Indiana's 9th District: New face and new boundaries

Nov. 5—Indiana's 9th District in the U.S. House will start 2023 with a new face and a new configuration.

Republican Trey Hollingsworth, who had represented the district since 2017, began the year by announcing he would not seek re-election.

While Hollingsworth represented the 9th District, it won't be the same 9th District that the winner of the election Tuesday will represent when sworn in Jan. 3.

The Indiana General Assembly redrew the boundaries for each of Indiana's nine House districts with the new lines to take effect in 2023. Clark and Floyd counties remained in the 9th District.

The new district is bounded on the east by the border with the state of Ohio as far north as Franklin County, by the Ohio River on the south as far as Harrison County, on the west by Washington, Jackson and Brown counties and takes in a piece of Bartholomew County as well as all of Decatur County. In total, 18 counties in whole or part are in the redrawn 9th District.

There are three candidates for the 9th District seat on the ballot — Republican Erin Houchin, Democrat Matt Fyfe and Libertarian Tonya Mills.

Erin Houchin

Houchin has been in elective office since 2014. She has represented the 47th District in the State Senate, which included all of Crawford, Orange, Harrison, Perry and Washington counties, and the eastern half of Dubois County.

She was a member of the Senate committees on Commerce & Technology, Elections, Family & Children Services, Homeland Security & Transportation, Utilities, and Veterans Affairs & the Military.

She received a bachelor's degree from Indiana University and holds a master's degree in political management from The George Washington University.

She was a Southeast Indiana regional director for Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Coats and a governor's appointee to the Indiana Commission for Women.

She has held numerous leadership positions in the Republican Party, including vice chairman of the Washington County Republican Party, 9th District Chairman for the Indiana Republican Party, and 9th District Chairman of the Indiana Federation of Republican Women.

Houchin is a small-business owner who lives in Salem with her husband, Dustin, and their three children.

Matt Fyfe

Fyfe is a lifelong Hoosier from a small farming community who is making his first run for political office.

He often cites his typical rural Hoosier upbringing: His mom worked various jobs in schools and his dad worked 45 years on the railroad to support their middle-class family with union benefits and pay.

Fyfe says his parents taught him "the value of working hard, the joy that comes from helping others, and the importance of standing up for what's right."

He lives in Bloomington with his wife and three children. He is a high school math teacher and holds a Master's in Education Policy. He is a leader in his local teachers union and currently is fighting "for good wages, working conditions, benefits, and retirement as a part of my union."

His website says he "believes public education is a bedrock of our society, allowing the possibility for any student to achieve the American Dream."

Fyfe said he strives for every student who walks into his classroom to succeed — to know that with effort and positive encouragement "we can reach our goals and build a stronger community."

He said his experiences have "given him a strong belief in the power of people to build a better world for themselves, their families, and their communities."

Tonya Millis

Millis, who lives in Mitchell, says that if elected it will be her "honor to go to Washington, D.C., and give the people in my district a 'real voice,'" unlike what she said the district has had before.

Millis said she was an active child while growing up in Indiana and involved in many organizations and activities such as Girl Scouts, gymnastics and cheerleading.

She said she always strived to protect the downtrodden.

"I have lived in the beautiful hills of Southern Indiana for 25 years," she says on her campaign website. "I am a mother, grandmother and am Pro Life. I also know that, Constitutionally, Big Brother in DC should stay out of the People's personal business. I am proud to be endorsed by the Libertarian Party Pro-Life Caucus as well as LibertyProLife.

"I revere and respect the U.S. Constitution. I am a proud Libertarian." She is now vice chair of the Libertarian Party of Lawrence County.

Millis worked at Brown County High School as an aide in the nurse's office before she became a real estate broker.

"My life's journey and experiences have prepared me to run for office in 2020, and again in 2022," she said on her website. "Now is the time for me to represent the people of Southern Indiana in Washington, DC., stand up for the U.S. Constitution and be a 'real voice' for Indiana's District 9."

WHAT WOULD THEY DO?

The News and Tribune asked each candidate four questions relevant to what awaits whoever is elected. Below are their full responses:

QUESTION: If elected, your primary focus will be to serve the 9th District of Indiana. What do you see as the greatest needs in the district and how do you plan to try to fulfill those needs?

