An Indianapolis man will serve as the next congressman from Indiana’s 6th District, defeating challenges from a Democrat and a Libertarian.
Jefferson Shreve, a southside businessman and former Indianapolis mayoral candidate, will succeed outgoing U.S. Rep. Greg Pence, R-Indiana. Shreve, 59, received 47,352 Johnson County votes, while Democrat Cinde Wirth of Columbus and Libertarian James Sceniak of Greenwood received 22,171 and 3,177 votes, respectively. There were also 39 write-in votes.
While vote totals from other counties within Indiana’s Sixth Congressional District — Bartholomew, Fayette, Hancock, Henry, Randolph, Rush, Shelby, Union and Wayne counties, along with the southern townships of Indianapolis — were not yet finalized, the Associated Press called the race for Shreve at 8:38 p.m. Tuesday.
“It’s humbling when you watch people line up for three hours on a weekend to cast their vote,” Shreve said Tuesday night at the Johnson County GOP watch party. “That is democracy in action.”
Priorities for Shreve include fiscal and border security. In interviews, Shreve said he’ll focus on securing the U.S. southern border and fixing “our broken immigration system.”
Shreve also said he’ll continue to support law enforcement so they have the tools to keep communities safe. He plans to work with Republican leadership to “rein in inflation and stop reckless federal spending.”
Wirth said it was a “great race” and that she was thrilled with Shreve’s professionalism and “Hoosier spirit.”
“We connected many times on the campaign trail over the last couple of weeks, and we really enjoyed getting to know each other,” Wirth said. “I’m looking forward to holding all of our elected officials accountable for making people’s lives better in Indiana and across the nation, and I think a lot of voters are right there with me, whether they’re Republicans, Democrats, independents, Libertarians.
In a statement, Sceniak said “thank you” to the voters of the 6th District, adding that he was “honored” to be on their ballot and receive votes.
“I do not take earning your trust, confidence, and vote, lightly,” Sceniak said. “My fight for liberty, fiscal responsibility, and for veteran affairs will continue past this election season. Congratulations to Shreve on winning the 6th district.”
Shreve is “honored” to have the opportunity to represent the nearly 800,000 people who live in the 6th District. He feels “fired up” to get to work, he said.
“It’s extraordinary, but the challenges before the next Congress are extraordinary. So we need … new people coming in that are fired up and ready to take on those challenges,” Shreve said.
“It’s a team effort. I aim to be part of a governing majority, and with that, we can turn this around. We can fix the problems that we have to address; that we can’t kick the can down the field anymore. I’m eager to be part of that,” he added.
Shreve also expressed appreciation to the press for coverage of the race.
HOW YOU VOTED
James Sceniak (L): 4.4%
Jefferson Shreve (R): 65.1%
Cynthia “Cinde” Wirth (D): 30.5%
Write-ins: less than 1%
Note: These results are Johnson County only.
Reporter Andy East, of The (Columbus) Republic, contributed to this report.
