Congresswoman Victoria Spartz (R-IN), the sole member of Congress born in the former Soviet Union, announced Friday that she will not seek political office in 2024, ending any speculation that she might have her eyes set on higher office.
The congresswoman, who is of Ukrainian descent, cited the desire to spend more time with her growing daughters.
“I won a lot of tough battles for the people and will work hard to win a few more in the next two years. However, being a working mom is tough and I need to spend more time with my two high school girls back home, so I will not run for any office in 2024.”
“It’s been my honor representing Hoosiers in the Indiana State Senate and U.S. Congress, and I appreciate the strong support on the ground. 2024 will mark seven years of holding elected office and over a decade in Republican politics,” she said.
Spartz, who moved to the U.S. in 2000, worked in local politics and as a businesswoman prior to her 2020 congressional bid. But her most significant national attention came after the election when she delivered a blistering critique of socialism and how ugly it can get when the government “runs out of money.”
“I’m kind of going full circle,” she said. “I can tell you what is going to be next. It’s very sad for me to see that. And that made as the mother of two daughters, it made me get involved and do something about it because that’s not very good for our country.”
Spartz has shown strong support for funding Ukraine in its war against Russia, condemning Vladimir Putin as a genocidal “crazy man.” Spartz also said at the time that Putin’s forces had attacked the village of her 95-year-old grandmother with “heavy machine guns,” The Hill reported.
During the speakership battle, Spartz wavered in her support of Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), changing her vote to “present” for multiple ballots before finally rejoining the McCarthy faction when the anti-McCarthy faction started shrinking in size. At the time, Spartz said she was voting present to encourage Republicans to deliberate, and she refused to back any of McCarthy’s challengers.
This week, she voted to strip Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) of a seat on the Foreign Affairs Committee. The move came as somewhat of a surprise, as she had initially cited concerns about due process.