2nd District Congressional Race Draws Four Candidates
By Keith Knepp
InkFreeNews
MILFORD — Four candidates, two Democrats and two Republicans, have filed the necessary paperwork to appear on their party’s respective primary ballots. The primary election in Indiana has been rescheduled for Tuesday, June 2, and requires voters to choose either the Democrat or Republican ballot, allows party members to select their candidates to appear on the general ballot for the election to be held Tuesday, Nov. 3.
Following is a list of candidates seeking their party’s nomination:
Democrats
Pat Hackett, South Bend — Hackett has spent four decades serving the people of northern Indiana as teacher, attorney, and civic leader. She worked in the law firms of Barnes and Thornburg and Baker and Daniels, and served as in-house counsel for Holy Cross Health System/Trinity Health Corporation. She opened Hackett & Associates in 2006 and also currently serves as an adjunct assistant professor in the Notre Dame Law School, is a former adjunct faculty at St. Mary’s College, and former teacher at Marian High School.
According to her website, “Congress is our first branch of government under our constitution — not the executive or judicial branches. I will not accept corporate PAC money in this campaign and, when in Congress, campaign finance reform will be my highest priority. I will be your advocate, not the advocate of corrupt special interests, whether pursuing health care for all, just wages and worker’s rights, responsible environmental and gun laws, or addressing the other serious issues confronting us as a nation.”
Ellen Marks, South Bend — Marks is a partner in the corporate and finance departments of Latham & Watkins, but is currently on leave to run as a full-time congressional candidate. She is active in the business law section of the American Bar Association and is the immediate past chair of the Committee on Securitization and Structured Finance. She also serves as co-chair for the Securitization Financial Industry Group’s legal counsel committee. Marks is an alumna of Northwestern University and the University of Michigan Law School and holds an MFA from Vermont College.
“I am running to increase access to affordable health care for all Americans, enact science-based solutions to battle climate change, and to help create a fairer economy for all workers,” noted Marks via email. “I bring decades of private sector experience navigating complex financial procedures, and am the best person in this race to remake the 18% of our economy that is the health care industry and set America on a clear path toward a new, green energy economy.”
Republicans
Christopher Davis, Mishawaka — Davis is a signal maintainer currently working for Norfolk Southern Railway in Elkhart. He is a 2008 graduate of Penn High School in and worked various trades including an electrical helper at Koontz Wagner, a fleet mechanic and mild fabricator at Peerless Midwest prior to starting his career at Norfolk Southern in 2015.
“Working in various union and non-union jobs I realized so many of my fellow workers felt like Washington helped nobody but themselves, while the everyday worker gets left behind,” said Davis via email. “I look forward to tackling the issues that matter most to the average worker and small business in our district.”
Jackie Walorski, Jimtown — Walorski currently serves in the U.S. House of Representatives for Indiana’s Second Congressional District. She was first elected to Congress in 2012, and currently serves on the House Ways and Means Committee. She previously served on House Armed Services Committee, the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, the House Budget Committee and the House Agriculture Committee, where she chaired the Nutrition Subcommittee.
“I work every day toward common-sense solutions to grow our economy, strengthen our national security, and ensure our veterans get the services and care they earned,” noted Walorski via her campaign website. “As a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, I am committed to fixing our broken tax code, improving health care to put patients first, expanding opportunities for businesses to grow and create good jobs, and helping individuals and families lift themselves out of poverty.”