HOUCHIN: The primary immediate focus of the office will simply be pushing back against the Biden Administration and far-left policies that are ruining our country. In recent years, we have strayed away from what built America and what makes us strong. We've thrown fiscal sanity out the window, spending what we can't afford on programs we don't need and have no plan to financially cover. We're ignoring our national security, completely failing to protect the Southern border, allowing unvetted criminals and dangerous drugs to flow into our country. We've become a laughingstock to countries around the globe, continuing to outsource production of vital products, crippling our supply chain and natural gas production, and becoming beholden to countries like China and Russia, whose values couldn't be further from our own. We must once again become the strong and respected country we were just a few years ago.

FYFE: After speaking with tens of thousands of voters, limiting my work to just one priority isn't going to cut it. We need to make changes to improve the economy for workers, the middle class, and the entrepreneurs opening small businesses. We need to improve our schools and education system. We need to find ways to improve access and affordability of health and mental health care. We need to fight against the well-funded, powerful entities that so often corrupt our representatives and take them away from everyday folks. These short- and long-term changes are complex, but need to happen simultaneously. I know I can make an immediate and positive impact for our schools. I also pledge to fight against career politicians and work to never become one myself. I will never take large lobbyist money or national party money — I want to be a representative beholden to Hoosier voters only. I also pledge to hold town halls in each of the 18 counties every year and be in each county quarterly. If you want a representative who will be here for us — for Hoosiers — vote for me on November 8th.

MILLIS: My priorities are to 1) Roll back the high debt and deficit by insisting on a balanced budget 2) Eliminate the IRS and federal income tax by going back to revenue sent to the U.S. Treasury by the States. I propose a consumption tax at the state level 3) Roll back the pesky rules and regulations that stifle our freedoms and liberties. More information can be found at my website, tonyaforcongress.com

QUESTION: If the House majority becomes Republican after this election, the fate of the Jan. 6 committee is expected to be a topic before the chamber. Some Republicans have proposed the committee be disbanded and its current investigations end. Others have proposed the committee remain active but its focus turn from Jan. 6 and toward other investigations. What do you think should happen with the Jan. 6 committee?

HOUCHIN: I support holding those who break our laws accountable, but aggressively oppose attempts from Congress and others to spearhead years-long witch hunts for political gain. Congress is a revered institution and should keep their focus on tackling the most critical issues affecting Americans — including fighting against reckless spending and soaring inflation, strengthening our economy, military, and national security, and improving access to health care and education.

FYFE: The Jan. 6th committee should continue its investigations until their conclusions are finalized. There was an attack on our United States Capitol, and our nation needs to hold those responsible for that attack accountable. That seems like plain and simple justice to me, and I'm curious why anybody wouldn't want that to happen.

MILLIS: It is my understanding the Jan. 6 Committee is about to wrap up its investigation and should do so during the 117th Congress. It should not linger into the 118th Congress but if it does, it should have an end date set.

QUESTION: President Biden said less than two weeks ago that, depending on the outcome of the election, he will send a bill to Congress to codify abortion rights into law. Do you think abortion rights should be in federal law?

HOUCHIN: I am proud to have a record in the State Senate of being 100% Pro Life and am honored to be endorsed by Indiana Right to Life and the National Right to Life PAC in our campaign for Congress.

FYFE: Abortion rights should be federal law. The ZIP code and state you're born in shouldn't determine your access to care or your ability to govern your own body.

MILLIS: As a Libertarian, I am a constitutionalist. I think that under Article IV (and 10th Amendment), this should not be federal law until and unless the People overwhelmingly want it to be so.

QUESTION: This Supreme Court has been the subject of much discussion and criticism for its decisions but none more so than the reversal of Roe vs. Wade. The White House has indicated that it would consider term limits for justices. Would you support that action?

HOUCHIN: Supreme Court justices, and all federal judges, serve lifetime appointments to the court unless they choose otherwise. Presidents from both major parties have had opportunities to appoint justices to the court, with the advice and consent of Congress. These nominations, and subsequent public vetting processes, generally reflect the climate of the country at any given time, and I support maintaining current practice.

FYFE: It disheartens me to see the highest court in our land become politically divisive. I would like to see any positive changes that continue to hold that court to standards above the partisan world as much as possible. With that in mind, I would strongly consider term limits for Supreme Court justices. I think the main reason this is good is because it would set up a routine process for nominating and appointing justices. If every president is appointing one or two justices to replace those at the end of a term, then there is less randomness in the process. No justice would try to stay on the bench longer than necessary to keep the court more evenly split, and it would be harder for any legislative body to manipulate the appointment process for political gain.

MILLIS: No. Changing the terms of the Supreme Court justices would require a Constitutional amendment.