INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana’s 9th District covers much of south-central Indiana, including parts of Greenwood and Bloomington, all the way to the Ohio River. Two candidates are vying to be the representative for that area.
Rep. Todd Young is not seeking re-election, instead choosing to run for U.S. Senate. Republican Trey Hollingsworth and Democrat Shelli Yoder are running to replace him.
Hollingsworth won a competitive 5-way primary against Erin Houchin, Greg Zoeller, Brent Waltz and Robert Hall.
Hollingsworth’s opponents have labeled him “Tennessee Trey,” saying he lived in Tennessee and only moved to Indiana to win a seat in Congress.
But, to run in Indiana, candidates only need to meet the following requirements:
- Be at least 25 years old
- Have been a citizen of the U.S. for seven years
- Live in the state they're chosen to represent
Hollingsworth has been registered to vote in Indiana since Sept. 2015.
He is running against Yoder, who is an IU professor and Monroe County Council member.
Considered one of the closest House races in Indiana, the 9th District race has seen an unusually high amount of money spent by outside groups.
In the debate between the two candidates, construction delays along I-69 were one of the topics.
Hollingsworth says the government owes a burden of proof to taxpayers before raising taxes. Yoder says addressing the problem by raising the gas tax is "short-sighted."
Both were asked about construction on I-69 between Martinsville and Bloomington, where a subcontractor recently walked off the job for not getting paid.
"There is a real cost for government that's not getting results for Hoosiers," Hollingsworth said, "that's not getting results for Washington and is not being held accountable for that. We need business owners in Washington to hold people accountable."
Yoder said as a member of Congress, she would have to not only address the safety of Hoosiers roads and bridges, "but we have to be able to move commerce up and down Indiana, especially the 9th District."
