By Lilli Dwyer
InkFree News

KOSCIUSKO COUNTY — Ten candidates are seeking the position of U.S. Representative, Third District — two Democrats and eight Republicans. The Republican candidates are Grant Bucher, Wendy Davis, Mike Felker, Jon Kenworthy, Tim Smith, Marlin Stutzman, Eric Whalen and Andy Zay. The Democrat hopefuls are Kiley M. Adolph and Phil Goss.

Republican candidates are:

Grant Bucher

Grant Bucher was born in Bluffton.

He earned an engineering degree from Purdue University and MBA from Indiana University.

Bucher’s career has been spent in the construction industry. He worked for Shambaugh & Son for over a decade and now works at Weigand Construction, managing projects in Steuben County and at Hillsdale College.

Wendy Davis

Wendy Davis, a Fort Wayne native, has spent the past 12 years as a Judge for the state of Indiana, the first woman to become an Allen Circuit Court Judge.

She attended Illinois’ Wheaton College and continued her education at Valparaiso University School of Law, completing her J.D. at Saint Mary’s Law School in San Antonio, Texas.

During her time as judge, she was appointed to the Governor’s Task Force on Drug Enforcement, Treatment and Prevention.

Mike Felker

Mike Felker is a native Hoosier who lives and works in Warsaw. He is currently employed as a maintenance technician in the orthopedic industry and has been for the past 17 years.

He is retired from a 20-year career in the Army National Guard, with two combat deployments in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Jon Kenworthy

Jon Kenworthy was born in Fort Wayne and graduated from Concordia Lutheran High School.

He served in the U.S. Army from 2003 to 2011, after which he earned a bachelor’s degree from Indiana University-Purdue University, Fort Wayne.

Kenworthy’s career experience includes working as a legislative staffer; advising, conducting oversight and crafting policy for U.S. Senators Dan Coats and Mike Braun.

Tim Smith

Tim Smith was raised in New Haven. He attended New Haven High School and graduated from Indiana University-Purdue University, Fort Wayne, then went on to IU McKinney School of Law.

Smith spent 25 years as a senior leader of malpractice insurance company MedPro Group and now serves as the CEO of nonprofit Lasting Change, Inc.

Marlin Stutzman

Former congressman Marlin Stutzman is a fourth-generation farmer. He grew up on farms in both Saint Joseph County, Mich., and LaGrange County. He graduated from Lake Area Christian High School in Sturgis, Mich. and attended Trine University.

Stutzman represented the Third District from 2010 to 2017, during which time he was a member of the House Freedom Caucus. He was a member of the Financial Services Committee, Agriculture Committee, the Budget Committee, Veterans Affairs Committee, and the dean of Indiana’s Republican delegation.

Stutzman was also a member of the Indiana State Senate from 2009 to 2010 and the Indiana House of Representatives from 2002 to 2008.

Eric Whalen

Eric Whalen is an Adams County resident.

No other biographical information is available at this time.

Andy Zay

Andy Zay was born and raised in Huntington. After attending Indiana University, he went on to manage Zay Leasing & Rentals, Inc., a third-generation family business. He also serves as the president of the Indiana Independent Car Dealers Association.

Zay took office in 2016 and is a member of the Commerce and Technology Committee, Environmental Affairs Committee, Pensions and Labor Committee and Utilities Committee.

He earned a master’s degree from IU’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs in 2023.

Democrat candidates are:

Kiley M. Adolph

Kiley Adolph graduated from Angola High School and earned a bachelor’s degree from Trine, her hometown university. She also earned an M.A. in teaching from the University of Southern California, and a global executive doctoral degree from the University of Southern California.

In addition, Adolph completed an executive program at the Center for Public and Nonprofit Leadership at Georgetown University and a Women’s Leadership Program at the University of Oxford.

Her career experience includes working in education and the nonprofit sector.

Phil Goss

Phil Goss was raised in Evansville. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Wabash College and a graduate degree from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland.

Goss has worked as a teacher and with a Fascell Fellowship with the State Department, where he worked on immigrant visas and facilitating adoptions of Eastern European children into American families. He later worked at Poland’s TV Linguaa, doing televised language instruction.

Goss continues to be employed remotely by a Polish company while managing his fourth-generation family farm in Fort Wayne.