Yakym secures U.S. Rep. District 2 seat

Nov. 9—GOSHEN — Republican Rudy Yakym has secured his bid for U.S. Representative for District 2.

Yakym was one of three candidates seeking to secure the seat during Tuesday's general election.

With his win over challengers Paul Steury, D-Goshen, and William Henry, L-Goshen, Yakym will fill the seat most recently held by the late Congresswoman Jackie Walorski, who was killed in an Aug. 3 crash near Nappanee.

According to the preliminary vote tally, Yakym secured 30,608 votes to Steury's 12,722 votes and Henry's 1,005 votes.

"I am humbled to earn the support of Hoosiers and honored to be the 2nd District's next representative," Yakym said in an emailed statement following Tuesday's win. "As your next Congressman, I will stay focused on stoking the flames of success and ensure the work is done in Washington to deliver meaningful results for Hoosiers. I am confident that together, we can build a brighter and more prosperous future for our kids and grandkids so they, too, can reap all the benefits of the American Dream."

Steury also provided a few comments regarding his run during his watch party Tuesday evening at Ignition Music Garage in downtown Goshen.

"Overall, it's been fantastic," Steury said of the campaign experience. "I got lots of great support from all 11 counties. I got lots of new friends that will support me in my next run."

As for his future political prospects, Steury said he absolutely plans to run for office again in the future.

"Of course, yes, because I want to make sure that we help out the entire district, the foundation, the workers, the ones who are there to make this district the best it can be," he said.

So what does he say to his supporters moving forward?

"Let's not give up the hope. Lets keep it going. Let's work together. Let's keep the hope alive," he said. "I want to thank my staff. They've been a fantastic group who assisted me through this whole entire campaign, thick and thin. And I also want to thank my family, and especially my wife, for allowing me to run, and for allowing me to run again."

STATE REPRESENTATIVE DISTRICT 49

Incumbent State Representative for District 49 Joanna King, a Republican, also successfully secured her reelection bid during Tuesday's general election.

King had been facing a challenge for her seat from Democrat Amanda Qualls. According to the preliminary vote tally, King secured 10,348 votes to Qualls' 5,040 votes to take the win.

"It is an honor to represent the families in District 49. I take it pretty seriously, and I'm going to continue to work hard for the families in this district," King said via phone Tuesday evening. "I'm enjoying the process, and I certainly love being able to sit down and talk to people about things that they would like to see happen differently in the state.

"So, I'm just going to continue to give of my time to people in this community, and represent them well at the Indiana Statehouse," she added. "And I can't thank them enough for their vote of confidence. Obviously I think that's what the results say. That's what they say to me. So, it's just an honor to be serving families from this district."

This is King's first official election win for the seat, as she was caucused into the seat her first time around back in December of 2020 to replace Christy Stutzman, who resigned her seat to focus on her family's business.

John Kline can be reached at john.kline@goshennews.com or 574-533-2151, ext. 240315. Follow John on Twitter @jkline_TGN.