A U.S. Army veteran running to replace retiring GOP Representative Trey Hollingsworth has officially announced his candidacy for the position.
Army veteran Stu Barnes-Israel has stepped forward to announce that he will be joining the Republican primary field to replace retiring Indiana Rep. Trey Hollingsworth.
In a tweet about his candidacy, Barnes-Israel wrote: “I’m a U.S. Army combat veteran and a fifth-generation Hoosier who was awarded a Bronze Star for my service in Afghanistan. Indiana’s 9th Congressional District needs an outsider in Washington and I will fight every day against the career politicians ruining our country!”
I’m a U.S. Army combat veteran and a fifth-generation Hoosier who was awarded a Bronze Star for my service in Afghanistan. Indiana's 9th Congressional District needs an outsider in Washington and I will fight every day against the career politicians ruining our country! pic.twitter.com/nQ2XCp08aR
— Stu Barnes-Israel (@stuforindiana) January 20, 2022
Along with his military experience, Barnes-Israel has also worked as an engagement manager at McKinsey & Company for several years, and has also held a position at the investment firm Citadel.
While his experience in the financial sector is important, the GOP hopeful plans to focus mainly on emphasizing his military experience in his upcoming primary campaign for Congress.
“When I served on the battlefields of Afghanistan, we always put our fellow soldiers and the mission before ourselves,” Barnes-Israel said. “Today, in our nation’s capital, the only people the liberal career politicians seem to want to serve are themselves.”
“We have to stop the out-of-control spending and runaway inflation that is wrecking our economy,” he added. “We have to fight back against government overreach and defend our Hoosier values. We have to secure our border and make our cities safe again.”
In what many have characterized as a nod to former President Donald Trump, Barnes-Israel has stated that he supports an “America First” agenda.
So far, his only competition in the primary race is Senator Erin Houchin, who announced her bid to fill Hollingsworth’s seat just a few days before Barnes-Israel did.
Indiana’s 9th Congressional District, which retiring Representative Hollingsworth currently represents, leans significantly to the right. Characterized as a “Safe R” district by the University of Virginia Center for Politics, Hollingsworth comfortably won reelection in the district several times in recent years.
This means that whoever wins the Republican primary is likely to have a clear path to victory in the midterms, when it is expected that the GOP will likely take back the majority in both the House and the Senate after a rough start to Joe Biden’s term.
