Jackie Walorski

Jacqueline R. Walorski /wəˈlɔːrski/ (born August 13, 1963) is an American politician who has been the U.S. Representative for Indiana's 2nd congressional district since 2013. She is a member of the Republican Party, and she was a member of the Indiana House of Representatives, representing Indiana's 21st district, from 2005 to 2010. In 2010, Walorski won the Republican nomination for Indiana's 2nd congressional district, but narrowly lost in the general election to Democratic incumbent Joe Donnelly. In 2012, Walorski won the seat after Donnelly vacated it to run for the U.S. Senate.

Jackie Walorski
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Indiana's 2nd district
Assumed office
January 3, 2013
Preceded byJoe Donnelly
Member of the Indiana House of Representatives
from the 21st district
In office
January 5, 2005 – November 16, 2010
Preceded byRichard W. Mangus
Succeeded byTimothy Wesco
Personal details
Born (1963-08-13) August 13, 1963
South Bend, Indiana, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)Dean Swihart
EducationLiberty University
Taylor University (BA)
WebsiteHouse website

Early life, education, and career

Born in South Bend, Indiana on August 13, 1963,[1] Walorski grew up with her two older brothers in the city's Gilmer Park neighborhood. Her mother, Martha C. (née Martin), worked as a meat cutter at a local grocery store, and her father, Raymond B. Walorski, worked as a firefighter and owned an appliance store.[2][3] She has Polish and German ancestry.[4] As a child, she attended Hay Elementary School and graduated from Riley High School in 1981.[2] She then attended Liberty Baptist College from 1981–83, and graduated from Taylor University, receiving her B.A. in Communications and Public Administration in 1985.[5]

Walorski began her career as a television reporter for WSBT-TV, a CBS affiliate in South Bend, from 1985 to 1989, and was the executive director of the St. Joseph County Humane Society from 1989-91.[6] Walorski was appointed as the director of institutional advancement at Ancilla College in 1991, a position she held until she was appointed as the director of membership at the St. Joseph County Chamber of Commerce in 1996.[5] She later worked as the director of annual giving at Indiana University South Bend from 1997-99.[4]

Walorski moved to Romania in 2000 and founded Impact International, a foundation to provide medical supplies and attention to impoverished children.[7] Walorski did Christian missionary work in Romania before returning to the U.S. in 2004.[8]

Indiana House of Representatives

Elections

In 2004, Walorski ran for a seat in the Indiana House of Representatives after incumbent Republican State Representative Richard Mangus decided to retire. She ran for Indiana's 21st District, a district which represented the suburban area between South Bend and Elkhart. Walorski defeated Democrat Carl H. Kaser 64%–36%.[9] In 2006, she won a second term with 53% of the vote.[10] In 2008, she won a third term unopposed.[11]

Tenure

During her tenure in the Indiana House, Walorski was a sponsor of Indiana's Voter ID law, requiring voters to present Government issued identification during in person voting.[4] The Voter ID law led to many lawsuits and was brought before the Supreme Court, where the law was upheld in Crawford v. Marion County Election Board, and is cited as helping the expansion of Voter ID laws in other states.[12]

Walorski has been criticized for missing a committee vote and the opportunity for stopping the Daylight Saving Time bill from passing out of committee, even though that bill died on the House floor.[13][14] After a different bill passed introducing DST, she authored and introduced a bill to rescind DST, a measure that ended up dying.[14]

Walorski authored legislation combating identity theft, including in 2006 when she sponsored a bill requiring companies to notify customers who are Indiana residents, of any security breaches that could cause identity theft, identity deception or fraud, and making it a Class C felony and imposing a $50,000 fine on anyone who has the identities of over 100 persons.[15] With Walorski saying that "Identity theft is the most rapidly growing crime in the United States. We need to find a solution to this problem before it gets any bigger in Indiana."[16]

Committee assignments

Walorski became active in the caucus and was appointed as Assistant Floor Leader. She served on the Family, Children, & Human Affairs and the Public Policy committees.[18]

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections
2010
See also: 2010 United States House of Representatives elections in Indiana § District 2

