By Dan Spalding
InkFreeNews

MISHAWAKA — Republicans quickly rallied around Rudy Yakym III Saturday, Aug. 20, to be their choice to lead Indiana’s 2nd Congressional District and run for Congress in the upcoming election following the death of U.S. Rep. Jackie Walorski.

Yakym, 38, a businessman from Granger and longtime ally of Walorski, gained endorsements from the Walorski family and others and quickly separated himself from 11 other candidates participating in two caucuses held at Grissom Middle School in Mishawaka on Saturday.

A special election will coincide with the Nov. 8 general election to fill out the remainder of the current term.

Walorski and three others died Aug. 3 in a crash near Nappanee.

As the caucus began, onlookers said they believed the voting could continue for hours if nobody reached the “50%-plus one” after the first round of voting.

Instead, Yakym collected twice as many votes as his closest competitor in the first round.

In the vote to represent the party on the November ballot, Yakym won 206 votes. Former Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill finished second with 86 votes. State Rep. Curt Nisly, of Milford, collected 31 votes and former State Rep. Christy Stutzman won 27 votes. Tiernan Kane finished with 11 votes. The remaining six candidates finished far behind.

The second vote to nominate somebody for the special election to fill out the remaining term was done with a voice vote after all of the other candidates withdrew.

“It’s pretty much unheard of,” said Tony Ciriello, Kosciusko County coroner and a precinct committeeman about the quick victory.

Saturday’s caucuses ended a furious one-week campaign aimed largely at 500 precinct committee members eligible to vote in the caucuses.

Yakym will face off against Democrat Paul Steury and Libertarian William Henry in the November election.

“We have 80 days to do it, but we will not be outworked or out-organized,” Yakym said afterward.

Numerous people said the support of the Walorski family, including Walorski’s husband, Dean Swihart, made the difference.

He was also endorsed by State Rep. Tim Wesco, State Sen. Andy Zay, Elkhart County Councilman Adam Bujalski and Martha Walorski, the mother of Jackie Walorski.

“Having support from Dean was very powerful for Rudy,” said State Republican Chairman Kyle Hupfer. “I wasn’t surprised by the outcome.”

Hupfer said he believes the party’s “very unified” and expressed confidence in the upcoming campaign.

“He’s young and has a ton of enthusiasm. You’ll see him working very hard across the district,” Hupfer said.

Swihart introduced Yakym before the vote and described him as a “pro-Trump, pro-life and a Christian family man” whom he believes is capable of continuing Jackie’s legacy.

“Rudy and I had a brutally honest conversation about what it would mean to continue the work in D.C. That’s not backing down from a fight, never losing site of your principles and beliefs, and always putting the people of the 2nd District first,” Swihart said.

Yakym said he was honored to have the support of the Walorskis.

He said he’s grateful to have the opportunity and promised to push back against policies that are causing inflation.

Speeches and introductions took nearly 90 minutes.

Stutzman was introduced by her husband Marlin Stutzman who previously represented Indiana’s 3rd District.

Christy Stutzman served one term in the General Assembly, but resigned shortly after being reelected so she could focus attention on the family’s business, The Barns at Nappanee, right as the COVID-19 pandemic arrived.

Marlin Stutzman defended the move and said it was necessary after business partners backed out from the business.

“Some call her a quitter. Let me be clear. She’s no quitter. She’s a principled fighter who chose people over politics. She will not embarrass you in D.C. and she will never go swampy,” Marlin Stutzman said.

Hill told delegates he’s a proven fighter, saying “a real warrior is covered by the blood of valor.”

Hill described himself as a threat to power brokers and pledged to fight for constituents.

“Send me to Washington to protect our nation and restore our freedoms and I’ll fight for election integrity, I’ll fight to secure our borders and I’ll even be there to keep an eye on the FBI,” Hill said.

Nisly, a four-term state representative who lost his reelection bid earlier this year, was the first to announce his bid for Congress.

He pledged to reduce the federal government budget to tasks outlined in the U.S Constitution.

Afterward, he met with a large contingent of supporters wearing Nisly campaign shirts and talked about the importance of selecting and supporting precinct committee members whom they align with on their issues.

Dallas Barkman, of Goshen, was the first candidate to speak and led off complaining about “fake news” before claiming liberals had taken over Goshen and brought with it a new level of gun violence.

He proposed constructing new large facilities to handle immigration and said the nation needs a “freedom reset.”

Other candidates included Terry Harper, of Granger; Michael Hogberg, of Lakeville; Scott Huffman, of Plymouth; Daniel Koors, Wabash; Marvin Layne, of North Liberty; and Scott Wise, of Columbia City.