Who's In the Race

Indiana's 5th U.S. House District heads to a general election Nov. 3, with two certified primary winners on the ballot. Republican Victoria Spartz won her primary May 5, taking 33,691 votes (about 60 percent) against one challenger. Democrat J.D. Ford won his primary the same day with 17,608 votes, topping a field of seven candidates.

Spartz is the incumbent, having held the seat since 2021 and won it most recently in 2024. Ford currently serves as an Indiana state senator, according to his campaign website.

What They Stand For

Victoria Spartz

Spartz's campaign website lists spending and debt as a core issue area. She has stated that the federal debt must be addressed by cutting unnecessary spending rather than raising taxes.

Her campaign website lists immigration and border security as a core issue area, according to spartzforcongress.com/issues.

Her campaign website lists constitutional rights, including Second Amendment protections and the sanctity of life, as a core issue area.

Healthcare is listed as a standalone issue on her campaign website.

A voter guide from WFYI also notes she wants to focus on manufacturing and energy policy as part of her economic agenda. She serves on the House Education and the Workforce Committee.

J.D. Ford

Ford's campaign centers on lowering healthcare costs. His stated goal is to "cap out-of-pocket health care expenses" and "make sure that every family, no matter where they live, can access affordable, quality healthcare." He has also cited rising grocery, gas, and utility costs as central concerns, per his campaign website.

Ford frames his candidacy around working families, noting he holds a part-time job alongside his legislative duties. He has stated he will "stand with working families, organized labor, to ensure that workers are never left behind."

WFYI's primary voter guide reported that Ford's platform includes protecting Social Security without benefit cuts and lowering grocery and housing costs.

Ford stated during the primary that he would introduce the No Kings Act in Congress, which he described as legislation to "restore constitutional chain of command and ensure government is ruled by the people, not a person." The act would prevent unilateral pausing or freezing of funds, require congressional votes on war, and limit immunity for breaking federal law, according to the Indiana Capital Chronicle primary voter guide.

Ford has also stated support for codifying LGBTQ+ rights into federal law. At a Democratic primary forum, all candidates including Ford stated support for protecting women's reproductive rights in law, WFYI reported.

The Money Behind the Race

Outside spending in this race totals $24,000 in support of a Democratic candidate, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) data current as of Sept. 28, covering activity through Sept. 21. The sole committee with reported independent expenditures is The Affordability Project, which spent $24,000.

That spending was directed toward Democratic primary candidate Dylan McKenna, who did not advance to the general election.

Separately, CommonSense Hoosiers PAC has filed $146,962 in 24/48-hour notices opposing Republican Victoria Spartz. Those notices have not yet been restated in a periodic report and are not included in the periodic totals above. Combined with the periodic total, outside spending with pending notices reaches $170,962.

Race Outlook: Ratings and Betting Markets

Three major race-rating services all call this race Solid Republican as of late September 2026: the Cook Political Report as of Sept. 25, Sabato's Crystal Ball as of Sept. 22, and Inside Elections as of Sept. 17. The consensus rating, as of Sept. 25, is Solid Republican.

Prediction market Kalshi put the Republican's probability of winning at 84 percent and the Democrat's at 16 percent as of Sept. 28, based on $18,938 in market volume.

Spartz won the 5th District with about 61 percent in 2022 and nearly 57 percent in 2024. Across all of Indiana's federal congressional races in 2022, Republicans won eight of nine U.S. House seats and the state's U.S. Senate race. In 2024, Republicans won seven of nine House seats and the Senate race. Only the 1st and 7th U.S. House Districts went Democratic in both cycles.

At the presidential level, Donald Trump carried Indiana in 2024 with nearly 59 percent of the vote.

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