On January 31, 2009, Walorski formally announced her bid to challenge incumbent Democratic U.S. Congressman Joe Donnelly in Indiana's 2nd congressional district. Walorski won the Republican primary on May 4, 2010[19] with 61% of the votes,[20] defeating opponents Martin Dolan, Jack Jordan, and Tony Zirkle.[21] She was defeated, 48%–47% on November 2, 2010 by Donnelly.[22]

2012
See also: 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Indiana § District 2

On March 22, 2011, Walorski announced that she would run for Indiana's 2nd Congressional District again. Over the Indiana legislature's 2011-2013 legislative session, the predominantly Republican Indiana House and Senate redrew Indiana's congressional districts. After redistricting, the newly drawn 2nd district included all Elkhart County, Walorski's home county, and the demographics of the new district included more registered Republican voters. [23] Had the district existed under these lines in 2008, Barack Obama would have won it by just 0.3 percentage point, 49.6 percent to John McCain's 49.3 percent.[24] In contrast, he won the old 2nd with 54 percent of the vote.[25]

Incumbent Democratic Congressman Donnelly decided not to seek re-election, opting instead to run for the U.S. Senate.[26] Walorski ran against Libertarian candidate Joe Ruiz of Mishawaka[27] and Democratic candidate Brendan Mullen of Granger, an Iraq War veteran.

On May 8, 2012, Walorski easily won the primary election with 73% of the vote, winning all 10 counties in the 2nd District.[28] Many articles have been written about Walorski's role as a woman running for Congress.[29]

Walorski defeated Mullen 49%–48%,[30] likely helped by Mitt Romney carrying her district with 56 percent of the vote.[31] She took office on January 3, 2013. At the same time, Donnelly was elected to the Senate.[32]

Walorski has received endorsements from the National Federation of Small Business and the U.S. and Indiana Chambers of Commerce.

Committee assignments

Caucus memberships

Political positions

Defense

On May 25, 2018, Walorski introduced legislation to double the death gratuity paid to the families of service members killed on active duty. The legislation would increase the current death gratuity of $100,000 to $200,000. Under the bill, at least 60% of the benefit would be paid to the surviving spouse. Service members could choose how the remaining 40 percent would be disbursed. The bill would also cap death benefits for members of Congress at $74,000. This would result in a payment of about $100,000 less than what would be paid under the current system.[36]

Health care

Walorski voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.[37]

Taxes and spending

Walorski has advocated privatizing Social Security. In March 2010 she said, "I think the one thing we have to do is the thing that Bush actually tried to do a couple years ago, which is privatize Social Security and allow people to invest in their own retirement."[38]

Walorski voted in favor of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.[39]

Trade

In a statement released on May 31, 2018, Walorski announced her opposition to tariffs on goods imported from American allies. She said that such duties threaten American businesses and workers. Tariffs announced the same day by the Trump administration were the impetus for her statement. These include a 25-percent tariff on steel and a 10-percent tariff on aluminum. Walorski also asked that system for granting exclusions for certain kinds of products be accelerated. Walorski and 15 other members of House Committee on Ways and Means also addressed a letter to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross asking that companies that successfully apply for exclusion receive rebates on tariffs already paid while their applications were pending; President Trump signed an executive order to ensure such refunds take place.[40]

Abortion

In 2015, Walorski rejected the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, a bill banning Late termination of pregnancy, an abortion procedure given beyond 20 weeks into a pregnancy.[41] In 2013, Walorski had said she would support a ban on late-term abortions.[42]

In October 2017, Walorski asked the Indiana State Department of Health to deny an application to open an abortion clinic in South Bend. Walorski said the clinic would undermine efforts to reduce the number of abortions in the area.[43]

Interest group ratings

Walorski was given a "D" rating in 2016 from marijuana legalization advocacy group NORML for her voting history regarding cannabis-related causes.[44]

Walorski has a 63 percent rating from Heritage Action for America based on her conservative voting record.[45]

Immigration

Walorski supported President Donald Trump's 2017 executive order to impose a temporary ban on entry to the U.S. to citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries. She believes that it "will allow our national security officials to examine the vetting process and strengthen safeguards to prevent terrorists from entering our homeland."[46]

