Republican candidate selected as GOP seeks to flip Indiana House seat from blue to red

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Randy Niemeyer will serve as the Republican nominee in one of Indiana's most closely watched House races.

Niemeyer, who won the Republican Party's nomination for Indiana's First Congressional District on Tuesday, will now face off against incumbent Democratic Rep. Frank Mrvan in the state's general election later this year.

Along with Niemeyer, two other candidates, Leyva and Ruiz took part in the GOP primary election.

The seat – ranked as "Lean Democrat" by the Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan election analyst – is one the Republican Party is hoping to pick up this election cycle in an effort to strengthen its slim majority in the House.

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Randy Niemeyer, center, beat out rivals Mark Leyva,left, and David Ben Ruiz, right, to secure the GOP nomination for U.S. representatitive for the First Congressional District of Indiana. (Mark Leyva campaign, Randy Niemeyer campaign, David Ben Ruiz campaign)

Niemeyer, who received support from the national party in the race, serves as chair of the Lake County Republican Party and is the current 7th District Councilman.

Prior to Tuesday's election, Niemeyer insisted his experience in politics at a local level, paired with his being a small business owner, made him most suitable for the role.

"I would say my credentials in local government speaks for itself. I’m happy to be part of the party," Niemeyer said, according to the Chicago Tribune. "I’m proud of the work we have done in Lake County. I want to make sure we give the voters good choices … When people aren’t challenged, it doesn’t create the accountability our system needs."

Niemeyer also said he believes his experiences as a small business owner with certain financial struggles is "familiar to many" in the district who have faced economic woes in recent years.

"That experience is something that is familiar to many, many people in our district … we have to go to work every day and make something out of nothing," Niemeyer said.

Niemeyer, who received support from the national party in the race, serves as chair of the Lake County Republican Party and is the current 7th District Councilman. (Randy Niemeyer campaign)

Following Niemeyer's victory Tuesday evening, NRCC spokesman Mike Marinella said in a statement, "Republicans have a tremendous opportunity to flip Indiana's First District red this November with Randy Niemeyer."

"Frank Mrvan is an ineffective do-nothing who votes alongside Democrats any chance he gets, while high-quality jobs in Northwest Indiana are lost to China," he added. "As the owner of a trucking business, President of Cedar Lake Town Council, and Councilman for Lake County, Randy has always put his community first. He has balanced the budget, grown the police force, and fought for lower taxes for Hoosiers, and he will continue to do just that in Congress."

Leyva, who has been seeking the GOP nomination to represent the district since 2010, said prior to Tuesday's election that he believed "this year is different."

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"This year is different. Even though they believe they have the chosen one with a lot of money, they don’t," Leyva said, according to the Tribune. "The reason I want to hold this position is I want to prove an average working guy like myself … can actually do it."

Ben Ruiz, a political newcomer who has described himself as an "Ultra MAGA" Republican, also sought the party's nomination on Tuesday.

He, along with Leyva, have taken what appear to be shots at Niemeyer in the past.

"We need to start putting our American culture first before anything else. I’m not picked by the establishment, that’s for sure … They chose to go with their preferred candidate of choice. They are able to control their candidate," Ben Ruiz said last month, according to the Tribune.

First elected to represent the Hoosier State's First District in the House in 2020, Mrvan won re-election to his post after defeating Air Force veteran Jennifer-Ruth Green in the state's 2022 general election.

Mrvan defeated Green by more than 12,000 votes in the 2022 election, garnering 52.8% of the vote compared to Green's 47.2%.

First elected to represent the Hoosier State's First District in the House in 2020, Rep. Frank Mrvan won re-election to his post after defeating Jennifer-Ruth Green in the state's 2022 general election. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

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The state's First Congressional District has been represented federally by Democrats since 1931.

The state's general election is slated to take place on Nov. 5.