announced his bid for the seat last May, after Spartz said she would not seek reelection. A year later, Spartz changed her mind. Her late decision to run has put her behind in fundraising.
She ended the period with $537,443 in cash on hand. Goodrich had $377,678.
Indiana’s 5th District includes Anderson, Carmel, Fishers, Kokomo, Marion, Muncie, Noblesville and Westfield.
Spartz campaign spokesman Dan Hazelwood told IBJ in an email that Spartz “feels very good about her winning campaign.”
“She is raising money from a wide group of donors, particularly the grassroots who want her to win re-election because she defends conservative values,” Hazelwood wrote. “She has recently been endorsed by Indiana Right to Life and the National Rifle Association. Voters know she stands up for Hoosiers against special interests.”
American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, was Spartz’s largest donor, providing $18,400 through March 31.
Spartz has received fundraising help from several of her Republican House colleagues, which the Goodrich campaign spokesman Jon Hofer said in a statement meant she was “relying on her friends from Washington, D.C., to bail her out.”
Maryland Rep. Andy Harris and Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie both donated $2,000 to Spartz campaign, while Friends of Matt Gaetz, the campaign committee for the Florida representative, provided $1,000.
Political action groups tied to Louisiana Reps. Steve Scalise and Clay Higgins, New York Rep. Claudia Tenney, Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan and South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace each donated $5,000.
American Revival PAC, a fundraising committee for House Speaker Mike Johnson, also gave $5,000, and the House Conservatives Fund provided $1,000 to Spartz’s campaign.
Hofer said in a statement that “Chuck Goodrich is focused on issues that matter to Hoosiers.”
Goodrich received contributions from prominent Republican Indiana donors including Al Hubbard, who gave $3,300, and Bob Grand, who gave $1,000. He also received a $3,300 donation from Charles Schwab, the Palm Beach, Fla.-based chair of the financial company of the same name.
Sixth District
Last year, Shreve used some of the fortune he made as the founder of a successful self-storage company to self-fund $13.5 million of his mayoral campaign. So far, he’s completely funded his congressional campaign.
“Shreve is paying his own way,” a spokesperson for the Shreve campaign told IBJ in an email. “He’ll represent his home district in D.C. as the conservative voice for Hoosier families—and not the special interests that fund career politicians.”
The 6th District contains portions of Marion, Bartholomew and Randolph counties, and all of Johnson, Shelby, Hancock, Delaware, Rush, Fayette, Union and Wayne counties. There, seven Republicans are vying for the GOP nomination following U.S. Rep. Greg Pence’s decision to forgo another run for office.
Shreve spent just more than $3 million over the fundraising period, ending with $1.48 million cash-on-hand.
Carrier’s campaign touted that the candidate has the second-most cash left, with $739,238. He spent $114,091 over the period.
“The momentum behind Jamison Carrier’s campaign is growing by the day,” Kory Wood, senior adviser to the Carrier campaign, wrote in an email. “Jamison has never run for office, was only in the race for six weeks, and impressively raised six figures in that period, more than the rest of the GOP field. This signifies the tremendous amount of support Jamison has across our district and shows voters are looking for a true political outsider to fight for them in D.C.”
Speedy, the state representative, spent $681,190 to end the period with $658,274.
State Sen. Jeff Raatz, R-Richmond, is also vying for the seat. He raised $82,930 and loaned his campaign $5,000. After spending $14,343, he ended the period with $73,587 in cash.
Former state lawmaker John Jacob raised $20,731 and spent $3,470. He has $17,260 in cash.
Federal campaign finance reports were unavailable for two other candidates, Bill Frazier and Darin Childress.
The primary election is May 7.