Personal life

In 1995, Walorski married her husband, Dean Swihart, a schoolteacher in Mishawaka.[18] She resides in Jimtown, an unincorporated suburban community west of Elkhart, and is a member of South Gate Church, an Assemblies of God megachurch in South Bend.[47]

Honors

Walorski has been awarded the following foreign honor:

Electoral history
2004
Indiana House of Representatives, 21st District, 2004 [50]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Republican Jackie Walorski 13,745 64%
Democratic Carl H. Kaser 7,728 36%
Turnout 21,437
Republican hold Swing
2006
Indiana House of Representatives, 21st District, 2006 [51]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Republican Jackie Walorski 8,899 53%
Democratic Robert Kovach 7,980 47%
Turnout 16,879
Republican hold Swing
2008
Indiana House of Representatives, 21st District, 2008 [52]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Republican Jackie Walorski 17,605 99%
N/A Clyde James (Write-in) 232 1%
Turnout 17,837
Republican hold Swing
2010
Indiana's 2nd congressional district election, 2010 [53]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Democratic Joe Donnelly (incumbent) 91,341 48%
Republican Jackie Walorski 88,803 47%
Libertarian Mark Vogel 9,447 5%
Turnout 189,591 41%
Democratic hold Swing
2012
Indiana's 2nd congressional district election, 2012 [54]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Republican Jackie Walorski 134,033 49%
Democratic Brendan Mullen 130,113 48%
Libertarian Joe Ruiz 9,326 3%
N/A Kenneth R. Luntz, Jr. (Write-in) 3 0%
Turnout 273,475 56%
Republican gain from Democratic Swing
2014
Indiana's 2nd congressional district election, 2014 [54]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Republican Jackie Walorski (incumbent) 85,119 59%
Democratic Joe Bock 55,331 38%
Libertarian Jeff Petermann 3,992 3%
Turnout 144,442
Republican hold Swing
2016
Indiana's 2nd congressional district election, 2016 [54]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Republican Jackie Walorski (incumbent) 164,355 59%
Democratic Lynn Coleman 102,401 37%
Libertarian Ron Cenkush 10,601 4%
Turnout 277,357
Republican hold Swing
2018
Indiana's 2nd congressional district election, 2018 [54]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Republican Jackie Walorski (incumbent) 125,499 55%
Democratic Mel Hall 103,363 45%
No party Richard Wolf (Write-in) 27 0
Turnout 228,889
Republican hold Swing

