Ford leads Spartz in Indiana 5th District race

With 34.5 percent of votes counted at 7:10 p.m. Friday, Indiana state Sen. J.D. Ford led U.S. Rep. Victoria Spartz by 20,336 votes in the race for the 5th Congressional District. Ford accumulated 57,204 votes while Spartz received 36,868. The final tally will determine whether the 48-year-old incumbent Republican keeps her seat or the 43-year-old state senator wins it.

Both candidates campaigned on the need for greater government accountability. Ford emphasized affordability and access to health care as central parts of his platform. Spartz focused on reducing federal spending and debt while calling for changes to immigration policies.

The competitive nature of this district shifted earlier this year. The Cook Political Report rated the seat as Solid R at the start of the year. It changed the rating to Lean R last week after previously listing it as Likely R. This district includes major cities such as Anderson, Carmel, Fishers, Fortville, Frankfort, Greentown, Hartford City, Kokomo, Lebanon, Logansport, Marion, McCordsville, Muncie, Noblesville, Pendleton, Peru, Sheridan, Tipton, Wabash, Westfield, Whitestown, and Zionsville.

The 5th District has not been represented by a Democrat since Jim Jontz left office in 1993. Jontz served from 1987 and represented a district that covered Hamilton County and surrounding northern Indianapolis suburbs. The current district configuration differs from Jontz's tenure.

Indiana voters cast ballots for nine congressional districts, all of which feature incumbents seeking reelection. Seven of the nine seats are held by Republicans. In December, the Republican supermajority in the state Senate rejected a proposal to redraw congressional boundaries before the Tuesday midterm election. That vote created tension with Gov. Mike Braun and President Donald Trump.

In a separate race, 1st District incumbent Frank Mrvan faced Republican challenger Barb Regnitz. Polls in that northwest district closed at 6 p.m. CT. The Hill reported that Mrvan remains favored to retain his seat in what has historically been the state's most competitive territory.