When Jennifer-Ruth Green, a black woman, won an overwhelming victory in Indiana’s 1st Congressional District Republican primary in May, she helped improve the chances that the GOP would take the once-reliable Democratic district in the general election.
Such a blowout win against an establishment candidate may have embarrassed bigwigs in Indiana like former Vice President and former Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, his brother U.S. Rep. Greg Pence (R-Ind.), and Holcomb.
The state GOP, however, seems solidly behind her candidacy.
“Jennifer-Ruth Green is an incredible candidate who will motivate and inspire not only Republicans, but northwest Indiana voters across the political spectrum,” Luke Thomas, press secretary and digital director at the Indiana GOP, told The Epoch Times in an email.
With the support of the GOP in the most important race in the state, Green could upset incumbent Democrat Frank Mrvan, who is running for reelection for the first time, just as she surprised insiders in the GOP.
Back to Importantville
“Importantville,” many might remember, is how then-presidential candidate Donald Trump described Indiana, as he campaigned in the state for the final 57 GOP delegates he needed to clinch the nominationIt’s appropriate because Green campaigned as a strong supporter of Trump, releasing a 30-second ad that attacked her GOP opponent as a “Never Trump Republican.”
Democrats’ Sagging Hopes
Indiana’s 1st Congressional District, which used to reliably give Democrats 60 percent or more of the vote in general elections, is only leaning Democrat by 4 percent, according to a 2021 analysis by the Cook Political Report.But that was before the tough year Democrats have had under President Joe Biden.
Most alarming for liberals is the sagging approval rating Biden has been given by Democrats.
After enjoying a positive bounce subsequent to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Biden’s approval rating has plunged nearly 10 points among Democrats, according to the AP poll, to a lowest-ever for his presidency, at 73 percent.
And that gives Green a legitimate shot to be the only black woman to represent the GOP in the House next year, and wrestle one of two congressional districts out of seven away from the Democrats in Indiana.
Green: ‘Mrvan Owns Biden’s Failures’
Green told The Epoch Times that Mrvan voted with “Biden and Pelosi” 100 percent of the time.“Frank Mrvan owns all of Biden’s failures from inflation to gas prices to food prices to the baby formula shortage to surging crime, border chaos and ‘woke’ attacks on Hoosier families,” Green told The Epoch Times, while emphasizing that she’s pro-America and pro-military.
Despite coming from the same congressional district where Biden’s secretary of transportation, progressive Pete Buttigieg, was mayor, Green refuses to be labeled the “anti-Buttigieg” candidate, pushing back against contrasting her conservative credentials to former Mayor Buttigieg’s progressive stances.
“I’m pro-America, pro-family, pro-national defense. I’m not anti-anybody. I wish that Biden was pro-economy,” Green said.
When asked if the racial diversity training pushed in the U.S. military under Biden had affected the readiness of the armed services, Green, a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, who still serves as a reservist, was direct.
Green said that, of course, historically there have been some real injustices racially and that some of the discrimination issues “are worth fighting for.”
A Serious Campaign
Green served as a mission commander for counterintelligence activities in Baghdad and later as a deputy chief for a nuclear command post, according to her campaign biography.But she’s not running on her military laurels, but as an unapologetic conservative backed up by political savvy.
“She has one of the best political operatives in the state working for her, so the campaign is very serious,” Wren, the political analyst, said.
Green emphasized that seeing more people like themselves in positions of leadership means that more black people will vote for the GOP and more black people will run for office as conservatives.
She said that meeting one of the Tuskegee Airmen—a famed group of African American pilots and support staff who fought in WWII—for example, gave her the courage to become a pilot for the Air Force.
Mrvan won the district in 2020 with 57 percent of the vote. But more Democrats showed up in the 2022 primary than did Republicans, which could be problematic.
Still, if given the funding and whole-hearted party support in one of the legitimate places that the GOP is competitive, Green has a chance to take a House seat from the Democrats.
The Epoch Times has reached out to the White House and Mrvan’s office for comment.