Pence
Rep. Greg Pence, R-Indiana, was re-elected Tuesday night for a third term representing Indiana’s Sixth Congressional District.
In Bartholomew County, Pence, 65, a Columbus native and older brother of former Vice President Mike Pence, received 60.47% of the vote, while Democratic nominee and former teacher Cinde Wirth, 53, received 39.43%. The district, however, includes other counties.
The Associated Press and other news outlets called the race in favor of Rep. Pence. As of 9:15 p.m., The New York Times reported that Pence had received 67% of the vote, with 44% of the votes in.
Pence did not respond to a request to comment on his victory, and there were no statements immediately posted on his campaign or social media accounts at deadline Tuesday night.
Wirth, for her part, said she is “proud” of her campaign.
“We ran an incredible grassroots campaign,” Wirth said after her defeat Tuesday night. “I’m very proud of the campaign that we did run, and I am just very, very grateful to everyone who voted, volunteered, encouraged and donated. It means the world that there are so many people who believe that we need to protect democracy and protect women’s rights, and, you know, rally behind me to try to get that done. I’m just very grateful for all the support, and I’m very thankful for all the people who stepped up to help, and we look forward to holding Mr. Pence accountable for his votes the next term.”
In October, Pence told The Franklin Daily Journal — The Republic’s sister newspaper — that “inflation, inflation, inflation” is the most pressing issue facing Indiana’s Sixth Congressional District. Pence has touted deregulation — particularly in the energy sector — as a way to combat inflation.
“Legislatively is fighting inflation, and that would be vis-à-vis deregulation,” Rep. Pence told The Daily Journal. “We have to let the market come back in and solve some of these problems. We’ve really shut down, particularly in the energy world. I live in the county, and I pay for my trash pickup. It’s usually $60-some dollars. Now because of fuel surcharges, a week ago Sunday, I paid $100.14 with $40 fuel surcharge.”
Pence, however, did not respond to numerous requests from The Republic for comment on other campaign issues, including his views on tens of millions of dollars in federal funding for his district that he voted against and his support for efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in Pennsylvania.
Wirth’s campaign, on the other hand, focused on support for public education, environmental issues, affordable healthcare, abortion rights, incrementally raising the minimum wage, “common-sense gun laws,” among other things.
Rep. Pence won re-election in 2020, defeating Democratic nominee Jeanine Lee Lake with 68.7% of the vote. He won his first bid for Congress in 2018, defeating Lake with 63.8% of the vote.
