Republican Congresswoman Victoria Spartz, the first member of the U.S. Congress born in Ukraine, defeated her Republican challengers in a primary vote held on May 7.
The congresswoman beat back eight challengers in a highly contested field to secure a place on the ballot in the general election in November. As her district in Indiana is solidly Republican, she is favored to win reelection.
Spartz was born in a small city in Chernihiv Oblast and moved to the U.S. in 2000. She became the first Ukrainian-born member of Congress in 2021 and is known for her staunch support of former President Donald Trump.
In the aftermath of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Spartz supported aid for Ukraine and spoke about the war in deeply personal terms, but also attracted controversy for her attacks against President Volodymyr Zelensky and head of the Presidential Office, Andriy Yermak.
Spartz shifted her stance on Ukraine over the following years and grew increasingly critical of U.S. aid for the country. She began to call for more "accountability" for the funding and has criticized what she said is President Joe Biden's unclear strategy on the U.S.'s role in the war.
The congresswoman told the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) in April that she had "largely moved on from focusing heavily on Ukraine."
Spartz was among the 112 Republicans in Congress who voted against aid for Ukraine in April. All Democrats in Congress and 101 Republicans supported the bill, which was successfully passed and signed into law by Biden on April 24.
Citing a common talking point among Republicans who oppose aid for Ukraine, Spartz defended her vote by saying that the bill did not address domestic border and immigration issues.
Chuck Goodrich, who was considered to be her top rival, attacked Spartz in his campaign ads for her previous support for Ukraine.
"Victoria Spartz sends $40 billion of our tax dollars to Ukraine before the border wall (with Mexico) is finished," one of the ads said. "Why does Victoria Spartz put Ukraine first?"
Spartz ultimately defeated Goodrich by six percentage points.
"My victory in this election is a testament to the American people and my fellow Hoosiers (Indianians) that money and lies do not buy elections," Spartz said in a statement.
Nate Ostiller
