Eight candidates are running in the Republican primary for Indiana’s 8th Congressional District. Four lead in media attention: John Hostettler (R), Dominick Kavanaugh (R), Mark Messmer (R), and Kristi Risk (R).
Incumbent Larry Bucshon (R), who was first elected in 2016, is not running for re-election. This is the first open race in the district since 2016.
Hostettler represented the 8th Congressional District from 1995 to 2007. In the 2006 general election, then-Vanderburgh County Sheriff Brad Ellsworth (D) defeated Hostettler 61% to 39%. Hostettler said he sees parallels between the status of the U.S. now and when he was first elected to Congress. “We have a Democrat president embroiling us in a military conflict in Eastern Europe that presents absolutely no national security interest of the United States,” said Hostettler.
