GOP Rep. Victoria Spartz announces she won’t run for any office in 2024

By David Wright and Clare Foran, CNN

GOP Rep. Victoria Spartz of Indiana announced Friday that she will not run for any office in 2024, opting out of the race for the seat held by Republican Sen. Mike Braun, who is running for governor, while also declaring her intention to leave Congress.

“I won a lot of tough battles for the people and will work hard to win a few more in the next two years,” Spartz said in a statement. “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.”

Spartz’s decision clears the way for Rep. Jim Banks in what could have been a competitive Republican Senate primary in Indiana, coming as it does on the heels of former GOP Gov. Mitch Daniels’ announcement that he would also forego a Senate bid.

Braun filed paperwork last year to run for governor of Indiana in 2024, setting up an open race for the seat.

When Spartz was elected to the House in 2020, she became the first Ukrainian-born member of Congress.

The Indiana lawmaker has been a prominent voice within the House GOP on the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Spartz voted “present” during several rounds of votes as McCarthy was trying to lock up the support to win the speakership at the start of the new Congress. Ultimately, however, the congresswoman voted for McCarthy in the final rounds before he secured the gavel.

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CNN’s Melanie Zanona contributed to this report.