Rudy Yakym wins GOP nomination for 2nd Congressional District seat

Rudy Yakym will represent the Indiana GOP this fall in elections to replace U.S. Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-Jimtown), who died in a car crash earlier this month.

Yakym is the director of growth initiatives at Kem Krest, and previously served as finance director for Walorski’s congressional campaign. He also had the endorsement of Walorski’s widower, Dean Swihart.

“Jackie wanted her voice to be heard,” Swihart said. “I believe I have the candidate who is capable of continuing Jackie’s legacy, and that candidate is Rudy Yakym — he’s pro-Trump, pro-life and a Christian family man.”

It only took one round of voting Saturday for Yakym to win a majority of the votes in a caucus of District 2 Republican precinct committee members.

Yakym will represent the GOP in both a special election to fill the remainder of Walorski’s term and the general election to determine District 2’s congressional representative for the next two years. Both elections will be held Nov. 8.

In his remarks, Yakym said his faith would drive his decision-making if he’s elected to Congress, and that he would work to decrease the size and scope of the federal government.

“Jackie was a friend to all of us, and she was a friend to me,” he said. “And what she taught us is true now more than ever — our faith matters.”

Members of the Indiana Democratic Party will meet next week to choose their nominee for the special election next week. That caucus is set to begin at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 23 at Operating Engineers Local 150 in Lakeville (1001 N. Michigan St.)

The Democratic candidate for the District 2 general election is Goshen teacher Paul Steury.

Contact Gemma at gdicarlo@wvpe.org or follow her on Twitter at @gemma_dicarlo.