INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Northeast Indiana’s Congressional race took shape following a major reshuffle at the top of Indiana politics.

Congressman Jim Banks, who has represented Indiana’s Third Congressional District since 2017, announced in Jan. 2023 he would vacate his seat to run for the Senate, where Mike Braun’s seat opened up after Braun decided to run for governor. Voters in the district, which stretches from Blackford and Randolph counties to the Michigan and Ohio state lines, will have three choices to succeed him. Former Congressman Marlin Stutzman survived an eight-way primary to carry the Republican banner. Democrat Kiley Adolph is a former University of Southern California professor and educational nonprofit executive. The Libertarian Party nominated Jarrad Lancaster, who works in the medical device field, and is a former volunteer firefighter.

News 8 asked all three candidates to appear on All INdiana Politics. Stutzman’s campaign did not respond to multiple interview requests. Adolph and Lancaster both agreed to be interviewed.

Adolph, a Steuben County native, said her upbringing as the daughter of a state trooper and a secretary taught her the value of service. She said that influenced her decision to enter the educational field, first teaching children in the inner city, and then at the collegiate level and in the nonprofit space. She said the people of the Third District deserve someone who will be there for them and listen to them. Adolph said she’s been struck by the number of people who have told her nobody from Congress has spoken to them in years.

“I think they want to see more of the people who are in governance actually show up and have conversations with them,” Adolph said. “This is the beauty of living in a democracy, is we can elect officials who can serve us and who can empower us, and who can make our communities better.”

Lancaster said he first got involved in politics during the 2021 convoy protests. He decided to run for Congress because he wanted to do something about the problems he saw. If elected, he said some of his priorities would include replacing the income tax system with a national sales tax and ending military aid to both Israel and Ukraine. Lancaster said voters need to break their two-party habit if they want to see real change.

“Everybody that I hear on the MAGA side of things says they like Trump because he’s not part of the system, but then they turn around and they vote for the same system that they say they’re against,” Lancaster said. “At some time, we have to break the chain and we have to start going outside this system.”

All INdiana Politics airs at 9:30 a.m. Sunday on WISH-TV.