See also

References
  1. "Candidates :Jackie Walorski". The Washington Times. Archived from the original on 2013-02-09. Retrieved 2016-11-11.
  2. James Brosher (September 16, 2012). "Candidates stress their roots: Jackie Walorski". southbendtribune.com.
  3. Consolidated Funeral Services. "Raymond B. Walorski Obituary – Palmer Funeral Homes".
  4. Izadi, Elahe (November 1, 2012). "Indiana, 2nd House District". Nationaljournal.com. Archived from the original on March 23, 2014. Retrieved May 2, 2018 – via Internet Archive.
  5. "Representative Jackie Walorski's Biography". votesmart.org. March 10, 2013.
  6. "Bakersfield Advocacy Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce Representing the Interests of Business with Government". Bakersfield Advocacy. March 10, 2013. Archived from the original on April 14, 2013.
  7. "Jackie Walorski (R)". Wall Street Journal. March 10, 2013. Archived from the original on June 15, 2015. Retrieved May 2, 2018 – via Internet Archive.
  8. Brian A. Howey (March 16, 2006). "HOWEY Political Report: GOP's Finest Hour? Walorski's world travels brought her to the precipice of change" (PDF). in.gov.
  9. "Our Campaigns – IN State House 021 Race – November 2, 2004". Ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 2016-11-11.
  10. "Our Campaigns – IN State House 021 Race – November 7, 2006". Ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 2016-11-11.
  11. "Our Campaigns – IN State House 021 Race – November 4, 2008". Ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 2016-11-11.
  12. Joan Biskupic (January 6, 2008). "Voter ID case could affect election laws". usatoday.com.
  13. South Bend Tribune, February 17, 2005 by Martin DeAgostino
  15. James Wensits (May 31, 2006). "New identity theft law to take effect July 1 in Indiana". southbendtribune.com.
  16. "Legislation Would Require Companies to Notify Customers of Security Breaches". insideindianabusiness.com. January 4, 2006. Archived from the original on December 13, 2013.
  17. "Membership". Republican Study Committee. Archived from the original on March 28, 2018. Retrieved May 2, 2018 – via Internet Archive.
  18. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on June 6, 2012. Retrieved January 31, 2012.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  19. "Election results". Archived from the original on July 22, 2011. Retrieved May 5, 2010.
  20. "State Rep. Jackie Walorski wins 2nd Congressional district GOP primary". Wndu.com. Archived from the original on 2012-09-18. Retrieved 2010-08-23.
  21. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-02-06. Retrieved 2010-05-05.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  22. 2010 Election Results, CNN.com; accessed November 9, 2016.
  23. "Elkhart County Fares Well in Redistricting Changes". The Elkhart Truth. Archived from the original on July 30, 2012. Retrieved November 9, 2016.
  24. Presidential results by congressional district under district lines used in 2012 from Daily Kos
  25. Presidential election results by congressional district from 2000 to 2008
  26. Michael D. Shear (May 9, 2011). "Donnelly to Run for Senate in Indiana". New York Times. Retrieved August 3, 2011.
  27. "Joe Ruiz for Congress".
  28. "News From The Associated Press". ap.org. Retrieved November 9, 2016.
  29. "Brian Howey: Brooks and Walorski take aim at GOP glass ceiling". howeypolitics.com. Retrieved November 9, 2016.
  30. "2012 election result report from Politico". POLITICO. Retrieved November 9, 2016.
  31. "Fall General Election – 11/04/2008; State Senate, District No. 20". Wisconsin State Elections Board. November 24, 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 20, 2011. Retrieved April 19, 2011.
  32. Wald, Matthew L. (November 6, 2012). "Democrat Wins Race for Senate in Indiana". nytimes.com. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
  33. Schultz, Marisa (2020-05-07). "Steve Scalise will be top Republican on new coronavirus committee". Fox News. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
  34. "Members of the Veterinary Medicine Caucus". Veterinary Medicine Caucus. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
  35. "Members". U.S. - Japan Caucus. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  36. "Walorski aims to create more generous military death benefits with new bill". Ripon Advance. United States. 31 May 2018. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  37. "Walorski, Upton vote to repeal health care law". SouthBendTribune. May 17, 2013.
  38. "- Elkhart Truth". etruth.com. August 8, 2012. Archived from the original on January 22, 2013.
  39. Almukhtar, Sarah (19 December 2017). "How Each House Member Voted on the Tax Bill". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  40. "Walorski speaks out against steel, aluminum tariffs on allies". WNDU. United States. 31 May 2018. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  41. "GOP Congresswomen Get Cold Feet On Anti-Abortion Bill". Huffington Post. February 22, 2015.
  42. "Walorski supports ban on late-term abortions". Huffington Post. June 20, 2013.
  43. "Walorski Asks State to Reject South Bend Abortion Clinic". US News. United States. 25 October 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  44. "Indiana Scorecard". NORML. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  45. "Heritage Action Scorecard". Heritage Action for America. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  46. Blake, Aaron. "Coffman, Gardner join Republicans against President Trump's travel ban; here's where the rest stand". Denver Post. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  47. "South Bend Southgate Church". Indianaag.org. 2013-04-21. Retrieved 2016-11-11.
  48. "Klaus Iohannis a decorat opt congresmani americani cu Ordinul Steaua României în grad de Comandor". adevarul.ro (in Romanian). June 9, 2017. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
  49. Peia, Florentina; Iacob, Simona (June 9, 2017). Purcarea, Vicentiu; Pandea, Razvan-Adrian (eds.). "President Iohannis and U.S. congressmen discuss Romania's inclusion in Visa Waiver programme". Agepres. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
  50. "IN State House 021". ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved November 8, 2004.
  51. "IN State House 021". ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved November 26, 2006.
  52. "IN State House 021". ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved December 13, 2010.
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  54. "Election Results". in.gov. Retrieved November 28, 2012.
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
Joe Donnelly		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Indiana's 2nd congressional district
2013–present		 Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by
Ann Wagner		 United States Representatives by seniority
231st		 Succeeded by
Randy Weber
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