Spartz won’t take on Senate run — or any campaign — in 2024

Not only will U.S. Rep. Victoria Spartz of Indiana forego a run for an open Senate seat, but she’ll also leave office completely in 2024, she said Friday.

Spartz was one of several politicians said to be considering a run for Sen. Mike Braun’s seat, who’s now running for Indiana governor. U.S. Rep. Jim Banks, who announced his Senate campaign last month, is unopposed so far: former Gov. Mitch Daniels, another contender, opted out of a run on Tuesday.

“[The year] 2024 will mark seven years of holding elected office and over a decade in Republican politics,” Spartz said in a statement. “I won a lot of tough battles for the people and will work hard to win a few more in the next two years.”

That hasn’t meant a lot of time for family.

“Being a working mom is tough,” she said, “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.”

The conservative Ukrainian-born politician, who represents north-central Indiana, was a founding member of the Hamilton County Tea Party. She worked for Indiana’s Office of the Attorney General as chief financial officer before Republican precinct officials surprise-appointed her to former state Sen. Luke Kenley’s district in 2017, when he retired.

Spartz served in the Indiana Senate until 2020, until she won election to Indiana’s Fifth Congressional District seat. Her announcement Friday could open up yet another scramble for that seat.