Two vying for late Jackie Walorski's seat spar over abortion, gun ownership in debate

While Rudy Yakym, the Republican candidate for Indiana's 2nd Congressional District seat made vacant by Jackie Walorski's death, chose to sit out a Tuesday night debate, his Libertarian opponent catered to moderates on abortion while Democrat Paul Steury took stands to restrict gun ownership and expand public health care.

Steury debated Libertarian William Henry, who was the lieutenant governor candidate on Donald Rainwater's 2020 Indiana gubernatorial campaign. Yakym, the 38-year-old frontrunner to replace Walorski, declined an invitation to participate in the debate, which was hosted by local voter advocacy groups. The three are competing for the seat in the Nov. 8 midterm election, for which early voting begins Oct. 12.

Steury, 59, is a former Goshen College assistant professor and teacher in an Elkhart alternative high school, while Henry is a U.S. Army veteran whose journalism in Afghanistan earned him a Bronze Star. Henry has since focused on veterans’ issues and wasteful government spending in Indiana.

Yakym was a campaign finance director for Walorski in 2011 and 2012 and is endorsed by the late congresswoman's husband, Dean Swihart.

Gun ownership restrictions

Main issues Henry and Steury disagreed on in Tuesday's debate were public health care programs and calls to restrict gun ownership after mass shootings like the one that killed 19 students and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.

Steury supports the Protecting Our Kids Act proposal, which would prohibit people under 21 from buying "weapons of war" and would ban large-capacity magazines. It would also make firearms trafficking a federal crime and hold people accountable for failing to safely store weapons.

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But Henry wants most federal gun laws repealed, he said. He believes in an "unopposed constitutional right to carry responsibly" and echoed a conservative stance that "good people" need weapons for self-defense in active-shooter scenarios.

"When seconds matter, the police are minutes away, and we must be able to act in the moment," Henry said, citing the extensively delayed law enforcement response at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde.

National abortion law proposed

In response to South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham's proposal to ban abortion nationally after 15 weeks of pregnancy, Henry said the June 24 Supreme Court decision on Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization intended for states to make laws governing abortion.

"It should remain left to the individual, their family and their doctors to decide best medical options for their futures," Henry said. "I believe the government should have no role in controlling or dictating our individual health care options made in private, and that includes vaccines, too."

Steury supports abortion access, calling Graham's proposal "horrible" along with Indiana's near-total abortion ban, which took effect Sept. 15 but is on pause after a judge halted the law. The judge said there's a "reasonable likelihood" that decisions about family planning ― including whether to carry a pregnancy to term ― are protected in the Indiana Constitution.

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Public health care expansion

While Henry wants the government to stay out of private industry including health care, Steury said he supports a 2021 proposal for Medicare for All. He said his work with at-risk youth has shown him the need for expanded health care access.

"As my church taught me to care (for) my neighbor as myself, I believe in health care for all, including mental health care," Steury said.

Henry is averse to public health care, citing the Veterans Administration as an example of government dysfunction that fails to provide adequately for citizens.

Election integrity

Steury said the primary threat to U.S. democracy is not unfounded claims of 2020 election fraud, but the erosion of voting access by Republican-led state legislatures.

He supports the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would restore and revitalize the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The aim is to prevent discriminatory practices that tend to inhibit access for non-white communities.

"Why do we constantly talk about fraud? Why do we constantly want to talk about taking away the opportunity for people to vote?" Steury said. He said he'd like to expand access to the polls.

Henry threw his support behind Jeff Mauer, a Libertarian candidate for secretary of state who proposes voting "receipts" and expanded audits of county election systems.

Until the system is reformed, "going to the polls and voting is your safest way to vote," he said.

District leans Republican

The 2nd District has grown more solidly Republican over the years and after redistricting. But while Walorski was expected to easily carry the seat through the decade, there's now more doubt about the race's outcome.

'Woman of strength':State, national figures honor Walorski for living with conviction

Walorski, who had served since 2012, won with only 49% of the 2nd District vote in her first race against Democrat Brendan Mullen, who earned 47.6% of votes. She had since surpassed 55% of the vote tally.

The last Democrat to represent the 2nd District was Joe Donnelly, who served three terms from 2006 to 2012 before becoming a U.S. senator.

Eligible voters have until Oct. 11 to register. Election Day is Nov. 8, with early voting beginning Oct. 12.

Email South Bend Tribune city reporter Jordan Smith at JTsmith@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jordantsmith09

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Indiana 2nd District candidates run for seat opened by Walorski death