JEFFERSONVILLE, Indiana — Polls open bright and early in Indiana on Tuesday.
WHAS11 News looked at the 9th District, a closely watched race.
We spoke to three Republican candidates who have different messages, but they all agree it's time for new representation in Washington D.C. Also, though they name varying concerns Hoosiers have, the economy is at the top of each of their lists.
Indiana's 9th District primary race consists of nine Republicans and three Democrats, all vying to win Tuesday’s vote, though a Republican will most likely win in November. Several of the GOP candidates strongly embrace former president Donald Trump.
Erin Houchin, a Republican frontrunner in the race, just stepped down from the Indiana State Senate after 8 years. She said her experience makes her qualified and she's aligned herself with the former president.
"I'm the only candidate running in this race that has a proven record of fighting for our conservative values on behalf of this district,” she said.
Stu Barnes-Israel, another GOP frontrunner, is a U.S. Army veteran and says Hoosiers need new leaders.
"The career politicians in this election will put themselves first. They'll put their careers first,” he said. “They'll put their legacies first, and I'll put Hoosiers first every single day in Congress."
On the main issues, they pitch similar and differing views.
"Pushing back against mandates, election security, inflation, gas prices and groceries, energy independence and border security,” Houchin said of the top concerns among voters.
"We need to fix our economy. We need to secure our border and we need to make our community safe,” Barnes-Israel said.
Eric Schansberg, another Republican candidate, said as a professor of economics at Indiana University Southeast, he has a unique perspective.
"We have to get spending under control, we've got turn things around with the deficit or no one's going to like where that takes us and I think it is important to have people that are knowledgeable and are willing to be not just a vote, but a voice in these things in Washington D.C.” he said.
They all said win or lose, they will serve the 9th District.
The other frontrunning Republican in the race is Southern Indiana trucking company owner Mike Sodrel. His campaign told WHAS11 News he was not available to comment Monday night.
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